Founding School Principal (IB) | DCS

DCS seeks a founding school leader to launch a globally minded inquirydriven IB school that reflects the brilliance diversity and aspirations of the Danbury community.

About Elevate Charter Schools

Elevate Charter Schools (ECS) is a growing charter management organization committed to providing exceptional educational opportunities for students in historically underserved communities. We believe in the power of education to transform lives and are dedicated to developing students academic potential character and socialemotional growth. Our mission is to deliver a rigorous personalized and holistic education that equips every child with the knowledge skills and values needed to thrive in school and beyond.

ECS currently operates Booker T. Washington Academy (BTWA) Elementary and Middle Schools in New Haven CT and is expanding its reach through new schools and strategic partnerships across the state. Our team is united by a shared commitment to equity inclusion and excellence and we are proud to partner with communities to build schools where every child is known valued and supported.

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About Danbury International Academy Charter School

Danbury International Academy Charter School (DCS) is a diverse inclusive globally minded public charter school launching in one of Connecticuts most culturally rich cities. Grounded in the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework DCS nurtures curious compassionate and confident learners prepared to thrive in an interconnected world.

Students engage in inquirydriven conceptbased learning that builds strong academic foundations alongside cultural awareness multilingual communication and realworld problemsolving. DCS educators honor students identities celebrate their cultures and languages and ensure every learner is seen valued and supported. Through strong partnerships with families local organizations and community leaders DCS creates meaningful learning experiences that connect students to both their Danbury roots and the wider world.

As a founding school DCS is building a community where equity belonging and global citizenship are lived every day. The school will launch with the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and is strategically positioned for future expansion into the Diploma Programme (DP) creating a full IB continuum for Danbury students.

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About the Opportunity

DCS seeks a missiondriven globally minded Founding Principal to lead the launch of an IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) school and lay the foundation for future DP expansion. This leader will shape the schools academic vision build a strong adult culture and ensure that inquiry global citizenship and wholechild development are embedded from day one.

The Founding Principal will partner closely with ECS executive leadership to design systems structures and routines that translate vision into consistent highquality execution. This role requires a leader who thrives in dynamic environments brings deep instructional and cultural leadership and is energized by the opportunity to build a worldclass IB school in a diverse multilingual community.

This is a rare opportunity to design and lead a school that reflects the strengths hopes and cultural richness of Danbury families and to build a learning community where students develop the curiosity confidence and global awareness needed to lead in an interconnected world.

Key Responsibilities of the Role

As a Founding IB School Principal at DCS you will be primarily responsible for:

Visionary Leadership & School Culture

• Establish and communicate a clear ambitious vision aligned to IB philosophy global citizenship and ECS values.

• Build a joyful safe inclusive school culture grounded in inquiry belonging and high expectations for all students.

• Embed the IB Learner Profile global contexts and wholechild development into daily routines rituals and instructional practices.

• Model adaptability clarity and a solutionsoriented mindset in a dynamic founding environment.

Instructional Leadership & IB Alignment

• Serve as the schools instructional anchor ensuring rigorous inquirydriven conceptbased teaching across all classrooms.

• Partner with the Founding IB Coordinator to ensure fidelity to IB MYP standards interdisciplinary learning structures and longterm DP readiness.

• Lead curriculum development assessment systems and professional learning aligned to IB frameworks and state standards.

• Use data to monitor student learning strengthen instructional practice and support multilingual learners and students from historically underserved backgrounds.

• Build teacher capacity in inquiry cycles interdisciplinary planning performancebased assessment and culturally responsive pedagogy.

People Leadership & Adult Culture

• Recruit hire and develop a highperforming founding team committed to equity global citizenship and inquirydriven learning.

• Build a collaborative reflective highexpectations adult culture where feedback is embraced and professional growth is continuous.

• Coach teachers and leaders through observations feedback cycles and datadriven reflection to ensure consistent highquality instruction.

• Develop emerging leaders and build a sustainable leadership pipeline for longterm school success.

Operational Leadership & Systems Design

• Design and implement systems routines and structures that maximize instructional time ensure student safety and support a smooth predictable school experience.

• Partner with ECS executive leaders to ensure operational excellence compliance and alignment with networkwide frameworks and strategic priorities.

• Oversee scheduling resource allocation staffing and budget stewardship ensuring systems are efficient equitable and sustainable.

• Use key performance indicators to assess school effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.

Community Engagement & Partnerships

• Serve as the public face of DCS building deep trust with families community leaders cultural organizations and local partners.

• Lead family engagement initiatives that build understanding of the IB model inquirydriven learning and the schools global citizenship mission.

• Build partnerships that expand learning opportunities and connect students to both their local community and the wider world.

• Represent DCS and ECS with professionalism humility and cultural responsiveness.

Equity Inclusion & Belonging

• Ensure every student is known valued and supported through inclusive practices and strong student support systems.

• Lead and model culturally responsive instruction that honors students identities languages and lived experiences.

• Build systems that promote student voice agency leadership and authentic engagement in learning.

• Ensure equity and belonging are embedded across all aspects of school culture instruction and decisionmaking.

Qualifications of the Ideal Candidate

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities attributes and experiences:

Required

• 57 years of educational leadership experience with a strong track record of student achievement and school improvement.

• Demonstrated ability to lead inquirybased conceptdriven globally minded instruction.

• Familiarity with IB (MYP or DP) or the ability to rapidly learn and lead within the IB philosophy.

• Experience supporting multilingual learners and culturally diverse communities.

• Experience in a founding or startup school environment or demonstrated capacity to build systems from the ground up.

• 3 years of successful teaching experience with evidence of strong student outcomes.

• Strong understanding of curriculum design assessment systems and professional learning.

• CT 092 Certification (or equivalent).

• Masters degree in Education Educational Leadership or related field.

Preferred

• Experience in an IB school or with IB programme design (MYP or DP).

• Experience designing inquirydriven interdisciplinary or conceptbased instructional systems.

• Experience in a charter school or similar network environment.

• Bilingual or multilingual skills (Spanish highly preferred)

ECS/DCS Leadership Dispositions

MissionDriven & Globally Minded:

• Deep commitment to equity global citizenship multilingualism and wholechild development with a belief in the power of inquirydriven culturally responsive education.

GrowthOriented & Adaptive:

• Reflective humble and able to navigate ambiguity adapt to evolving needs and lead with clarity in a founding environment.

PeopleCentered & DevelopmentOriented:

• Skilled at building inspiring and developing highperforming teams; committed to coaching adults in inquirydriven conceptbased practice.

Instructionally Anchored & InquiryDriven:

• Strong understanding of rigorous inquirybased conceptdriven instruction and the ability to lead interdisciplinary learning and datadriven improvement.

VisionInspired SystemsMinded & ExecutionDisciplined:

• Balances innovation and longterm vision with disciplined implementation operational rigor and systems thinking.

Communicative TrustBuilding & PartnershipDriven:

• Builds trust with families staff and community as the face of DCS; invested in deep organizational partnership and executive collaboration.

Compensation and Benefits

At ECS we are committed to ensuring fair compensation. Our salaries are set through a lens of equity and based on an individuals skills education and years of experience relevant to the role.

The salary range for the Founding IB School Principal is $120000 to $150000 commensurate with experience and reflective of the responsibilities and expertise needed to succeed in this position.

In addition to competitive compensation we offer a range of comprehensive benefits including no cost insurance plans for all full-time employees.

ECS and DCS are Equal Opportunity Employers

Elevate Charter Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Elevate is a nonprofit charter management organization serving public charter schools in Connecticuts urban communities. Our scholars are 99% Black and Brown and Elevate deeply values inclusion representation and diversity across our staff.

Elevate Charter Schools is committed to fostering a diverse inclusive and equitable environment for all stakeholders. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to apply especially those who share a similar background to the communities we serve.

If you have questions about the application process experience any challenges or need support completing your application please reach out to our talent team at We are committed to ensuring an accessible and welcoming experience for all candidates.

Required Experience:

Staff IC