26-27 School Leader

KIPP New Jersey; Camden (NJ); On-site; USD 128,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Market-competitive salary

Robust benefits including medical, dental, and vision

Generous Time-Off including school vacation weeks

Up to 12 weeks parental leave

Employer paid life insurance

Job summary

A leading educational organization in New Jersey is seeking a School Leader to drive instructional results and foster a strong school culture. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of developing leadership capacities and achieving student outcomes. Responsibilities include overseeing instructional strategies, engaging stakeholders, and managing school operations. A competitive salary range starting at $128,000, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for professional growth are offered.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in developing leadership capacity in others.
• Proven ability to drive student achievement results.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Drive all instructional results for students.
• Lead school culture and establish clear vision.
• Engage community stakeholders and families.

Skills

Data analysis

Leadership development

Communication

Instructional design

Problem-solving

Education

Relevant educational qualifications

Tools

Classroom technology (smartboards, projectors)

Job description

Join to apply for the 26-27 School Leader role at KIPP New Jersey.

About KIPP New Jersey

KIPP New Jersey is part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open‑enrollment, college‑preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life. In 2002, KIPP New Jersey first opened its doors in Newark’s South Ward as a single class of 80 fifth graders and has since grown to educate 7,035 students in grades K‑12 across 15 schools in Newark, Camden, and Paterson. More than 90% of KIPP New Jersey students currently qualify for free or reduced meals. To learn more, visit www.kippnj.org.

Job Description

We anticipate beginning interviews in mid‑to‑late January 2026 and the full process concluding by March 2026, with July 2026 start dates. Applications received after January will be considered on a rolling, and as‑needed basis.

Instructional Leadership

• Drives and owns all instructional results for all students
• Strong content knowledge: knows essential content, rigor of standards, and highly effective teaching strategies well enough to establish and maintain a standard and coach it; can readily adapt to leverage resources across less‑known or more nuanced subject areas
• Develops the capacity of leaders in driving results and developing teacher/leader capacity through observations, walkthroughs, real‑time coaching, and data analysis through O3s focused on student data and coaching towards goals, weekly walkthroughs, and frequent observation of leader work
• Leads weekly conversations with the school leadership team focused on progress monitoring, student achievement data, and establishing strategies to meet school‑wide goals; delegates system of instructional leadership expectations to the team
• Develops intervention systems that address gaps in sub‑groups of students based on race, gender, SPED, or other identity markers.
• Maximize the impact of formal PD time (including Content Team Meetings) by ensuring all sessions are well‑planned and ample practice is prioritized, such that it results in improved teacher effectiveness

Student Culture

• Establishes a clear vision for excellent school culture and regularly articulates this vision to leaders, students, staff, and families
• Consistently reinforces high expectations for all students all the time
• Actively develops a school culture where students find joy in learning and where students are joyful and engaged
• Creates a culture in which teachers build strong and lasting relationships with students, especially the most challenging
• Develops, upholds, maintains, and course‑corrects clearly articulated systems for how the school culture will function (e.g., behavior, recognition, consequences)
• School meets all org‑mandated, federal, and state student compliance expectations

Staff Culture

• Establish a clear vision for excellent school culture and regularly articulate this vision to leaders, students, staff, and families
• Consistently reinforces high expectations for all staff all the time
• Actively develops a school culture where teachers find joy in teaching and student learning
• Develops clearly articulated systems for how the staff culture will function (e.g., staff attendance, coverage, etc.)

Community Engagement

• Engages families and community stakeholders proactively and productively as partners in school goals. Performs this through various opportunities for families to engage (e.g., virtual and in‑person Town Hall events)
• Creates a culture and expectation that teachers reach out to parents and enlist their proactive support in their child’s long‑term success

Talent Management

• Actively seeks to recruit, cultivate, and retain high‑quality candidates; prioritizes building a diverse staff and emphasizing staff that share similar backgrounds as our students
• Identifies top‑performing teachers and leaders at regular points throughout the school year and works strategically to retain them
• Manages struggling performers through goal setting and increased support, and manages out under‑performers where necessary.

Strengthen the Network

• Provides input to strengthen regional support, seeks to cultivate a partnership rather than an “us‑them” relationship, and proactively works to ensure a true feeling of team and family throughout the organization. Specifically:
• Collaborates with Achievement Directors and other Teaching & Learning TEAMmates to monitor achievement data and inform the instructional leadership development of Assistant Principals
• Prepare for and participate in regional selection, progress monitoring calls, and professional development
• Collaborates in a forthright manner with the Talent team to make sure hiring needs of their campus and other campuses are met
• Ensures that all school functions (ops, electives, instruction, leadership, etc.) have systems to coordinate and communicate with one another
• Attends ~monthly school leader PD to hone content and instructional expertise

Qualifications

• Demonstrated student achievement results from teachers and leaders that you’ve managed and coached
• Demonstrated success in developing leadership capacity in others
• Demonstrated resilience and focus on student outcomes
• Ability to set direction across an entire school and motivate others to action
• Adept at data analysis; ability to extract meaningful insights across school‑wide data using pertinent software applications.
• Expertise in what the school‑wide academic standards and state assessments require of students’ knowledge and skills to demonstrate mastery; able to translate student mastery requirements into instructional plans and strategies
• Deep understanding of appropriate application and differentiation of high‑leverage instructional strategies (e.g. make kids sweat, pacing, stretch it, etc.) based on comprehension of child development and pedagogy
• Command of instructional design and the benefits and tradeoffs of school design decisions in driving student achievement
• Preparing and maintaining accurate records.
• Operating standard office equipment.
• Operating classroom technology equipment (ie. smartboards, projectors, Chromebooks, computers).
• Strong critical thinking and problem‑solving skills

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of working at the computer and sitting at a desk.
• Travel to various school locations in Newark, Camden, Paterson, and Miami.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

Additional Information

KIPP Team & Family offers a market‑competitive starting salary range at $120,000 for a Principal in Residence, and starting at $128,000‑$138,000 for a School Leader and may increase based on experience. Salary ranges at KIPP are set based upon the role level and function, using benchmarks in the education and non‑profit sectors, and allow for growth within the role. Individual compensation within this range will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to: relevant professional experience and qualifications; education, skills and training, and market conditions.

• Robust benefits that include medical, dental, and vision
• Optional participation in the KIPP NJ 403b retirement plan, including matching contributions
• A school‑issued laptop
• Generous Time‑Off including 3.5‑4 school vacation weeks (depending on the year), allocated sick and personal days, and an extended summer break
• Up to 12 weeks 100% parental leave for primary caregivers
• Employer paid life insurance
• Extensive optional ancillary benefits including, short term and long term disability and accident and hospital indemnity

Our organization is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender, age, religion, national origin, citizen status, marital status, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our organization will make a reasonable accommodation to known physical or mental limitations of a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the organization. No questions on this application are asked for any unlawful purpose.