Dean of Culture

Great Oaks Legacy is seeking an experienced likeminded urban educator to join our leadership team as a Dean of Culture. The Dean of Culture is responsible for shaping and sustaining a school culture of discipline and warmth while ensuring that the students internalize the schools values and goals for academic excellence.

The Dean of Culture plays a critical role in driving academic achievement for students and building a rigorous college preparatory environment through collaboration with the School Director and other members of the leadership team. The Dean of Culture has a deep understanding of highleverage instructional strategies and will directly manage and coach teachers. The Dean of Culture serves as a culture leader of the building and will ensure systems are carried out with fidelity.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership

• Serve as a member of the leadership team and participate in weekly leadership professional development sessions instructional rounds cultural walks and leadership team meetings.
• Serve as a resource to teachers and fellows on issues of school culture classroom management discipline and relationships with students;
• Coaches teachers fellows and staff in holding all students to high and consistent behavioral expectations.
• Observe and provide targeted feedback to Specials teachers. May be assigned other teachers based on community need.
• Conduct schoolwide culture walkthroughs to observe collect evidence of an effective school culture and identify successes and areas for improvement driven by action plans.
• Plan and facilitate professional development workshops based on targeted needs of staff.
• Work with the Dean of Fellows to provide proactive support for developing fellows.
• Prepare lessons for and lead morning circle with or without the support of the School Leader
• Shares responsibilities across the leadership team to include planning and leading professional development culture and discipline in common spaces special events (trips evening events etc. managing teachers and other staff members and other such duties.

School Culture

• Collaborates with the School Director to develop implement and monitor a schoolwide culture plan that includes routines and expectations for students and staff in and outside of the classroom.
• Provides leadership to all staff and students in establishing a positive structured and achievementoriented environment.
• Track and monitor student discipline data to develop necessary schoolwide support.
• Create clear rewards and consequences for how well individual students and student cohorts meet conduct expectations aligned to the code of conduct.
• Use discipline data to plan and facilitate monthly professional development and support teacher teams with problems of practice.
• Creates inclusive environments that honor and support a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives.
• Models GOLCS core values and sets the standard for professional behavior.
• Is highly present and visible during school hours to ensure a positive school climate and environment.
• Structure a plan to ensure that every adult supervises all public spaces to ensure a safe orderly and civil environment.

Interventions

• Helps teachers develop and implement classroombased developmentally appropriate interventions for individual students and groups of students
• Provide interventions to students with personal and social development needs impeding positive behavioral outcomes
• Codevelop the Behavior Response to Intervention Program with the Director of School Culture
• Implement behavior management tools (Deans List) including overseeing staff training in behavior management policies techniques and strategies and ensuring the consistent deployment of such tools schoolwide;
• Document and track progress of behavior intervention programs
• Meet with students referred by teachers for behavioral problems communicates and meets with the students parents/guardians and ensures that consequences for infractions are fairly and consistently implemented throughout the school;
• Create and implement a detention system for homework completion and behavior;
• Respond to acute behavioral issues; coordinates inschool and outofschool suspensions ensuring regulatory compliance; and oversees school safety
• Create a proactive system to address the needs of challenging behaviors with Sage counselor
• Oversee student trips and academic/social events
• Codevelop calendar of academic/social events with leadership team
• Co develop student orientation events and grade level advisory groups
• Assists the student support process in collaboration with the Student Support Team (SST) to ensure students receive behavioral academic interventions.

Building Community and Family Engagement

• Communicates with parents and families to share progress as well as behavior and academic concerns.
• Creates a healthy highachieving environment where staff feel challenged supported and valued.
• Engage families in understanding grade level expectations setting student goals and providing specific supports to their child/ren.
• Support with the development and facilitation of the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)
• Act as a liaison with law enforcement agencies social services and other agencies

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Analyze data identify trends and develop action plans to address areas of concern.
• Run weekly DeansList reports to analyze the usage of the incentive and discipline system and develop support plans for teachers who need support.
• Support with the administration of the Panorama survey for students and analyze data to identify trends and develop action plans to address areas of concern.
• Implement and ensure the schoolwide use of information technology tools for reporting and documenting infractions and ensures that proper records are kept of communications with parents regarding discipline.
• Draft weekly and monthly reports for parents students and leadership team
• Prepare and submit mid year and end of the year HIB reports.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP & EVALUATION

Employee reports to the School Director and will receive ongoing leadership support and two formal evaluations per year.

QUALIFICATIONS

Desired Experience

• Bachelors Degree
• At least 3 years of teaching experience with a proven record of high achievement and strong classroom management and culture
• Experience teaching an educationally underresourced community
• Proven ability to proactively lead by example
• Demonstrated success in building relationships and trust with leaders teachers students parents and community
• Clear understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy and leadership

Desired Characteristics:

• Unwavering commitment to mission students families and community
• Firm believe in affirming the identity of students families and staff
• Passionate and committed to being a leader for racial justice and equity and leading in an antiracist school
• Passionate about datadriven decision making

EMPLOYMENT TERMS

The School Director is a(n) 12month employee with salary to be recommended by the Executive Director for approval by the board.

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is an equal opportunity employer.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Robust medical dental and vision insurance plans w/ comprehensive network coverage.
• Up to $5250 per year in tax exempt student loan and tuition reimbursement.
• Reimbursements for external professional development aligned to your role.
• Wellness reimbursements including gym memberships spa services and more.
• Online counseling services for staff and their dependents via toprated therapy app.
• Pretax state pension plan benefit w/ addl. options available via voluntary retirement plans.
• Pretax dependent care health and transit flexible spending plans available.
• Convenient health screening and telemedicine support via VitalCheck Wellness platform.

ABOUT GREAT OAKS LEGACY CHARTER SCHOOL

The Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is a highperforming innovative charter public school in Newark NJ serving students from PreK to 12th grade on campuses across the city of Newark. Our mission is to prepare Newarks students for success in college and beyond.

Our model is based on the following guiding principles that guide our work daily

1. Creating a community that is built upon genuine and meaningful relationships. GOLCS staff rate our commitment to students as the #1 reason they teach/work at our schools.
2. Being surgical in our approach to differentiation of instruction and support for all students and team members. Our students receive daily tutoring embedded into their school schedule facilitated by our AmeriCorps team members. Staff members receive individualized coaching and support in their roles.
3. Setting and exceeding high expectations for academic growth and character development for all students in preparation for success in college and beyond. Currently the historical college matriculation rate for GOLCS is 79 nearly twice the national average for economically underrepresented students.

DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION & ACCESSIBILITY

GOLCS is committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. Furthermore we believe that racial justice and equity is critical to our mission of preparing students for success in college and beyond. We strive to be an organization that is diverse equitable inclusive and elevates our student voices in preparing them for life and college.

GOLCS VACCINATION POLICY & COMMITMENT TO SAFETY

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is committed to ensuring healthy and safe working and learning environments and maintaining our educational commitment to GOLCS students and families with minimal disruption to instruction. With this in mind as of October 2021 Great Oaks Legacy requires vaccination against COVID19 for all employees. Candidates who would like to apply for a reasonable accommodation from this policy based on a qualifying disability or sincerely held religious belief should reach out to for more information.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT

Great Oaks Legacy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws.