Head of School

About the job Head of School


The King's Academy - Head of School

Position Success Profile

Reports To: Board of Directors


Direct Reports: Principal (currently filled by HoS); Director of Development (PT contractor); Bookkeeper; Director of Student Services and Operations


Key Partners: Board of Directors; Academic Life Committee; Faculty; Families; Church Partners


Enrollment: ~100 students, K-12 | Est. 1998 | Mohrsville, Pennsylvania


I. Why This Role Exists


Nestled in northern Berks County, Pennsylvania, The King's Academy has been training leaders in knowledge, wisdom, and godly character since 1998. For nearly three decades, TKA has served as the only independent, non-denominational Protestant K-12 school in the county, drawing families from more than 44 evangelical churches across Berks and Schuylkill Counties. That reach is a testament to the trust built across a wide and diverse evangelical community, becoming the shared home for families who want something more than the county's public schools can offer.


TKA is in a season where it seeks reclarification of mission and looks to draw deeper upon the Christian classical tradition to form its curriculum, pedagogy, and student life. The Head of School is the person God has called to hold the anchor line: to re-articulate what it means to be TKA, to galvanize faculty and families around that identity, and to lead its next phase of growth around the academic and spiritual standards instilled by its founders. The ideal candidate brings seasoned school leadership, a winsome and compelling voice, deep Christian conviction, and the relational intelligence to lead the school and its broader community into its next chapter. Clear, consistent communication with staff, families, and the board is a non-negotiable in this season.


The Head of School is TKA's primary leader in every dimension. They are operationally responsible for the full life of the school, accountable to the Board of Directors for the outcomes it must produce, and spiritually called as a shepherd of a Christ-centered academic community. In this season, the role also carries the principal function, requiring both the vision of a headmaster and the day-to-day presence of a school-floor leader.


II. Core Outcomes

The Head of School exists to produce these six results. They are the fruit by which this role will be evaluated.

• Mission Clarity & Spiritual Leadership - The board, leadership team, faculty, and families operate from a shared and compelling understanding of TKA's Christ-centered identity. Daily devotions, chapel, and the school's relational culture reflect the seriousness of the mission. The Head of School models the character the school expects of its students.

• Academic & Curricular Renewal - A coherent, rigorous, and Christ-integrated curriculum is in place and improving across K-12. Where classical elements are incorporated, they are taught with faculty confidence and curricular intentionality. Benchmark assessment data is tracked term-over-term and used to drive instructional improvement.

• Faculty Strength & Retention - TKA employs and retains mission-aligned, qualified teachers. Faculty experience meaningful coaching, clear expectations, and a school culture worth staying for. Turnover is low and purposeful. The Head of School is both the school's chief recruiter and its most formative coach.

• Enrollment Growth & Family Trust - Enrollment moves toward sustainability and growth, targeting a return to 170+ students with a long-term goal of 250. Re-enrollment is an area requiring focused attention and intentional leadership. Families feel heard, informed, and re-committed to TKA because of consistent communication and visible, present leadership.

• Financial Stewardship & Operational Integrity - TKA operates within its board-approved budget. The Head of School makes fiscally responsible decisions, communicates financial realities to the Board with transparency, and actively supports advancement and enrollment as the school's primary revenue levers.

• Board Partnership & Governance Health - The Board of Directors is well-informed, well-resourced, and confident in the Head of School. Board committees function with timely data and clear lines of authority. The HoS-Board relationship is built on trust, transparency, and mutual accountability.

III. Role Context

Key Partnerships

• Board of Directors - governance partner and primary accountability relationship; the Head of School brings fiscal, academic, and personnel clarity to board meetings and maintains proactive communication between sessions; per TKA policy, the HoS serves as a voting member on all five Board Standing Committees

• Operations Director - day-to-day operational executor on HR, facilities, compliance, and systems; the HoS-Operations Director relationship is the school's most critical internal leadership partnership

• Bookkeeper - handles day-to-day accounting responsibilities; reports to the HoS and is an integral operational partner, particularly given TKA's current financial position; Board Treasurer provides oversight of the business office

• Academic Life Committee (Board) - monthly curriculum review and improvement body; the Head of School is expected to bring current data and honest assessments

• Faculty - the Head of School shapes culture through presence, classroom observation, genuine commendation, and hard conversations; this relationship is the engine of academic quality and mission fidelity

• Families & Church Partners - especially around re-enrollment and mission alignment; the Head of School is TKA's public face and must be known and trusted in the broader community of churches and families

Decision Rights (Own / Recommend / Inform)

• Own: Day-to-day school operations; faculty hiring and non-renewal recommendations; curriculum and program decisions; student discipline; scheduling; budget management within board-approved parameters; community and family communications

• Recommend: Annual budget; compensation structure; major capital expenditures; significant policy changes; accreditation pursuit; termination of contracted instructional staff; strategic direction and enrollment targets

• Inform: Board on all material personnel, financial, legal, and reputational matters - proactively and without delay

Rhythm of the Role

• Weekly: Staff devotions (7:45-8:00 AM daily); faculty/staff meeting coordination; parent and community communications; at least one classroom visit or substantive faculty conversation

• Monthly: Academic Life Committee; board meeting; Advancement Committee; Finance/Legal Committee; enrollment and financial dashboard review; faculty observations; donor cultivation touchpoints

• Termly: Curriculum and assessment review; faculty evaluation cycle; parent-teacher conference coordination; advancement report; budget forecasting

• Annually: Budget submission and board approval; faculty contract decisions; enrollment campaign; professional and spiritual development planning; accreditation readiness review

IV. Character Traits (School-Wide Expectations)


These virtues are expected of every colleague at TKA - they reflect who we are called to be as a school community formed by the Gospel and committed to Soli Deo Gloria.

• Christ-centered faith - born-again believer; active in a local church; models a living relationship with Jesus Christ in word and conduct; upholds TKA's Statement of Faith

• Godly character & moral integrity - consistent with TKA's Christian Life Commitment and Declaration of Moral Integrity; above reproach in personal conduct

• Honesty and transparency - tells the truth, especially hard truths, to the Board, faculty, and families; no surprises where communication could have prevented them

• Courage - willingness to lead through difficulty; holds the line on mission essentials; does not capitulate to pressure when principle is at stake

• Humility and teachability - listens before acting; credits others; does not treat correction as an attack; willing to be wrong

• Prudence in judgment - knows when to decide, when to consult, and when to escalate; does not confuse urgency with importance

• Perseverance - steadiness under pressure; stays the course in a difficult season; does not panic or abandon; shows steadiness in the face of discouragement

• Charity - genuine love for students, families, and colleagues; creates a school community where people feel known and valued

• Stewardship - manages God's resources - people, budget, facilities, reputation - with care and accountability

V. Role-Specific Competencies

The ideal toolbox for a TKA Head of School. These become the basis for honest professional development - no one arrives with all of them fully stocked.

• Strategic & Mission Leadership (casts a compelling mission narrative; articulates where the school is going and why; galvanizes board, faculty, and families around a shared direction; distinguishes urgency from importance; navigates culture change with wisdom and patience)

• Relational & Communication Excellence (written and spoken; winsome with parents, donors, and the broader community; fluent in Matthew 18 principles for conflict; resolves concerns rather than deflects them; responsive within 24 hours; understands how rural/agricultural communities think and relate)

• Instructional Leadership & Curriculum Oversight (sets and communicates a clear standard for excellent teaching; conducts or oversees meaningful classroom observations; familiar with classical and Christ-centered pedagogy; willing to build curriculum systems collaboratively with the Academic Life Committee)

• Talent Recruitment, Coaching & Retention (quickly and accurately reads the capabilities and gaps in a faculty; clarifies roles and expectations; builds trust through transparency; attracts mission-aligned teachers; gives specific, growth-oriented feedback; protects a culture people choose to stay in)

• Enrollment & Community Presence (serves as TKA's primary external face; known and trusted in local churches and civic life; partners with families on re-enrollment; understands that mission clarity and relational trust are TKA's strongest enrollment tools; comfortable in front of prospective families and donors)

• Financial Acumen & Advancement (reads a P&L; manages to a budget; understands tuition modeling and financial aid; actively supports fundraising and donor relationships; tells the TKA story compellingly to prospective supporters; manages enrollment-as-revenue with fiscal discipline)

• Board Relations & Governance Acumen (maintains a healthy, appropriately bounded relationship with the board; keeps the board well-informed without over-involving them in operations; understands and models the HoS-Board governance distinction; supports committee function with timely data)

• Operational Judgment (safety, scheduling, compliance with Pennsylvania's Child Protection Law, Act 126/31 requirements, clearance procedures, FMLA, and workers' compensation; knows when to decide, when to consult, and when to escalate)

VI. Content Knowledge

• Christian Education Philosophy & Mission (biblical basis for education; parent primacy per Proverbs 22:6 and Deuteronomy 6; knowledge, wisdom, and godly character as TKA's triad; the school's evangelical Protestant Statement of Faith; ability to articulate TKA's distinctives to skeptical or uninitiated audiences)

• Classical Education Foundations (the liberal arts tradition; Grammar/Logic/Rhetoric stages; the rationale for classical Christian schooling; familiarity with Hillsdale curriculum, Classical Academic Press, or comparable frameworks; aspiration and willingness to grow the school's classical integration is sufficient - prior leadership of a classical school is not required)

• K-12 Academic Curriculum & Pedagogy (literacy and reading science; numeracy; understanding how a subject-area schedule functions in upper school; ability to evaluate curriculum quality and identify gaps; awareness of current options such as Abeka, Bob Jones, and classical alternatives)

• School Finance & Sustainability (budgeting in a small independent school; reading and interpreting a P&L; tuition and financial aid modeling including tiered income-based aid; EITC and scholarship fund mechanics; payroll via Paylocity; enrollment-revenue relationship and break-even awareness)

• Pennsylvania Regulatory Environment (Pennsylvania Child Protection Law; Act 126/31 training and clearance requirements; FMLA; workers' compensation compliance; OCYS mandated reporting; Schuylkill Valley School District relationships)

• Christian Organizational Leadership (board governance and the HoS-Board partnership; staff handbook administration; faculty evaluation and Employee Performance Improvement Plan processes; Matthew 18 conflict resolution; TKA's mediation and binding arbitration framework; employment norms for a 501(c)(3) religious organization)

Compensation: Competitive salary + benefits


To Apply: Send resume and cover letter to Penny Jenson, View email address on click.appcast.io