Job Details
Principal Job Posting
Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School seeks a mission-driven, innovative, collaborative, student focused, and community-centered Principal to serve as the chief academic, instructional, and formational leader. Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School (DBCR) is a 9-12 Catholic learning community that educates young people of limited economic means to become men and women of faith, purpose, and service. Through a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, integrated with a professional work study experience, students graduate ready to succeed in college and in life. DBCR is a part of the largest network of high schools in the country that exclusively educate under-served youth. As a part of the Cristo Rey Network (CRN), DBCR adheres to a set of Mission Effectiveness Standards to protect the integrity of the model and articulate the shared mission.
Reporting to the President of the school, the Principal is the chief academic officer and instructional leader of DBCR, responsible for teaching and learning through a well-developed curriculum and the cultivation
of our school s Catholic and Salesian identity. The Principal provides mission leadership for faculty, staff, and students, supports high-quality classroom instruction, and assures the orderly functioning of the
school. The Principal is responsible for creating and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement that provides students with multiple opportunities to develop and demonstrate proficiency.
The Principal is a member of the school s leadership team, actively collaborating with the Corporate Work Study Program Director, Admissions & Enrollment Director, Director of Mission, and Director of Finance. He or she oversees a faculty and staff of over 40 full and part-time employees and manages expenses comprising the majority of the school s operating budget. The Principal is a public face of the school, consistently interacting with families of students, representatives of the Archdiocese, Salesian Society,
and Cristo Rey Network, board members, community leaders, and school supporters, etc.
Primary Roles and Responsibilities
Instructional Leadership
Serve as the lead learner in the building: stay current with research, best practices, and trends
relevant to Catholic, urban education, and issues that may be affecting the school s students.
Be Visible, Establish Strong Professional Relationships: Maintain a visible and active leadership
presence throughout the building.
Teach your teachers: conduct frequent cycles of observation and feedback for individual
coaching; ground all observation and feedback in a research-based instructional framework
(most CRN schools are moving to the TRU framework); design and conduct regular all-faculty,
grade-level and content-area team professional learning that is timely and aligned both to the
school's Academic Vision and the instructional framework. Ensure that professional development
is collaborative and is informed by instructional, school culture, and student achievement data.
Develop teams: Establish a shared understanding of team purpose and effective team practices,
observe and coach teams, distribute leadership to teams.
Lead the implementation of the common, rigorous, college-ready Cristo Rey Network
curriculum; promote and nurture a college-going culture with high student expectations.
Lead the implementation of school-wide cycles of formative assessments, analysis of data, and
monitoring of student progress; identify and prioritize needs and determine team and individual
interventions; communicate academic data to stakeholders.
School Culture and Family Involvement
Foster and promote a school culture that values diversity and the unique gifts that all staff,
students, and families bring to the school community; foster the creation of an inclusive school
environment and ensure that parents are welcomed and acknowledged as partners with the
school; develop and implement strategies for meaningful and reciprocal family and community
engagement.
Lead the school community to create a culture of high expectations and continuous
improvement, complemented by high levels of support; promote and articulate a vision for
continuous improvement that recognizes existing equity gaps and commits to their elimination.
Serve as a model of the school s values and mindsets and hold self and others accountable to
maintaining high standards; actively promote the regular exchange of affirming and
constructive feedback among members of the school s staff.
Ensure an active extra-curricular life of the school, which gives students opportunities to
develop their non-academic talents and interests (musical, artistic, athletic, etc.).
Strategic Planning
Lead the school community in a detailed, concrete, and compelling vision for excellence that
encompasses academics, school culture, community engagement, alumni engagement, and
partnership with the Corporate Work Study Program. This vision must reflect a critical
understanding of the students varied cultural identities, along with the school s Catholic
identity; consult with the President and other stakeholders to incorporate their understanding
of the school s context and to secure their investment in the school s vision for excellence.
Predict the needs of staff, students, and families in pursuing the strategic plan, adjusting over
time, as necessary; anticipate barriers, and develop measures of effectiveness and plan for
contingencies.
Design and execute processes and systems for progress-monitoring with goals and metrics
across all critical areas of the strategic plan.
Establish concrete, ambitious, meaningful short, medium, and long term goals that serve
as qualitative and quantitative indicators of students college-readiness.
Allocation of Resources and Supervision of School Personnel
Audit time, personnel, and resources to ensure college-readiness for all students.
Set and communicate clear expectations for excellence and define responsibilities for staff;
delegate tasks and responsibilities in ways that are consistent with role definitions; maximize
the impact of each team member under your chain of management.
Develop and execute strategies to improve performance of staff over time and hold staff
members accountable.
Monitor progress on multiple work streams and individual expectations. Acknowledge progress,
celebrate successes, and intervene in a prompt, direct, and professional way to address gaps,
when needed.
Consistently follow federal and state policy and establish a high bar for professionalism and
discretion when handling personnel issues.
Catholic Identity and Cristo Rey Mission
Serve as a spiritual leader for the school; promote and sustain the school s Catholic identity;
ensure that the school s Christian values and mission drive school decisions, and that liturgical
practices, prayer, and Catholic culture are integrated into school life; ensure that time and
resources are appropriately allocated to Campus Ministry and Adult Faith Formation.
Ensure that all members of the school community are treated fairly, equitably, and with respect
and compassion; positively support all stakeholders; actively work to create a loving
environment; protect the rights and confidentiality of students and staff.
Actively participate in and support the school s leadership team; promote and support the
importance of integrating academics with the Corporate Work Study Program as part of a
college preparatory experience; ensure clear communication of shared expectations for
students.
Actively participate in CRN professional development and take advantage of CRN coaching and
support; actively participate in faith formation programs aimed at deepening and nurturing your
capacity as a spiritual and mission-driven Catholic school leader.
Qualifications
Master s Degree in Educational Leadership
5+ years experience in school leadership, including experience observing and coaching faculty
and staff
3+ years experience of high school teaching
Maryland, Virginia or District of Columbia educational administration certification at time of
hire or within one year of the date of hire
Catechist certification based on criteria from the Archdiocesan Office of Religious Education, or
ability to demonstrate continuing progress towards attaining catechist certification in no more
than three years after date of hire
Demonstrated ability to connect with low-income, urban students and
families
Demonstrated ability to serve as one of the faith leaders of the school
A practicing Catholic who values the Church s mission of service, education, and social justice,
and is committed to Catholic education
Fluency in Spanish preferred
Application Procedure
All interested and qualified applicants with a passion for Cristo Rey s mission are invited to apply by
emailing Lis Sanchez, Chief of Staff, at ...@dbcr.org. Please include the following:
Resume
Cover Letter (not longer than one page)
At least three professional references
Responses to the following questions (not longer than 1000 words total):
o What past experiences in educational leadership have prepared you to serve as a principal
of a Cristo Rey school?
o What qualities and dispositions will you look for when hiring teachers and staff? How do you
plan to support, evaluate, and train teachers?
o How will you ensure the Catholic identity of the school? How would you define effective
faith leadership?