SY 2026 - 2027 Dean of Scholars Pool Posting (Secondary)

Gestalt Community Schools; Memphis (TN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Gestalt Community Schools in Memphis, TN seeks a Dean of Scholars to lead school culture, student support, and teacher development, aligning with TN standards and ACT readiness.

The role emphasizes weekly reflection on culture data, coaching for 4+ years, collaboration with PBIS team, families, and staff, and designing Tier 2–3 supports to drive academic achievement.

Qualifications

• Tennessee teaching license or admin license required.
• Minimum 4+ years of exemplary teaching experience (levels 4-5).
• Experience in school leadership, charter school, or urban school environment preferred.
• Ability to increase engagement of scholars and staff.
• Ability to design and implement induction for teachers and/or scholars.
• Strong knowledge of TN standards, Common Core, and ACT readiness standards.
• Proficiency with student online curriculum and intervention tools.

Responsibilities

• Reflect weekly on culture data to guide staff development and PD needs.
• Collaborate with PBIS team and counselor to coach staff toward goals.
• Provide intensive coaching to struggling teachers and small groups.
• Plan and facilitate culture-focused PD aligned with the framework.
• Develop and implement Tier 2 and Tier 3 student support plans with families.
• Oversee onboarding for families and ensure policy collaboration.

Skills

Teaching

Leadership

Community engagement

Data-driven

Communication

Education

Tennessee Teaching License

Administration License

Tools

Student information systems

Online grade book

Intervention programs

Job description

Description

Gestalt Community Schools is a system of K--12 college--preparatory charter schools in targeted Tennessee communities. GCS schools provide strong academic outcomes for their scholars through initiatives including meaningful community involvement. GCS catalyzes community leadership to help revitalize the neighborhood as it operates its schools in that community. Instead of debating whether education impacts the community or vice versa, GCS believes that the most effective method to support student achievement is an integration of education and community (a true "gestalt").

Gestalt Community School Dean of Scholars has the following responsibilities:

• Reflect weekly on culture data (walkthrough data, removal data, etc.) to determine how teachers are progressing toward the goals, the subset of teachers that need skill-building, and overall staff development PD needs
• In collaboration with the PBIS Team and counselor, coach all staff toward the Week 4 goal.
• Intensive coaching of struggling teachers daily to proficiency.
• Intensively coach 1-3 teachers at a time as assigned.
• Plan/facilitate practice-based culture PD aligned with the Practice-based PD framework.
• Reflect weekly on culture data (removal, suspension, detention, etc.) to identify students who need Tier 2 support.
• In collaboration with the counselor, SST, families, and grade-level teams, create and implement Tier 2 and Tier 3 support plans.
• Maintain an overview tracker of all students on tier 2 and tier 3 plans … and maintain all Tier 2 and 3 intervention plans. Ensure the tracker and plans are available logged into Review 360 and/or PowerSchool.
• Design and oversee detention to ensure it is a purposeful space where scholars are skill-building, serving consequences, and preparing to return to class.
• Oversee a powerful onboarding process for all families that invests them in school policy/practice and sets the tone for authentic collaboration.
• Reflect weekly on culture data (attendance, uniform, homework, etc.) to identify families that aren’t meeting policy expectations and partner with them to ensure success.
• Proactively partner with families of struggling students to learn about their children, share updates, and strategize on support.
• Oversee family events that foster collaboration, trust, and community; leverage PAC Lead and Network as critical partners in events.
• Monitor teacher call logs to ensure they are happening, the content of calls is substantive (positive and constructive updates are shared), and potential attrition families are flagged.
• Create airtight systems (attendance, homework, behavior policy, etc.) with clear goals and monitoring processes.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Tennesse Teaching License and/or Admin License (Required)
• 4+ years of exemplary teaching experience (levels 4-5);
• Experience in school leadership, charter school, and/or urban school environment preferred;
• Have a unique ability to increase both scholar and staff engagement;
• Ability to create and implement an effective teacher and/or scholar induction program;
• Strong knowledge of TN state standards, Common Core, and ACT College Readiness standards;
• Highly proficient in student online curriculum and intervention programs, teacher online grade book programs, and student database systems;