Associate Director of School Culture SY 26-27

Reporting to the School Director, The Associate Director of School Culture (High School) is responsible for designing, implementing, and ensuring the consistent execution of school-wide culture systems that create a safe, structured, and academically focused environment for all students. In this role, the Director of School Culture is responsible for deeply supporting the building and implementation of the cultural and instructional vision of the school to meet Great Oaks Legacy High School vision for preparing scholars for college and beyond rooted in an “AP for all” model HS. This leader ensures that culture is not personality-driven, but system-driven, with clear ownership, strong staff accountability, and consistent student experiences across all classrooms and shared spaces. The Associate Director reports to the School Director, works closely with the Academic Directors, and coaches two Assistant Deans of Culture to eliminate variability in culture implementation, strengthen staff practice, and ensure students are consistently engaged, present, and on track for graduation.

 

The Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate brings a deep commitment to educational equity and a strong background in school leadership, student support systems, and culture-building within a fast-paced, high-expectations environment. This individual is aligned to the mission of Great Oaks Legacy Charter School and is driven to ensure that every student experiences a safe, structured, and academically focused environment that supports both personal and academic growth.

The candidate will join a high school community that has made meaningful progress in strengthening systems and student outcomes, and is now focused on deepening consistency, refining systems, and driving excellence in execution across all areas of school culture.

As a member of the High School School Management Team (SMT), this leader will play a critical role in advancing the school’s vision for culture and student experience. They will be responsible for designing, leading, and holding accountability for school-wide culture systems, ensuring strong alignment between expectations, adult actions, and student outcomes.

In this role, the candidate will operate at a strategic level—overseeing the effectiveness of behavior systems, attendance systems, and student accountability structures—while building the capacity of Deans to execute high-quality case management and student support. This includes ensuring that interventions are targeted, data-informed, and consistently implemented across grade levels.

The ideal candidate is a systems-driven leader and coach who can:

• Drive clarity and consistency in culture systems
• Develop Deans and staff to execute with fidelity
• Use data to identify trends and adjust strategy
• Ensure a predictable, high-quality student experience across all classrooms and common spaces

This leader thrives in environments that require both strategic thinking and strong execution, and is committed to building sustainable systems that support long-term student success.

Core Responsibilities

Learning Environment & Culture Systems

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of school-wide culture systems that ensure a safe, structured, and academically focused learning environment
• Ensure all students experience a consistent and predictable environment across classrooms, grade levels, and shared spaces
• In conjunction with other leaders, oversee the management the multi-tiered systems of support to support the needs of students (interventions, behavior plans, supports) and behavior response plans 
• Lead the implementation of high school–specific culture systems, including:
• Arrival, transitions, and hallway systems
• Classroom culture aligned to student engagement and rigor
• Attendance and on-time systems
• Behavior and discipline systems
• Ensure whole-school SEL programming is delivered through Advisory and/or adopted SEL curriculum ensuring staff is professional developed to implement the program 
• Develop and leverage data capture methods, data protocols and data integrity for the analysis of key areas around student attendance, behavior, and discipline, viewing practices with an equity lens.
• Partner with instructional leaders to ensure strong alignment between culture systems and instructional practices (engagement, rigor, discourse)
• Lead recurring school culture walkthroughs to ensure a safe, inclusive, and welcoming school culture and climate aligned to the Great Oaks Legacy School Vision to ensure the fidelity of implementation of the vision

Student Experience & Engagement

• Oversee school culture events and celebrations, including but not limited to: supporting the scope and sequence of events, managing project plans, developing communications, and executing the school vision aligned to the network guiding principles 
• Ensure scholars are: Engaged, on-task, and meeting expectations, Participating actively in instruction
• Ensure all students experience a consistent, predictable, and structured environment across classrooms, hallways, and common spaces
• Drive a culture where students are actively engaged in rigorous learning, not just compliant
• Partner with instructional leaders to ensure strong alignment between culture and instruction (engagement → achievement)
• Lead efforts to build student ownership of behavior, attendance, and academic progress
• Support grade-level teams in creating cohesive, positive student cultures with clear expectations and accountability
• Design and monitor systems that promote student voice and leadership opportunities (e.g., student forums, leadership roles, peer accountability)
• Build and maintain high-impact incentive systems that are clear, motivating, and aligned to school priorities (attendance, behavior, academics)
• Monitor and respond to student experience data (surveys, feedback, participation trends) to continuously improve systems

Attendance & Truancy

• Oversee and Lead of a school-wide attendance system that ensures daily monitoring, rapid follow-up, and consistent accountability
• Develop and manage tiered intervention systems for students with attendance concerns (e.g., 90%, 85%, chronic absenteeism)
• Build and oversee Dean-led case management structures to support students with persistent attendance and truancy challenges
• Ensure schools monitor students on track for truancy and Implement proactive interventions
• Design and implement incentives and recognition systems that promote strong attendance and punctuality
• Lead regular attendance data reviews with leadership and grade-level teams to identify trends, gaps, and next steps
• Train and support staff to consistently execute attendance systems, including tracking, communication, and follow-up

Talent Management

• Supervision and evaluation of Grade Level Leaders (GLL) including supporting the team’s professional growth and upholding high expectations for performance
• Directly coach Assistant Deans through weekly coaching cycles, including observation, feedback, and action planning
• Conduct regular walkthroughs and observations focused on culture execution, providing real-time, actionable feedback
• Train and coach teachers and leaders to:

• Implement consistent behavior systems
• Use positive narration (academic + behavioral)
• Address misbehavior immediately and effectively
• Support teachers in building strong classroom management and engagement strategies aligned to school-wide systems
• Support performance management processes, including goal-setting, mid-year feedback, and end-of-year evaluations for culture-related competencies
• Oversee all compliance related regulations, laws, policies and protocols 

Professional Development

• Design a school-wide PD arc teachers, leaders and Deans of Culture:
• Teachers: Learning environment, Classroom & Whole School Culture systems and Engagement + behavior
• Leaders: Coaching teachers, Leading culture systems, and Using data
• Assistant Deans of Culture: Full scope & sequence for 1) Systems, 2) Coaching and 3) Data
• Ensure transfer to practice through modeling, coaching, walkthroughs, and PLCs.

Build the capacity of Deans of Culture  to lead high-impact PD and coaching cycles.

• Participate in a peer cohort to co-develop and enact the annual Network School Culture Priority and align programming across schools 

Data & Progress Monitoring

• Own the development and implementation of a school-wide culture data system that drives decision-making and accountability
• Lead weekly culture data reviews with the leadership team to identify trends, root causes, and action steps
• Monitor key indicators, including:
• Attendance and chronic absenteeism
• Lateness and class cutting
• Behavior referrals and incidents (by grade, teacher, time of day)
• Hallway and transition data
• Incentive participation and student engagement trends
• Partner with Assistant Deans and grade-level teams to translate data into targeted interventions and action plans
• Monitor the effectiveness of interventions and adjust strategies based on real-time results

Family & Community Engagement

• Design and codify family engagement expectations and communication frameworks 
• Partner with families to address barriers to student success, including attendance, behavior, and engagement challenges
• Co-Facilitate and manage Partnership Alliance Committee (PTSO) 
• Ensure families receive timely, transparent updates regarding attendance, behavior, and academic progress
• Oversee and strengthen Dean-led family communication and case management, ensuring follow-through and consistency
• Build connections with community-based organizations and external partners to expand supports for students and families

Qualifications Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred
• 2+ years of teaching experience (required)
• 2–4+ years of leadership and/or coaching experience (Dean, AP, Instructional Coach, etc.)
• Proven track record of improving:
• School culture
• Student outcomes
• Experience designing or implementing:
• Behavior systems
• School-wide culture systems

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School offers a competitive and equitable compensation package aligned to years of relevant experience. The base salary for this role is $95,000.00, along with a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Robust medical, dental, and vision insurance plans w/ comprehensive network coverage.
• Up to $5,250 per year in tax exempt student loan and tuition reimbursement.
• Reimbursements for external professional development aligned to your role.
• Wellness reimbursements including gym memberships, spa services, and more.
• Online counseling services - for staff and their dependents - via top-rated therapy app.
• Pre-tax state pension plan benefit w/ addl. options available via voluntary retirement plans.
• Pre-tax dependent care, health, and transit flexible spending plans available.
• Convenient health screening and telemedicine support via VitalCheck Wellness platform.

ABOUT GREAT OAKS LEGACY CHARTER SCHOOL

The Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is a high-performing, innovative charter public school in Newark NJ, serving students from Pre-K to 12th grade on campuses across the city of Newark. Our mission is to prepare Newark’s students for success in college and beyond.

Our model is based on the following guiding principles that guide our work daily –

1. Creating a community that is built upon genuine and meaningful relationships. GOLCS staff rate our commitment to students as the #1 reason they teach/work at our schools.
2. Being surgical in our approach to differentiation of instruction and support for all students and team members. Our students receive daily tutoring embedded into their school schedule - facilitated by our AmeriCorps team members. Staff members receive individualized coaching and support in their roles.
3. Setting and exceeding high expectations for academic growth and character development for all students, in preparation for success in college and beyond. Currently, the historical college matriculation rate for GOLCS is 79% - nearly twice the national average for economically underrepresented students.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, & ACCESSIBILITY

GOLCS is committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. Furthermore, we believe that racial justice and equity is critical to our mission of preparing students for success in college and beyond. We strive to be an organization that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and elevates our student voices in preparing them for life and college.

 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT

Great Oaks Legacy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.