Job Title:   Hispanic School Leader Fellows  

Reports To:   Director of School Leadership  

Salary:   $90K 

ABOUT US 

Gestalt Community Schools is a system of K-12 college-preparatory charter schools in targeted Tennessee communities. We show our scholars that being great requires great effort, and we empower them to be?college-ready, career-ready, and community-ready. Core to our culture is our Gestalt Commitments to all stakeholders. Those commitments are embodied in our actions to love radically, invest deeply, advocate boldly, and act purposefully. Our network services over 2,600 families in Memphis with an eye for expansion to other southern regions. To learn more about Gestalt Community Schools, please visit our site at https://gestaltcs.org/ . 

POSITION OVERVIEW 

Gestalt knows that representation matters for our children. In Memphis, over 20% of school-aged children are Hispanic, with far less representation in the schools that serve them. Currently, Gestalt Community Schools serve 2,600 students, of which 35% are Hispanic. However, the workforce does not have aligned representation. Our workforce is 7% Hispanic. In response, Gestalt is launching two distinct programs, the Hispanic Teaching Fellows and the Hispanic School Leaders Fellows. The first program is the Hispanic School Leaders Fellows. Gestalt will select two school fellows who will complete an 18-month residency that prepares rising Hispanic school leaders to become successors or new school principals within the Gestalt network. The two inaugural fellows will experience on-the-job learning, professional development, mentorship, and coaching opportunities to prepare them to create and lead excellent schools.  

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Act as a member of the leadership team and gradually transition to school leadership responsibilities.  
• Lead instructional focus and excellence through instructional coaching.  
• Actively develop and model personal school leadership skills and competencies.  
• Model and support the implementation of the school’s vision and goals. 
• Contribute to school-wide planning and prioritize time to accomplish goals.  
• Model strong staff and student culture and manage school-wide behavioral systems.  
• Collaborate with the school principal to hire and retain diverse, highly effective staff. 
• Communicate and engage all stakeholders on school matters. 

SKILLS 

Visionary Leadership- Leaders develop and enact a shared vision of instructional excellence and scholarly success.? 

• Sets a compelling vision and laser-focused plan for college-ready scholar achievement and makes progress toward goals.? 
• Works with diverse stakeholders to achieve organizational goals.? 
• Leads with integrity and inspiration and treats all scholars, teachers, and staff fairly and equitably. 

Instructional Leadership- Leaders use the levers of classroom observation, data-driven instruction, and professional development to drive academic excellence. 

• Conducts high-quality classroom observations and provides rigorous and timely feedback  
• Understands and uses standards, pedagogical knowledge, assessments, and data to guide instruction. 
• Develops and facilitates high-quality professional development that addresses teacher development needs. 
• Implements a coherent curriculum, instruction, and assessment system that promotes scholars’ academic success and well-being. 

Cultural Leadership- Leaders cultivate conditions where respectful relationships, trust, collaboration, and equity pervade. 

• Ensures the entire school community urgently addresses inequity with a vigorous college-ready purpose. 
• Develops and maintains a culture that drives college readiness, college going, and college persistence. 
• Ensures a vibrant learning culture among staff characterized by a growth mindset, collaboration, and trust.  
• Inspires a safe, caring, and supportive school environment that maximizes instructional time, safety, and the whole child's development. 

Talent Leadership- Leaders identify, develop, and retain great talent and build a healthy school culture for staff to thrive. 

• Identifies, hires, and promotes talent to build a highly effective team. 
• Develops talent through effective people and change management efforts. 
• Retains highly effective team members through a supportive staff environment. 

Systems Leadership- Leaders are highly organized, meet deadlines, and allocate and manage resources to drive scholar success. 

• Is adept at planning, organizing, and completing important projects on time and with quality.  
• Strategically and ethically manages resources, assigning and scheduling staff to roles and responsibilities that optimize their capacity to address scholar learning needs. 
• Prioritizes the most important leadership work based on the school’s vision, mission, and goals. 

Transformational Leadership- Effective leaders have the self- and social awareness to take effective action and positively motivate others. 

• Self-Awareness: Responsive to others based upon self-awareness and a growth mindset.   
• Self-Management: Motivates others by modeling trust, integrity, ownership, and agency. 
• Social Awareness: Connects with others to increase their confidence and commitment. 
• Relationship Management: Influences and inspires others to act. 

COMPETENCIES  

• Student Focus:?Builds strong relationships and holds high expectations for scholars, holds scholars’ best interests in mind, keeps own commitments to scholars, makes sure others do the same, and builds a culture of respect for all scholars. 
• Results Driven:??Communicates that delivering excellent outcomes, in scholar experience and academics, is a guiding priority, sets challenging goals for self and others, takes initiative to go above and beyond to achieve results, follows through on commitments, demonstrates resilience and flexibility.? 
• Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Demonstrates strong judgment and data-based, timely decision-making; gathers information from multiple sources; sorts out complexity, anticipates problems values, and encourages creative and innovative ideas; thinks expansively, and avoids either/or thinking. 
• Self-Awareness:?Demonstrates understanding of own identity, privilege, and power; understands strengths and weaknesses and the impact on others’ perceptions; seeks feedback and self-development; proactively asks for and willingly accepts assistance from others in a variety of roles. 
• Equitable Practices:?Believes that equity is something that can constantly drive one’s approach, rather than a lens that can be used sometimes, defines and communicates beliefs around racial and educational equity and leans into conversations about this, creates an inclusive environment that promotes a genuine sense of belonging for school community members across lines of difference. 
• Impact and Influence:?Is as clear on the purpose of actions as action themselves; effectively and reliably communicates “the why” to all stakeholders; adapts leadership style to influence others; takes the lead when there’s a need; demonstrates growth mindset and learns from mistakes when they inevitably happen. 
• Empowering Others:?Actively listens to other school community members; seeks to understand others’ views and needs; intentionally builds trust within and across teams of people to promote collaboration and opportunities for shared ownership; consistently demonstrates respect and appreciation for others by empathizing, valuing their time and contributions, and being available and responsive to their needs. 

It is the policy of Gestalt Community Schools to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. 

QUALIFICATIONS 

• Must have a current teaching certification with a minimum of five years of teaching experience  
• At least two years of school leadership experience as a dean, assistant principal, lead teacher, and instructional coach 
• Fluency in Spanish and English 
• Possesses a deep commitment to both racial and educational equity 
• Demonstrated experience and ability to drive student academic results 
• Possesses administration certification or is eligible to obtain licensure 
• Master’s degree preferred  
• Must be able to relocate to Memphis