About the Opportunity

Democracy Prep's mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars for success in the college of their choice and a life of active citizenship. In order to provide the best possible education for our scholars, we need effective leaders, both in our current regions and as our network continues to expand. Leader U is a highly-selective internal leadership development program that prepares individuals for the opportunity to be a principal or assistant principal at Democracy Prep. Leader U has both one- and two-year leadership pathways designed to meet and cultivate talent in order to develop the best leaders for current, new, and turnaround Democracy Prep schools all across our regions, including Baton Rouge, Camden, Las Vegas, New York City, and San Antonio.

Who We're Looking For

Our ideal leadership candidate has a deep understanding of inequity within our country, its historical roots, and has a passion and skill set that empowers them to affect change for our scholars' and nation's future. While we expect our leaders to have awesome individual capabilities, we also expect them to be humble and wise enough to know that their impact is compounded when they seek out and leverage their partnerships with the families and educators that exist alongside them. Our leaders are a diverse team of professionals who are committed to our mission of college success and authentic civic engagement for our scholars. At Democracy Prep everyone receives extensive feedback; therefore, a strong candidate consistently shows an eagerness to improve, takes ownership of their own development, and demonstrates a self-awareness around personal strengths and areas of growth. Ideal candidates are also experienced educators with a track record of success and a passion for making real change in education.

Overview of the Leader U Program

Leader U Residency - Two Year Track

The two-year Leader U track provides an extended runway to prepare for school leadership. The Residency is a two-year program with an intensive focus on teaching and instructional coaching. The Residency includes a reduced teaching load allowing for dedicated time focused on leadership growth, teacher coaching, and initiative planning and execution. Residents also participate in bi-weekly content-based professional development and school observations throughout the year. After the successful completion of an integrated year of teaching and leadership practice, Residents will progress onto their Fellowship year.

Leader U Fellowship - One Year Track

The Fellowship is a one-year intensive leadership preparation program for aspiring principals and assistant principals. The program is guided by the Fellow's vision and plan for launching, taking over, or turning around their ideal Democracy Prep school. To build out this vision, Fellows participate in a leadership fellowship at an established Democracy Prep school. In addition to the fellowship placement, Fellows participate in an intensive two-week summer institute, receive extensive yearlong professional development by experienced, successful Democracy Prep leaders, and participate in a series of Excellent School Visits (ESV), virtually and in-person, led by the Democracy Prep Talent Development team. The ESVs provide an opportunity for emerging leaders to observe highly successful schools, both internally and externally, in action and learn from their best practices.

Required Core Competencies

• Express a deep understanding of inequity in our country's past and present, and models anti-racist thinking and action that addresses inequity at the community and school level.
• Engage civically on a personal level to affect change in their school communities and personal communities.
• Embody an awareness of, and attention to, all forms of bias and how they can manifest in a workplace or school.
• Demonstrated willingness and track record of consistently strong work that acts in the best interest of scholars and teammates.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, inspire, and manage a diverse staff of teachers and support staff.
• Unmistakable ability to engage students in the classroom and sustain a positive, structured school culture with a high academic rigor bar.
• Demonstrated self-awareness with an ability to reflect on constructive feedback and effectively implement feedback.
• Communicate effectively and foster strong relationships with students, families, colleagues, and the community.
• Data to support significant student growth and achievement outcomes from your teaching experience.
• Demonstrated leadership experience as a teacher (e.g. Grade Level Chair, Coordinator, Summer School Leader, etc.).
• B.S. or B.A. undergraduate degree required. Please note, if you are applying for Leader U in Camden, NJ (and/or) Las Vegas, NV, you must be enrolled in a leadership certification program in order to enter into the program
• Master's degree in education preferred.
• Minimum of four years teaching experience preferred.

Compensation

Democracy Prep staff members are provided with a competitive salary, full benefits, and a working environment that includes all the necessary technology and resources to succeed.

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Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.