Executive Director - The Helix School (CA)

Strategenius; San Rafael (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The Helix School in San Rafael, California, seeks an empathetic and strategic Executive Director to lead an interdisciplinary team serving autistic and neurodivergent learners from kindergarten through age 22.

The new leader will strengthen credential continuity, build a robust leadership bench, and expand program quality while safeguarding the school's mission and relationships with families, districts, and funders.

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex organizations and programs.
• Track record of fundraising and building sustainable funding.
• Ability to develop systems, ensure accountability, and manage change.

Responsibilities

• Maintain roster of qualified staff and report coverage to the Board annually.
• Ensure credential coverage across the school and obtain written confirmations as needed.
• Build credential capacity through staff development and credentialing pathways for internal candidates.
• Serve as primary liaison with district funding partners, CDE NPS Unit, Cognia, and other authorities.
• Lead strategic planning, budgeting, and fundraising to strengthen financial sustainability.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Fundraising

Board relations

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Master's degree in education

Administrative credential

Job description

The Helix School, a Cognia-accredited nonpublic school (NPS) in San Rafael, California, serving autistic and neurodivergent learners from kindergarten through age 22, seeks an empathetic, decisive, and deeply relational operational leader to serve as its next Executive Director.

Founded in 2014, Helix has grown from two students to a close-knit community of approximately 65, distinguished by an interdisciplinary model in which clinical staff and teaching faculty work as a single integrated team around every student. For many families, Helix is the place where a child is finally seen, understood, and given room to thrive — a distinction that shapes the trust and loyalty at the heart of the Helix community.

Having completed its first decade of rapid growth, Helix is now focused on building the organizational systems, staffing depth, and financial discipline that will let its distinctive clinical academic model reach more students without losing what makes it exceptional. The Board recently engaged an Interim Executive Director for the 2026-2027 school year, allowing time for a deliberate, thorough search for the leader who will guide Helix through this next chapter.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

In partnership with the Board of Directors and Helix’s Leadership Team, the incoming Executive Director will focus on the following priorities in the first years of the role:

• Deepen and protect the interdisciplinary model. Helix’s core differentiator — clinical and teaching staff functioning as one coordinated team around each student — has thrived through strong individual relationships. The Executive Director will work to document and systematize that coordination so program quality holds steady as the School grows, rather than depending on any single team or pairing.
• Build the leadership bench. Recruit, develop, and retain a seasoned senior team, beginning with academic leadership capable of running day-to-day academic and clinical operations.
• Secure credential continuity. Helix’s NPS certification and district master contracts depend on specific state-required credentials, and the School’s certification has historically rested on a single credential holder. The Executive Director will build durable, redundant coverage and maintain compliance across the School’s roughly twenty district funding relationships.
• Strengthen financial sustainability. Fundraising is Helix’s second-largest source of revenue after district funding/tuition, but the School’s philanthropic infrastructure remains early-stage. Partnering with the Director of Finance, the Finance Committee, and the Board, the Executive Director will bring greater discipline to operations and build a more diversified, resilient revenue base.
• Invest in faculty and staff development and retention. Beyond the senior leadership team, Helix’s broader faculty and staff are the foundation of the School’s program and culture. The Executive Director will prioritize professional development, recognition, and a sense of shared investment across the staff, strengthening retention and continuity for the students and families who depend on consistent relationships.
• Build a culture of philanthropy. Helix’s fundraising has depended heavily on a small number of individuals. The Executive Director will help cultivate a wider base of engaged donors and a more active Board role in fundraising, building a sustainable philanthropic culture that extends beyond any single relationship.
• Build the School’s external reputation. Helix’s model is distinctive, but the School is not yet as widely known, regionally or nationally, as its outcomes would merit. The Executive Director will establish Helix as a visible, trusted institution and a recognized contributor to the national conversation on autism education.

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE & CREDENTIAL CONTINUITY

The Executive Director is responsible for holding and maintaining appropriate credentials and coverage as follows:

The NPS Administrator Qualification (required of the Executive Director personally).

The Executive Director must satisfy the requirements for an administrator of a California nonpublic school under Education Code §56366.1(e)(5). This standard may be met through several pathways, including a master’s degree in education from an accredited institution; an administrative credential paired with at least two years of experience working with students with disabilities; or licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Educational Psychologist, or Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Written confirmation from the California Department of Education NPS Unit that the candidate meets this standard is a condition of employment and must be obtained before the start date.

The California Administrative Services Credential (preferred, separate and distinct from the standard above).

Issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, this credential is not referenced in the master contracts and does not satisfy either of the other two standards.

Ongoing responsibilities.

• Maintain a current roster of qualifying staff and report coverage to the Board annually, and whenever a covered individual’s status changes
• Take no personnel action affecting the School’s credential coverage until replacement coverage among qualified special education staff is confirmed in writing
• Obtain and retain written confirmation from the CDE NPS Unit as to which credentials qualify staff to maintain the School’s required coverage, maintaining that documentation as part of the School’s compliance record
• Build credential capacity into staff development, including support for qualifying coursework and credentialing pathways for internal candidates
• Serve as the School’s primary point of accountability with district funding partners,
• the California Department of Education, and Cognia, and maintain compliance with NPS certification requirements, district contracts, and IEP obligations

QUALITIES AND ATTRIBUTES

The Helix School seeks a decisive, principled administrator who also brings genuine heart to the work. This is someone who understands that making difficult decisions about people, resources, and priorities is an act of care in a mission-driven environment, not a contradiction of it. The right candidate brings a record of building systems, establishing accountability, and guiding staff through change with both clarity and compassion. Someone who listens deeply before acting, welcomes feedback as readily as they give it, and embodies a servant leadership mentality.

Equally important is a substantive connection to the population Helix serves. This is not a role for someone who appreciates autism and neurodivergence from a distance. The right candidate is able to engage meaningfully in clinical conversations, build real credibility with teachers and therapists, and meet families where they are. Parents consistently described the importance of someone who understands and empathizes with the weight of trauma many families carry when they arrive at Helix, often after difficult prior school experiences. This understanding, more than any specific credential, is what makes trust possible. Parents and caregivers in the Helix community are advocates by necessity; they arrive with high expectations and often hard-won skepticism, and the Executive Director must earn their trust and communicate with transparency.

Strong financial acumen and demonstrated fundraising ability are essential, not secondary, to success in this role — the Board regards both as among the most critical qualities in its next Executive Director. Beyond these skills, the Board is looking for someone who can be seen and known throughout the Helix community: present in classrooms and clinical team meetings, recognized by name by students and families, and trusted by every constituency to be the face of the School’s next chapter. Candidates should be natural storytellers and relationship-builders whose conviction moves people to invest in the Helix mission.