Dean of Students

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nHIGH POINT ACADEMYRole: Dean of Students Reports To: Director of Culture and Wellness Location: Aurora, CO Position Type: Salary, Full-Time School Year: 2026–2027 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Position Overview High Point Academy's Dean is inspired to support and educate our students to contribute to a better world. At High Point Academy, we understand that powerful learning only happens with strong relationships between students, staff, and families. Our mission is to provide a strong foundation of academic excellence in partnership with family and community in which everyone is challenged to achieve his/her highest potential academically, socially, and personally. High Point Academy is a public charter school serving students in preschool through 8th grade. Located in Aurora, CO, just north of Green Valley Ranch, HPA serves an ethnically diverse student population which includes 27% linguistically diverse students and 60% of our students qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch. HPA is an award-winning wellness school whose curriculum and classes promote healthy lifestyle choices. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at High Point Academy. We are passionate about building and sustaining inclusive and equitable working and learning environments for all students, staff, and faculty. We believe every member on our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions.High Point believes the role of every member of the community is to ensure our students are known, cared for, and celebrated. That every member of the community respects each other's race, gender, ethnicity, and all other differences we experience today. High Point Academy is committed to each child's growth and success, and we know that creating an accessible, safe, and supportive environment are integral component for academic excellence. Candidates who can contribute to that goal are encouraged to apply and to identify their strengths in this area. Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Strengthens High Point Academy's climate for diversity, equity & inclusion. Demonstrates skills in promoting and supporting a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. ● Ability to serve as an advocate for individuals of all ethnicities, races, genders, ages, and backgrounds.Position Summary All employees of High Point Academy work together to achieve HPA's mission. In addition to the duties and responsibilities listed below, we seek staff who are collaborative with colleagues, empathetic in their relationships with students and families, and willing to work above and beyond their job description to ensure success for students. HPA teachers possess a school-wide focus and can see beyond their classroom to create a unified HPA community. As a representative of the school, the counselor must present a professional, courteous, and friendly attitude when interacting with students, parents, staff, and the public. This position requires the counselor to remain calm and poised in stressful situations and work toward solutions and possibilities. The counselor maintains confidentiality and uses discretion in all aspects of communication. The counselor strives to enhance the programs and experience for all students at High Point Academy. Position Overview: The Dean of Students is entrusted with advancing the mission of the school through enforcing schoolwide culture and behavioral expectations and ensuring a safe school environment that is conducive to teaching and learning. The Dean of Students will work closely with the school's administrative team and teachers to ensure that all students make gains in student achievement while living the school's core values. This individual will lead the school's efforts to use restorative practices to create a structured learning environment that provides a strong foundation of academic excellence in partnership with family and community in which each individual is challenged to achieve his/her highest potential academically, socially, and personally. Essential Responsibilities: The Dean of Students collaborates to lead a school-wide culture that is rooted in Habits of Work and Learning and Leader in Me Habits of Highly Effective People.. 1. Develops, trains, maintains, and evaluates both proactive and reactive systems and routines that build the HPA culture to be a safe, affirming, and healing place for our students and staff. The Dean establishes and cultivates a culture that is committed to living our core values/habits of work and learning and promotes and discusses these habits every day, within and beyond classrooms. Celebrating students for living core values through student of the month celebration. Establish and train staff on expectations for classroom and common space behavior systems that include but are not limited to: Social Contract/Classroom Rules Positive Behavior Systems (proactive culture)Restorative Practices (reactive) Develop, train teachers, implement, and support school-wide MTSS supports for culture and behavior that include: Intervention programs based on SEL/Wellness and behavior data. 2. Build collaborative relationships with students, parents, teachers, and staff in order to assist each student in achieving his/her highest potential. Conduct frequent communication with parents and staff around student behavior, both positive and negative: Include tips, tricks, information in staff scoop and families news Set expectations for teacher communication with families and monitor/support implementation including positive phone calls home, contact logs, and home visits when necessary. 3. Develops and administers disciplinary procedures in accordance with school policies and state laws; receives referrals and confers with students, parents, teachers, community agencies, and law enforcement. Responds to and resolves parent, student, and staff concerns and complaints Follows school policy for discipline procedures and equitably implements policy to maintain a safe school culture across classrooms and grade bands. Facilitate parent conferences as needed . Work closely with Counselors/Assistant Principals/RJ coordinators to maintain a school-wide culture and climate that support the key tenets of an EL School and Leader in Me, RJ practices, and follow the DPS discipline matrix. . Lead professional development around developing classroom culture, student behavior and management, positive behavior systems, restorative practices and communication with families. Participate in instructional leadership opportunities as needed 4. Create a school-wide culture that supports positive student behaviors that lead to increased academic outcomes for students. Work in collaboration with APs to support students and teachers inside the classroom through observation, coaching, modeling restorative language, and debriefing with both teachers and individual students, as necessary. Monitor individual student behavior by checking in with students throughout the school day, as needed.Facilitate mediations in response to conflict: Among students, Between educators and students, among educators, between family members and educators, etc. Hold reentry meetings after scholars have been suspended or removed from the learning environment. Establish systems and routines to follow through after mediations to ensure the harm was repaired. Develop creative interventions for students as part of the restorative resolution. Inform families, educators, and administrators about incidents in school as needed. Supports school-wide systems in conjunction with student expectations and appropriate responses to student behavior. Enforces all student behavior plans including IEP's, 504's, BIP's, behavior contracts, student trackers, etc. Teach and enforce school-wide restorative practices, including but not limited to agreement meetings, restorative conversations, logical consequences, positive reinforcements structures 5. Proactive/Preventative Engagement Under the supervision of the Executive Director, organize data to inform the administration of all behavior trends in school culture in order to improve school culture and prevent future behavior issues. (ex. SEL data, bully survey data, ongoing behavior data from slack, IC, dean tracker) Collaborate, support, develop, and improve grade level support systems, routines, and norms including monthly grade level MTSS meetings, coordinating support SEL support with school counselors. Conduct regular observation cycles with feedback to reinforce classroom/school culture and ensure that all students realize what is expected of them and what they can expect from staff. On-going training of restorative practices, positive behavior systems, and accountability systems within grade level, grade band, and school wide. Support pack leaders with the development, implementation and accountability for PACK through observations, PD support and communication with teachers. Promote and communicate expectations for PACK implementation. Develop, train, implement and hold staff accountable for communication with families regarding individual student behaviors. Circulate throughout the building to build and foster relationships with students and educators, support teachers with me first conversations when needed, monitor student time in class,Use connection circles to build a sense of community. Utilize data to determine when circles are needed. Consistently use language that supports the use of restorative practices to foster a community where it is being used at school as well as at home. Teach students techniques for resolving conflict and co-facilitate Coach students and educators on how to participate in meaningful restorative conversations. Develops systems and routines for lunch and recess, and supports teachers with implementation of routines for movement in the hallway and other community spaces. Develops systems and routines for monthly grade level pack meetings to celebrate HOWLs and provide opportunities for scholar leadership of school culture. 6. Implement school-wide restorative justice and trauma informed practices that develop a positive school culture for the whole child. Lead school-wide restorative practices by training, coaching and providing feedback to RJ coordinators. Supervise staff implementation of routines and procedures for transitions and school wide daily activities (lunch, recess) to ensure behavior expectations are being upheld and school values are being lived at all times. Collect and analyze discipline data to support MTSS/RtI process. 7. Provide Supervision and Evaluation feedback that results in an increase in positive school culture. Contribute to all staff evaluations with evidence from observations from PACK and school culture that aligned to school culture objectives/Leader in Me work plan. (Part of the 360 reviews for all teachers). Provide coaching/evaluation of coverage paras/RJ coordinators including walking staff through the evaluation process, setting goals aligned with the evaluation, and conducting two evaluation cycles a year. Meet monthly with coverage paras to unify the team, establish expectations and provide professional development as needed. Hold bi-weekly team meetings with RJ coordinators to provide coaching, alignment and problem-solving opportunities that support an aligned and informed school wide culture model. 8. Support High Point Academy's Purpose, Vision, and Annual Goals Participates in additional activities including but not limited to: field trips, intensives, outdoor ed, and other required programs as needed throughout yearSupports teachers in holding all students to high and consistent behavioral expectations through running professional development and observation/feedback loops Completes all administrative requirements before given deadlines Embodies school purpose and vision and Leader In Me practices/vision. 9. Contributes to a positive school environment as a member of the leadership team byDoing school duties such as arrival and dismissal. Serves as the school leader on duty during sporting events Serve on school-wide committees including culture committee, wellness committee.Keep staff and student handbooks updated with more recent policies on school culture and climate. Demonstrate awareness of school/community needs and initiate activities to meet those identified needs. Presents relevant data to the school board as needed. Ensures that the physical environment of the school reinforces school culture and builds a positive climate that celebrates scholars. 10. Continues intellectual and professional development Continuously use feedback to make productive changes in overall performance through evaluation process with Executive Director Demonstrates a initiative and innovation in learning, applying and reflecting on practices related to school culture. Develops, implements and reflection on personal growth plan each quarter. Required Qualifications: Bachelor's degree required, Master's degree preferred Restorative Justice training required CPI training preferred Experience with middle school advisory program/elementary morning meeting At least 2 - 5 years of education experience with the appropriate age range. Strong commitment to, belief in, and alignment with mission and vision of schoolStrong track record of success in building student and parent relationships Ability to work independently and manage time effectively Excellent interpersonal communication and written skills Demonstrated ability in implementing professional development Experience developing implementing and holding others accountable for policies and systemsA passion for improving schools and driving education reform Must have a strong ethical base and self-awareness Ability to establish/foster a positive and safe school culture Demonstrated ability in restorative practices Understanding of effective restorative practices Experience collaborating successfully with a team