IDEA Public Schools Careers

Role Mission: Dean of Culture works directly with scholars to ensure that they graduate from IDEA Public Schools and go to and through college by providing culturally responsive support. The Dean of Culture, in collaboration with school leadership, ensures a cohesive approach to school culture, empowers educators, and actively manages student interventions. With the school leadership team, this person will ensure that each student is appropriately supported so that they can make progress towards their individual goals. The leader also acts as a guardian of the institution’s values, ensuring that established systems are faithfully executed. This is a Title I Part A grant funded position and funding may be extended. A grant-funded position has no guarantee of ongoing and indefinite employment. All duties and responsibilities tied to this position are allowable and allocable to the grant.

What We Offer

Compensation: 

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $60,569 and $67,838, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on team performance and goal attainment.

Other Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive benefits plan, covering the majority of the employee premium for the base medical plan and subsidizing the majority of costs for a spouse/domestic partner and children. Some of the special benefits we offer at IDEA include:

• Paid Family Leave: Eligible staff may receive up to 8 weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, based on their tenure with the organization and caregiver designation.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Staff members may apply for up to​ 50% of tuition paid toward a qualifying degree program, up to $5,250 maximum per year subject to manager discretion and budget availability.
• Employer-Paid Mental/Behavioral Health: 5 face-to-face counseling sessions within a year, unlimited 24/7 telephonic counseling, and other work-life services available at no cost.

Other benefits include dental and vision plans, disability, life insurance, parenting benefits, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, referral bonuses, professional development, and an employer paid 403(b) retirement matching of up to 4% of your annual compensation. IDEA may offer a relocation allowance to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable.

What You Bring -- Competencies

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred 

• Experience: 2+ years of teaching experience required; school leadership experience strongly preferred 
• Expertise in the following highly preferred: 
  • Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports 
  • Crisis Prevention/Management
  • Restorative Justice Practices 
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices

What You’ll Do -- Accountabilities

Student Culture

• Collaborate with the Principal to formulate, implement, and oversee a comprehensive school-wide culture plan. This plan includes defining routines and expectations for both students and staff within and beyond the classroom. 
  • Provide visionary leadership to all members of the school community, including staff and students, in establishing a positive, structured, and achievement-oriented environment
  • Track and analyze student discipline data to identify areas requiring school-wide support and intervention.
  • Establish transparent rewards and consequences that align with the IDEA Way and reflect the degree to which individual students and student cohorts meet conduct expectations.
  • Utilize discipline data to design and facilitate monthly professional development sessions, offering support to teacher teams in addressing challenges and improving their instructional practices.
  • Foster inclusive environments that celebrate and accommodate diverse backgrounds and perspectives  
  • Maintain a high level of visibility during school hours to ensure a positive and welcoming school climate. 
  • Exemplify IDEA's core values and set a benchmark for professional conduct.
  • Develop a plan to ensure that all adults contribute to supervising public spaces, guaranteeing a safe, orderly, and respectful environment.
  • Assist teachers in devising and executing classroom-based, developmentally appropriate interventions for individual students and groups.
  • Offer targeted interventions for students with personal and social development needs that hinder positive behavioral outcomes.
  • Create and monitor social probation and other student contracts as a means to gauge and enhance student success.
  • Collaborate with the Student Support Process, School Counselor, Social Worker, and the Student Support Team (SST) to ensure that students receive the necessary behavioral and academic interventions.
  • Establish effective communication channels with parents and families to keep them informed of student progress, behavioral and academic concerns.
  • Cultivate a healthy and high-achieving environment where staff members feel intellectually challenged, supported, and appreciated.
  • Engage families in understanding grade-level expectations, setting student goals, and providing tailored support to their child(ren). 

Staff Culture

• Build and support a staff culture of accountability 
  • Create, maintain, and monitor school-wide behavior systems, ensuring all staff are faithfully implementing school-wide behavior systems 
  • Support Grade Level Administrations (other Leadership Team Members) and Grade Team Teacher Leaders in decision-making and implementation of positive behavioral interventions and systems 
  • Attend Grade-Level Meetings and provide feedback to Grade Team Teacher Leaders on both meeting structure and meeting impact. 
  • Coach and manage all teachers on implementation of appropriate responses to behavior  

• Function as a part of the School Leadership Team for both Academy and College Prep 
  • Attend all leadership team operating mechanisms like Daily Huddle, Lead Team Tactical, Lead Team Step Back, etc.  
  • Report directly to the Campus Principals for both Academy and College Prep 

Community Culture

• Develop and implement consistent communication with parents/families to both celebrate and address student behaviors.  
• Proactively partners with families to ensure communication is timely (response to parents within 48 hours) and that all communication barriers are eliminated 
• Create and deliver a Parent Weekly Newsletter for families, if desired by campus leaders
• Leverage other staff and leadership to contribute to newsletter 

• Manage student attendance matrix and collaborate with team members to address attendance concerns with families/parents 
• Serve as a liaison with law enforcement agencies, social services, and other relevant organizations.

Primary Functional Goals:

• Student Persistence Year over Year 
• New Student Persistence Year over Year 
• Staff Retention Year over Year 

• Campus Wide Average Daily Attendance 
• Family Engagement 
• All students are on-track to graduate 

We look for Team and Family who embody the following values and characteristics: 

• Believes and is committed to our mission and being an agent of change: that all students are capable of getting to and through college  
• Has demonstrated effective outcomes and results, and wants to be held accountable for them 
• Has a propensity for action, willing to make mistakes by doing in order to learn and improve quickly 
• Works with urgency and purpose to drive student outcomes 
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, high-growth environment; is comfortable with ambiguity and change 
• Seeks and responds well to feedback, which is shared often and freely across all levels of the organization 
• Works through silos and forges strong cross-departmental relationships in order to achieve outcomes 
• We believe in education as a profession and hold ourselves to high level of conduct, professionalism and behaviors as models for our colleagues and students 

About IDEA Public Schools 

At IDEA Public Schools, we believe each and every child can go to college. Since 2000, IDEA Public Schools has grown from a small school with 150 students to a multi-state network of tuition-free, Pre-K-12 public charter schools.   

IDEA Public Schools boasts national rankings on The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report’s top high schools lists. IDEA serves over 80,000 college-bound students in 143 schools across Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, and is on-track to maintain its legacy of sending 100% of its graduates to college.    

When you choose to work at IDEA, you are part of our IDEA Team and Family. You will work alongside team members who set and reach ambitious goals every day, are excited to continue to grow with IDEA, and work relentlessly to make college for all a reality.

Staff Culture and Belonging

At IDEA the Staff Culture and Belonging Team uses our Core Values to promote human connection and a culture of integrity, respect, and belonging for all Team and Family members.  Learn more about our Commitment to Core Values here!

This position is grant funded with Title I Part A and will require a time and effort report. The employee and the employee supervisor must sign this job description acknowledging that this position is grant funded.

To Apply

Please submit your application online through Jobvite. It’s in your best interest to apply as soon as possible.