Principal - High School

Company Description

About KIPP

KIPP Public Schools  is a national network of public charter schools preparing students with the skills and confidence needed to create the futures they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 279 schools, nearly 16,500 educators, and 210,000 students and alumni. KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools (KPPS) is part of the national KIPP Public Schools network and currently leads nine schools serving 3,400 students in North and West Philadelphia. By 2030, KPPS will be serving approximately 4,000 students.

KPPS Mission

Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Life at KIPP Philly

At KPPS, we believe that talented, committed, and culturally competent educators and staff are the foundation of our students' success. We work to create a professional community grounded in joy, candor, care, and connection – where every team member can bring their authentic self, grow in their craft, and contribute to meaningful work. Here is what you can expect:

• Commitment to Anti-Racism & Equity:  Join a team dedicated to dismantling systemic barriers and creating inclusive, culturally responsive schools where all students and staff can thrive.
• Joyful, Inclusive Community:  Work in a collaborative, identity-affirming environment that values relationships, celebrates individuality, and supports the well-being of adults and children alike.
• Competitive & Equitable Compensation: Benefit from transparent compensation structures, including performance-based bonuses that recognize meaningful contributions.
• Professional Growth & Leadership Pathways:  Access high-quality development – including coaching, workshops, and tailored leadership opportunities – designed to support your long-term career trajectory.
• Authenticity & Belonging : Be part of a culture that encourages you to show up as your full self and contribute to a community rooted in trust and respect.
• People-Centered Excellence:  Join colleagues who believe strong relationships and thoughtful preparation drive excellent outcomes—for students and for staff.
• Comprehensive Well-Being Support:  Receive whole-person support through coaching, mental health resources, wellness initiatives, and team-building experiences that prioritize your professional and personal growth.

Job Description

At KPPS, the Principal’s primary role is to lead a strong, coherent school system that delivers a joyful, affirming, and academically rigorous experience for students and staff.

Principals focus the majority of their time on instructional leadership, adult development, and school culture systems, ensuring that high-quality teaching, strong relationships, and clear expectations are consistently experienced across the school.

Principals do not do this work alone. They lead in close partnership with the KPPS Regional Office, collaborating with regional instructional leaders, operations, student support teams, and talent partners to implement aligned systems, analyze data, and strengthen school-wide practices. Principals also work as part of a community of practice with fellow KPPS principals, engaging in shared learning, problem-solving, and collective accountability to reduce variability and accelerate student outcomes across the region.

In addition, KPPS Principals partner with the KIPP Foundation to align regional priorities with national initiatives, leverage network-wide resources, and contribute to the continuous improvement of KIPP’s instructional, leadership, and student experience frameworks.

Through these partnerships, Principals are expected to both lead their individual school effectively and contribute to the strength and coherence of the broader KPPS and KIPP network, ensuring that students and families experience excellence regardless of school or grade.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

School Vision

• Establish, communicate, and build investment in an ambitious school-wide vision aligned to the KIPP Philadelphia region-wide vision for learning, school experience, and culture that sets the stage for both children and staff to grow and thrive
• Create a welcoming, inclusive school environment, and operate with a mindset of families as authentic partners in children's school experience
• Operate with strong knowledge of the core academic and social-emotional skills, knowledge, and mindsets that are essential for children's development and success across middle school, ensuring that all students are challenged with rigorous, grade-appropriate content
• Ensure that school programming effectively serves all students, monitoring and enhancing special education, intervention, and student support services as needed, ensuring compliance with state law
• Set a vision for student culture that ensures all children are affirmed, valued, and challenged on a daily basis, and ensure that all student culture approaches, systems, and strategies are grounded in equity, are clear, effectively communicated, and are implemented by all staff
• Plan and prioritize time and resources to achieve annual goals and the broader vision of the school, analyzing and acting on data on a regular basis to identify, plan for, and drive the success of key initiatives and improvements in practice
• Prepare an annual operating school budget, detailing projected revenues and expenditures, conduct regular budget reviews to compare actual spending against projections, adjusting for unforeseen changes.

Staff Culture

• Cultivate a positive, cohesive leadership team culture grounded in mutual trust by developing and upholding shared norms regarding communication, collaboration, decision-making, use of systems, and more, and creating opportunities for authentic relationship-building and coordination across workstreams
• Set a vision for adult culture rooted in our core values, building a community bound by mutual trust and a shared purpose and pride in the school’s vision
• Create and refine systems for communication and collaboration across school staff at large, ensuring opportunities for authentic discourse and clarity
• Build relationships with every staff member, child, and family, and create opportunities to understand and respond to staff, leader, student, and family needs and perspectives

Staff Development & Coaching

• Directly coach, develop, and manage members of the leadership team via 1-1 check-ins, observation, walkthroughs, feedback, real-time feedback, practice, data analysis, co-planning, and other direct supports
• Create a culture of feedback, continuous improvement, and safety in trying new approaches
• Ensure teachers have the data, development, and consistent support needed to provide rigorous, affirming, high-quality instruction
• Sharpen and norm with APs on classroom analysis and classroom bar via walkthroughs
• Regularly observe and coach instructional coaches (Assistant Principals) to support them in providing high-impact, actionable, and bite-sized feedback to teachers on a weekly basis
• Ensure teachers can collaborate, analyze their practice and their student data, and adjust instruction in content teams
• Lead whole-school professional development workshops that drive high-impact improvements in teacher practice
• Cultivate a diverse, high-potential school leadership pipeline (from teacher leader to AP to successor)
• Effectively interview, select, and onboard new staff members
• Operate with an intentional strategy regarding staff and teacher retention, cultivating a desire for the team to make KPPS their long-term home

Student Experience & Family Engagement