Lower Elementary School Dean of Student Life (Pre-school - Grade 2)

SINGAPORE AMERICAN SCHOOL LIMITED; Singapore; On-site; SGD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

An international school in Singapore is looking for an Elementary School Dean of Student Life to lead social emotional learning initiatives across the division. The role involves collaborating with the Upper Elementary Dean to ensure consistency in SEL approaches and advocating for student needs within the community. Candidates should have a Bachelor’s degree in a related field and demonstrated experience in elementary education or counseling. A positive disposition and strong communication skills are essential for fostering a supportive environment.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated elementary teaching or counseling experience.
• Strong leadership experience in an elementary school setting.
• Deep knowledge in social-emotional learning.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support social and emotional learning for elementary students.
• Collaborate with faculty for consistent SEL curriculum.
• Advocate for student needs across the division.

Skills

Collaboration

Communication Excellence

Positive Disposition

Cultural Competence

Education

Bachelor's degree in School Counseling or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Position Responsibilities

The Elementary School Dean of Student Life (Lower Elementary) is responsible for partnering closely and collaboratively with the Elementary School Dean of Student Life (Upper Elementary) to ensure a unified vision for SEL across the entire division. This role requires joint effort to lead, support, and monitor the social and emotional learning of all students in the elementary school. The Dean ensures discipline is rooted in social emotional learning, advocates for students across the division, partners with families, and allies with faculty. The Dean maintains a positive tone and promotes a culture of respect, honesty, fairness, compassion, and responsibility while also supporting students to follow the school rules (“Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Responsible”).

Key Responsibilities

SEL Vision, Strategy, and Curriculum Support

• Support SEL Leadership: Collaborate with the Upper Elementary Dean to support the ES administration in leading the strategic vision for SEL across the entire Elementary School, ensuring alignment with the SAS strategic plan and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Support Curricular Consistency: Jointly maintain consistent SEL content, skills, and expectations across all grade levels (PS-Grade 5), ensuring unified implementation of core SEL approaches (e.g., Responsive Classroom, Restorative Practices, Second Step).
• Facilitate Adult Learning: Serve as an instructional leader by designing and delivering professional development for faculty and instructional assistants on effective classroom practices, SEL initiatives, and behavior management, coordinating efforts and resources with the Upper Elementary Dean and ES administration.
• Data and Assessment: In partnership with the Upper Elementary Dean, lead the administration and interpretation of well‑being data (e.g., Panorama), guiding faculty in setting data‑driven goals and utilizing student voice (e.g. focus groups) to refine practices and targeted interventions.

Student Support, Discipline, and Advocacy

• Oversee Consistent Behavior & Discipline: Ensure discipline is consistently applied across the division (PS-Grade 5), rooted in social‑emotional learning principles, and maintains the dignity of the student and family. Manage and routinely update the Guide to Supporting Student Behavior: Elementary School to reflect best practices and unified division policy. Consult closely with the Upper Elementary Dean on all major disciplinary and re‑entry protocols.
• Promote Restorative Culture: Champion a problem‑solving and restorative approach to assist students in resolving conflicts and making responsible choices, establishing unified restorative practices with the Upper Elementary Dean.
• Supporting Significant Student Behavior: Work directly with the ES administrative team, counselors, psychologists, and parents to support students, and collaborate with the Upper Elementary Dean to manage complex multi‑grade student behavior cases.
• Student Advocacy: Actively advocate for students across the division, ensuring student voice is elevated through leadership clubs, and assemblies.

Collaborative Leadership and Community Engagement

• Support Collaborative Teams: Support teams focused on SEL and well‑being, including SEL representatives, nurse team, recreation/recess team, EAA, Season Bus, and other specialized groups, aligning efforts with the SAS strategic plan.
• Foster Consistent School Culture: Promote a positive school culture, ensuring consistent application of the school rules (“Be safe, Be kind, Be responsible”) across all areas of student life.
• Manage Resources and Safety: Strategically manage resources to maximize impact on SEL learning. Oversee student health, safety, and welfare, including coordinating logistics related to PS-Grade 5 transportation logistics in collaboration with the Upper Elementary Dean.
• Parent and Stakeholder Partnership: Cultivate strong, effective communication and relationships with parents, faculty, division leadership, and the broader school network.

Position Requirements & Qualifications

Education and Direct Experience

• Required Education: Bachelor’s degree in School Counseling, a related mental health field, or Educational Leadership. A Master’s degree is strongly preferred.
• Direct Experience: Demonstrated direct elementary classroom teaching experience or school counseling experience, coupled with proven leadership experience in an elementary school setting.

Deep SEL and Behavioral Expertise

• Foundational Knowledge: Deep knowledge and experience in social‑emotional learning (SEL) and factors affecting student connectedness, learning, cognitive, and behavioral development for young learners (PS - Grade 2).
• Specialized Approaches: Well‑grounded expertise in effective, positive student support systems, including Responsive Classroom, Restorative Practices, Second Step, PBIS, and MTSS.
• Supporting Significant Student Behavior: Proven experience in de‑escalating challenging student behavior and supporting students in significant distress.

Collaboration and Systems Leadership

• Highly Collaborative: Ability to work effectively in highly collaborative settings with diverse internal teams (administrators, counselors, psychologists, learning support, support staff, etc.).
• Adult Learning: Experience and passion for leading adult learning and professional development.

Communication and Relational Skills

• Communication Excellence: Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational, and project management skills.
• Parent Partnership: Demonstrated confidence and ability to deliver direct feedback and engage in solution‑focused problem‑solving conversations with parents regarding complex student behavior.
• Presentation Skills: Seasoned presenter to various internal and external audiences (parents, students, faculty, specialists).

Cultural Competence and Disposition

• Positive Disposition: Possesses a contagious positive attitude about students and school.
• Cultural Competence: Demonstrated cultural competence with the ability to work effectively and respectfully with culturally diverse groups of students and employees. Fluency in Chinese (Mandarin) would be an asset in order to support cross‑cultural understanding and communication.

Working Requirements

• Sponsoring and/or coaching after school activities are part of the responsibility of the professional educator. Therefore, faculty shall be available to coach and/or sponsor an athletic team or other extra curricular activity. Each faculty member is expected to do a minimum of one category 1 activity or sport per year.
• Mandatory attendance of school orientation and participation in a minimum of four evening and/or weekend school activities each year, as assigned (including "Back‑to‑School Night").
• Attend Responsive Classroom professional learning (virtual or in‑person), supported by the school.