Dean of Engagement

Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District seeks a Dean of Engagement to lead school culture and student engagement across campuses in Cleveland. You will support teachers, families, and leaders to build a warm, achievement-focused environment and elevate attendance and behavior outcomes.

You will coordinate staff trainings, drive collaboration with partners, and guide interventions that raise academic progress and equity for CMSD students and communities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• At least three years of teaching experience or other work with urban youth.
• Experience working effectively with urban schools, students and families, and outside partners.
• Personal accountability for student academic progress, as measured by benchmarks.
• Strong behavior management and discipline skills.
• Excellent communication skills with students and parents.
• Extremely high standards for student achievement.
• Relentless dedication to doing whatever it takes.
• Collaborative, team player.
• Experience with project-based learning or 21st century skills-based programs.
• Firm grasp of state and district learning standards.

Responsibilities

• Focusing on school culture and values to transform schools into active learning centers.
• Plan and facilitate staff meetings/trainings on classroom management, parent involvement, and school culture.
• Support collaborative student and teacher behaviors; reinforce expectations and routines.
• Lead school-wide culture-building activities and engage families in events.
• Promote SEL and data-informed instructional leadership to raise achievement.
• Lead interventions for struggling students and test new approaches with teachers.

Skills

Communication

Collaboration

Behavior management

Resilience

Project-based learning

Urban education experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Position Type:Administration and ProfessionalsDate Posted:2026-09-24Location:Whitney M. Young LeadershipABOUT CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICTThe Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is Ohio's third-largest public school system, serving more than 35,000 students. CMSD strives to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education, regardless of the provider. To that end, CMSD lets families choose which District schools their children attend, with options that include STEM, the arts, single-gender education, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and early college. Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing their school as a high-quality, high-expectation academic center focusing on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results. CMSD ensures that students have access to technology and training to prepare them for the future. The District provides a free laptop or tablet for every student and connects every family that needs internet access. Graduating seniors leave commencement with not only a diploma but also a laptop. In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we strive to ensure that all of our learners, both scholars and educators, to be challenged with academically and intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their efforts and provide them opportunities to demonstrate their best work.BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURESThe Cleveland Board of Education adopted the Building Brighter Futures (BBF) initiative on December 9, 2025. Building Brighter Futures is a strategic and data-driven plan shaped by more than a year of community engagement, information analysis, and thoughtful deliberation. The goal of this plan is to strengthen enrollment and ensure scholars attend a newer school building that offers more educational opportunities, including algebra in the eighth grade, more sports and extracurricular activities, and college credits and college and career pathways in high school. BBF is ensuring academic excellence so every CMSD scholar can thrive.THE OPPORTUNITY:The Dean of Engagement leads and supports school-wide efforts to build and maintain a warm, positive, achievement-oriented school culture. In addition to students, the Dean of Engagement works closely with school leaders, staff members, students and parents to establish a pleasant and supportive school environment designed to support student growth.The individual helps teachers develop strong, mutually respectful relationships with students and families.The Dean of Engagement promotes student attendance, behavior and academic success through incentives and other celebrations. School leaders may ask the individual to focus on a particular group of students or a portfolio of staff members.ResponsibilitiesFocusing on school culture and valuesThe commitment to play a key team role to transform schools into active learning centers, with a focus on student engagement, dramatic academic progress, and resultsPlan and facilitate staff meetings/trainings, including sessions focused on classroom management, parent involvement and school cultureSupports strong, collaborative student and teacher behaviors and actions as necessaryEnsure that students and staff understand and internalize the school’s mission and goalsOrganize and lead school-wide culture-building activitiesPassionate belief in the capacity of all children to learn and succeed and a sense of urgency about making that real for CMSD studentsSupport the instructional and intervention coaching as it relates to SELInstructional leadership, including knowledge of concrete methods for successfully raising student achievement as it relates to social emotional learningCollaborates with teachers who need support with student engagement in the classroomCollaborates with staff members to successfully establish and reinforce expectations/routinesLead the relentless pursuit of student achievement by improving culture, climate, relationships and atmosphere as it relates to social emotional learning.Partner with teachers to investigate and test interventions for struggling students (ex. individual goal-setting meetings, daily or weekly check-ins, daily or weekly parent phone calls/meetings, special incentive systems, etc.)Work closely with the PCIA as a thought partner to review the data of students who are in the Planning Center and support to transition them back to class effectivelyOrganizing parent engagement activitiesWork effectively with students and families, and outside partnersSupport teachers to ensure that they make regular contact with parentsAttend all school family events including weeknights and weekends as part of the regular job responsibilitiesQualificationsBachelor’s degree - preferredAt least three years of teaching experience or other work in an environment with urban youthExperience working effectively with urban schools, students and families, and outside partnersPersonal sense of accountability around student academic progress, as measured by national and state benchmarksStrong behavior management and discipline skillsExcellent communication skills, especially with students and parentsExtremely high standards for student achievementRelentless dedication to doing “whatever it takes”Resilience and the ability to manage the details, deadlines and rigorous project evaluation required to meet Transformational goalsCollaborative, team playerExperience with project-based learning, or other 21st century skills-based academic programsFirm grasp of state and district learning standardsEducationTo ApplyPlease submit your resume and application using Workday, our online human capital management system. Please note that an offer of employment will be subject to the successful completion of an FBI/BCI background check and drug screen.EEO StatementWe believe that equity and inclusion at CMSD is an essential call to action, a catalyst to ensure value and appreciation among all our employees, so we may be fair and welcoming now and in the future. CMSD provides equal opportunities for employment, retention and advancement of all personnel by administering all terms and conditions of employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex, disability or genetic information, age, citizenship status, military status, sexual orientation or expression, socio-economic status, title, other dimensions of identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.The District’s Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Discriminatory Harassment, and Sexual Harassment and the District’s Title IX grievance procedures, including information on how to report or file a complaint of discrimination, how to report or file a formal complaint of sexual harassment, and how the District will respond, may be accessed on the District’s Civil Rights Notices webpage, available at ClevelandMetroSchools.org/domain/105. The District’s Title IX Coordinator / Director of Equal Employment Opportunity may be reached at:1111 Superior Avenue East, Suite 1800Cleveland, Ohio 44114(216)[e-mail]