PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Campus Leadership and Instruction
- Serve as principal of the campus: set the instructional vision, build the master schedule, and hold staff to clear, explicit expectations.
- Observe classrooms regularly, deliver actionable coaching, and evaluate teacher performance against the adopted appraisal system.
- Lead data meetings on student progress, credit accumulation and graduation tracking, and adjust instruction and scheduling when students are not moving.
- Build a campus culture where students stay enrolled, attend, and finish - including attendance follow-up, advisory structures, and re-engagement of students who stop coming.
- Manage daily campus operations: arrival and dismissal, student supervision, records, front office, and campus communications.
- Lead family and student engagement, handle concerns and complaints at the campus level, and escalate to the board only what board policy requires.
B. Academic Performance and State Accountability
- Own academic results against Texas A–F accountability, the alternative education accountability (AEA) provisions applicable to registered dropout recovery schools, and federal ESSA identification.
- Analyze STAAR, end-of-course, TELPAS and graduation data throughout the year; set targets and intervene early when results trail the plan.
- Oversee assessment administration and test security - designating and supervising the district and campus testing coordinators, completing required training and oaths, and investigating any irregularity.
- Ensure graduation plan accuracy under the Foundation High School Program, including endorsements, individual graduation committees, and credit recovery that holds up to audit.
- Develop and execute the campus improvement plan and any corrective action plan required by the state.
- Ensure services for students receiving special education, Section 504 supports and emergent bilingual services meet federal and state requirements, including Child Find, ARD and LPAC processes and restraint and discipline reporting.
C. Staffing and Talent
- Recruit, hire, train and evaluate campus staff; set explicit expectations and address performance directly and promptly.
- As campuses are added, hire and supervise principals, communicate expectations for every aspect of the principal role, and hold them accountable for campus results.
- Develop internal candidates and build a leadership bench ahead of growth rather than after it.
- Ensure credential records, criminal history reviews and do-not-hire registry checks are complete and audit-ready before any employee’s first day.
- Partner with human resources on performance management, investigations, accommodations and separations.
D. Enrollment, Attendance and Student Accounting
- Meet or exceed enrollment, attendance, retention, credit-earning and graduation goals.
- Ensure attendance accounting follows the TEA Student Attendance Accounting Handbook, that average daily attendance is reported accurately, and that any Optional Flexible School Day Program operates within TEC §29.0822 and its approved terms.
- Own the accuracy and timeliness of TSDS / PEIMS submissions - enrollment, attendance, leaver and graduation coding - and resolve data quality flags before they become findings.
- Direct student recruitment and re-engagement efforts that bring students back to school and keep them on a path to a diploma.
- Ensure admission, lottery, withdrawal and residency practices follow the charter and TEC Ch. 12.
E. Finance, Budget and Procurement
- Recommend the annual budget to the governing board, then manage it and account for how it is spent.
- Monitor Foundation School Program revenue against enrollment and attendance, and flag variances early.
- Meet financial accountability expectations, including the annual independent audit under TEC §44.008 and the Charter FIRST financial rating.
- Administer federal and state grant programs in line with the Uniform Grant Guidance and TEA rules, including allowable cost, time-and-effort and procurement requirements.
- Apply Texas procurement law to purchasing and contracts, and identify savings without weakening the student program.
F. Safety, Facilities and Operations
- Meet Texas school safety requirements - the multihazard emergency operations plan filed with the Texas School Safety Center, the campus safety and security committee, required drills, intruder detection audits, and armed security officer coverage under TEC §37.0814.
- Administer student discipline under TEC Ch. 37 and the student code of conduct in a way that keeps students connected to school wherever possible.
- Confirm facilities meet expectations for safety, security, cleanliness and condition, and partner with facilities staff on maintenance, capital projects and campus openings.
- Oversee health and immunization compliance, food service, transportation arrangements and technology readiness.
- Serve as incident commander for campus emergencies and follow established media and crisis communication procedures.
G. Charter Governance and Regulatory Compliance
- Serve as the charter’s designated senior administrator and primary point of contact with TEA.
- Prepare the governing board to govern well: build agendas with the board chair, deliver complete and timely board packets, present academic and financial performance, and carry out board decisions.
- Administer Texas Open Meetings Act (Gov’t Code Ch. 551) and Public Information Act (Gov’t Code Ch. 552) requirements for the governing body, including posting, recordkeeping and response timelines.
- Complete and certify the annual governance reporting submission in TEAL for all board members and charter officers, retain signed paper copies in Texas as required by 19 TAC §100.1203(a)(3), and produce them to TEA within three business days on request.
- Maintain compliance with conflict of interest, nepotism and related-party requirements (TEC §12.1054, Gov’t Code Ch. 573, Local Gov’t Code Ch. 171 and 176) and with officer compensation disclosure under 19 TAC §100.1007(c).
- Ensure every charter officer and board member completes required initial and continuing education on schedule, and track completion for the charter.
- Report educator misconduct to the State Board for Educator Certification as required by TEC §22.087 and §21.006.
- Prepare charter amendment requests - including new campus, expansion and grade-level amendments - and lead TEA site visits, monitoring reviews and corrective action responses.
H. Community and Stakeholder Relations
- Represent the school with TEA, the Education Service Center, local districts, municipalities, workforce partners and community organizations.
- Build relationships that open doors for students - employers, community colleges, workforce boards and social service partners.
- Keep executive leadership informed of achievements and vulnerabilities, and lead official school tours and stakeholder visits.
- Provide the governing board with quarterly operational and academic performance updates.
- Support Texas growth: site identification, community engagement, authorizer conversations and the launch of new campuses.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education and Experience
- Master’s degree in Education, Educational Leadership or Administration, Business, Public Administration or a related field from an accredited college or university. A bachelor’s degree with exceptional, directly relevant experience will be considered.
- Minimum of five years of progressive leadership experience, including at least three years as a principal, assistant principal or equivalent school-level leader.
- Demonstrated results improving academic outcomes, enrollment and operational performance in public schools - charter, district or alternative education.
- Willingness and ability to lead a single campus hands-on at launch and to scale into multi-campus oversight as the region grows.
- Working knowledge of Texas school finance, accountability, student data reporting and charter governance, or a demonstrated record of mastering an unfamiliar state’s system quickly.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Prior service as a principal, chief of schools, assistant superintendent, superintendent or charter officer in Texas.
- Experience with dropout recovery, credit recovery or alternative education models and the AEA accountability provisions.
- Texas Principal or Superintendent certificate issued by TEA.
- Experience opening a new campus - charter amendments, facility readiness, staffing and enrollment ramp.
- Experience working within a management services relationship between a charter governing board and a school management organization.
- Conversational Spanish preferred.
COMPETENCIES
- Holds the line on results - Monitors every aspect of school management, operation and performance; holds staff and leaders strictly accountable; acts quickly and appropriately when expected progress is not made.
- Works at both altitudes - Comfortable running a hallway on Monday and presenting to a governing board on Tuesday, without letting either slip.
- Compliance instinct - Treats state and federal requirements as design constraints rather than afterthoughts, and builds systems that stay audit-ready.
- Board partnership - Gives a governing board what it needs to govern - clear information, honest assessment and no surprises.
- Student-centered judgment - Starts from what students are capable of, and makes decisions that keep them enrolled, progressing and on track to graduate.
- Clear communication - Writes and speaks plainly with staff, families, boards, districts and state officials.
- Composure under pressure - Manages competing priorities, emergencies and scrutiny without losing focus on the work.