Teaching Head of School

At Guidepost Academy Austin formerly  Academy of Thought and Industry we are creating a deeply motivating adolescent program that inspires and empowers students to live meaningful lives. It’s an important and exciting challenge that requires tremendous creativity and ingenuity. Come join our community today!

The Teaching Head of School Position:

We are looking for a leader who shares our passion for the Montessori method and has the talent and perseverance required to quickly grow enrollment, attract and retain great staff, build a strong parent community, and ensure the educational experience for each child in every classroom is of the highest standard. As the Head of School, you'll be responsible for providing leadership to the entire campus team. As a Teaching Head of School, you will also be responsible for teaching High School Humanities to our small group of high school students. This is a perfect role for an experienced high school team lead who would like to step into a Head of School position! 

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Developing a strategic plan for the campus
• Creating a strong culture that embodies the mission of our organization
• Building a strong community among staff, parents, and students  
• Ensuring delivery of an exceptional program
• Ensuring overall profitability targets are met (including managing campus budget)
• Working with the Assistant Head of School to ensure enrollment targets are met
• Hiring, supporting, developing, and managing teaching staff
• Instructing our small group of high school students in Humanities 

What we offer:

• Ongoing professional development
• A network of supportive peers and mentors who regularly share best practices
• Career growth and promotion opportunities
• A competitive salary
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• 100% tuition discount for two children at any school within our network (we serve children 3 months through 12th grade)
• The opportunity to contribute to a high-quality educational program that serves the individual needs of each child
• Because we are a private, for-profit organization, this role does not require fundraising nor managing a Board of Directors!

We'd love to talk with you if you possess:

• BA in Education
• Middle School and High School leadership experience
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with a focus on results
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• An aptitude for creating a warm and benevolent team culture
• Strong leadership and the ability to make tough decisions with limited information
• A passion for getting education right through the Montessori pedagogy 

We will prefer you over other candidates if you have:

• Experience teaching within a high school education setting
• Experience as an Admissions, Administrative, Program or School Director 
• Familiarity with the Montessori method of education or a Montessori certification

About Us: 

Guidepost Academy is an innovative new middle and high school model that inspires, empowers, and connects adolescents to our world so that they can build meaningful lives—now and into adulthood. Too often, teens experience school as a space that hinders them from reaching their goals. The GPA program is designed to help students discover and follow the paths they truly want to pursue.

Students develop and achieve ambitious personal goals through a combination of a humanistic curriculum, individual passion projects, and one-on-one coaching. Through our program, students build a critical understanding of our world and how it developed and then connect to the world by applying their foundational knowledge to real and meaningful work.

These 5 core values are embedded in every area of our program:

1. The Pursuit of Knowledge: We strive to put facts first and gain wisdom through both scholarship and experiential learning. We use evidence-based reasoning to explore, interrogate, and debate the big ideas that have shaped our world, seeking what is true and connecting those ideas to our own lives and contexts. We pursue knowledge not as an academic exercise, but to improve our judgment and actions in the world.
2. The Dignity of Work: Purposeful work is central to a life well-lived. In choosing our work, we direct our energies intentionally toward our goals, bring structure and focus to our lives, and reshape our worlds. Through cultivating our capacity for work, as well as our appreciation of the rewards of work well done, we develop a character capable of genuine effort and great achievement.
3. The Power of Agency: We believe that human beings, using their reason, judgment, and passion, are capable of leading self-directed lives of profound meaning and worth. We seek to always acknowledge and respect our own power to act, and to develop and exercise our capacity to act with purpose, integrity, and conviction in pursuit of our aspirations.
4. The Responsibility and Joyfulness of Community: We recognize the value of deep, honest relationships, and we offer others an authentic self that makes such relationships possible. We enliven and enrich each other through our choice to share norms, practices, and expectations. In doing so, we experience the joy of belonging and develop a deep and abiding sense of love and responsibility for the communities we embrace.
5. The Courage to Live Wholeheartedly: To fully engage with the world requires a tremendous amount of vulnerability and moral courage. In order to become our best selves, we bravely face our insecurities and have the courage to care deeply about our values. We embrace the everlasting process of personal growth that is the hallmark of being human, and that allows us to live wholeheartedly.

If you're as excited about this endeavor as we are, please apply below and include a detailed cover letter explaining your qualifications and interest in this role.