Assistant Principal 2026-2027

Assistant Principal

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is Ohio's third-largest public school system, serving more than 35,000 students. CMSD strives to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education, regardless of the provider. To that end, CMSD lets families choose which District schools their children attend, with options that include STEM, the arts, single-gender education, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and early college.

Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing their school as a high-quality, high-expectation academic center focusing on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results.

CMSD ensures that students have access to technology and training to prepare them for the future. The District provides a free laptop or tablet for every student and connects every family that needs internet access. Graduating seniors leave commencement with not only a diploma but also a laptop.

In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we strive to ensure that all of our learners, both scholars and educators, to be challenged with academically and intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their efforts and provide them opportunities to demonstrate their best work.

The Cleveland Board of Education adopted the Building Brighter Futures (BBF) initiative on December 9, 2025. Building Brighter Futures is a strategic and data-driven plan shaped by more than a year of community engagement, information analysis, and thoughtful deliberation. The goal of this plan is to strengthen enrollment and ensure scholars attend a newer school building that offers more educational opportunities, including algebra in the eighth grade, more sports and extracurricular activities, and college credits and college and career pathways in high school. BBF is ensuring academic excellence so every CMSD scholar can thrive.

The Opportunity:

CMSD seeks a full-time Assistant Principal(s) who will have the primary responsibility of overseeing programs established by the school's Principal. The Assistant Principal strongly contributes to establishing the school as an active learning center. Selected candidates are expected to focus on student engagement, professional support for teachers, instructional practices that lead to dramatic academic progress, and measurable results that lead to better outcomes for our schools and scholars. We are looking for individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who are inspired by our mission and are highly motivated to work in urban education. Successful candidates must be instructionally strong and confident administrators who can provide decisive management, coaching, and rigorous leadership. This application is for entry to the applicant pool of PK-12 Principal opportunities for the upcoming school year, to be filled as needed. You'll be right at home in CMSD if you enjoy solving problems and cultivating strong relationships.

Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Leadership The effective educational leader acts ethically as an agent of continuous improvement by fostering a shared mission, vision, and core values to promote each student's well-being and academic success.
• Learning The effective educational leader fosters professional learning environment-based instructional practices to promote each student's well-being and academic success.
• Culture The effective educational leader cultivates an environment defined by culturally responsive practices, equity, and commitment to students, staff, and stakeholders through sustained partnerships reflective of the unique profile of its surrounding community to promote each student's well-being and academic success.
• Management The effective educational leader maximizes the human capital, operational, policy, and fiscal systems to promote each student's well-being and academic success.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors Required; Master's degree preferred
• At least three years of K-12 classroom teaching experience
• Administrator Certification or eligibility for Alternative Administrative certification as required by Ohio Department of Education.
• Building or district level administrative experience strongly preferred.
• Ability to successfully demonstrate an understanding of Teacher Development and Evaluation System in alignment with the Cleveland Plan.
• Strong record of helping students achieve academic success, primarily with minority and low-income students
• Experience working effectively with urban schools, students and families, and outside partners with demonstrated exemplary results
• Record of success in leading adults; prior experience with direct management and supervision
• Possess an entrepreneurial spirit, be flexible, willing and able to play different roles at the school, and to go above and beyond to meet the varied and constant needs of CMSD scholars
• Special training and/or experience with school turnaround highly desirable

What We Offer:

CMSD offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience. We offer a comprehensive benefits plan, including dental and vision plans, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, professional development, and contributions to the STRS/SERS retirement system. We also offer an inclusive environment where our staff is encouraged to bring their whole selves to work every day.