Dean of Culture

Dean of Culture 

Reports to: Principal 

Classification: Classified 

Job Status: Full Time/Exempt

Year Round Employee 

Start Date: August 2023

Location: Seattle, WA

ABOUT RAINIER VALLEY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: 

Rainier Valley Leadership Academy  is a public, tuition-free, charter school, providing an anti-racist collaborative community and rigorous education, while providing access to civic leadership and college success for all scholars in Seattle. RVLA will serve grades  6-12 in the Seattle Community. We respect and celebrate the wealth and vitality of the ethnic and cultural traditions that thrive in our neighborhood. Our mission is to put every child on the path to success in college and career, leadership, and life.

We integrate college and career-ready and hands-on instruction to expose all scholars to a variety of authentic experiences. Our teachers use data driven collection to meet scholar needs and differentiation. We use common planning time and collaborative team time to analyze data to inform instruction. We provide a teacher mentor for every scholar, and focus on personalized learning.

RVLA boasts a highly-qualified and diverse faculty and staff that not only have excellent educational credentials, but also bring to the school community many years of dedication to scholar success and passion for our mission. Our small school community allows adults to know each other and every scholar by name, strength and need. We pride ourselves on building and maintaining close relationships with each other,  our community,  scholars and families.

OPPORTUNITY:

We are seeking a mission aligned Dean of Culture  to join the growing team at Rainier Valley Leadership Academy to serve scholars in grades 6-12. This role will  serve as a key member of the RVLA school Administrative team to establish a joyful, structured and achievement-oriented school culture. Support teachers to hold all students to high and consistent behavioral expectations. Serve as the point person for dealing with behavioral crisis-intervention and severe behavioral issues. Act as a resource to teachers in their instructional practice especially as it relates to issues of discipline, relationships with students, classroom management and school culture. Serve as the administrator on duty for discipline/culture issues, and first responder for office referrals. Assist teachers, students and parents in the effective creation and implementation of individual behavior plans. Reinforce the effective use of a school-wide behavior plan, including norming and managing the school’s merit/demerit systems. Ensure the physical environment of the school reinforces school culture and facilitates student achievement. Be highly present and visible during school hours.

To learn more about what it’s like to work at RVLA, please visit: myrvla.org 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve on the administrative team to establish a joyful, structured and achievement-oriented school culture.
• Support teachers to hold all students to high and consistent behavioral expectations.
• Serve as the point person for dealing with behavioral crisis-intervention and severe behavioral issues.
• Act as a resource to teachers in their instructional practice especially as it relates to issues of discipline, relationships with students, classroom management and school culture.
• Serve as the administrator on duty for discipline/culture issues, and first responder for office referrals.
• Assist teachers, students and parents in the effective creation and implementation of individual behavior plans.
• Reinforce the effective use of a school-wide behavior plan, including norming and managing the school’s merit/demerit systems.
• Ensure the physical environment of the school reinforces school culture and facilitates student achievement.
• Be highly present and visible during school hours, relentlessly ensuring the school has an exceptional school culture.
• Proactively circulate throughout classrooms and hallways during the day to gain valuable context on student behavior and help support positive school culture.
• Monitor behavioral pull-out and in-school suspensions.
• Manage lunch and after-school detention.
• Coordinate school culture messages at all-school meetings.
• Facilitate student culture committee.
• Manage school-wide collection and analysis of behavior data for students and staff, documenting all conferences, suspensions and phone calls for behavior.
• Track behavior on the school bus, ensuring students are exemplary bus riders to and from school.
• Ensure that behavioral expectations and school culture standards are met outside of the classroom as well as inside, including establishing and monitoring bus behavior/culture as well as cafeteria behavior and culture.
• Oversee and coordinate school-wide initiatives and incentives related to behavior.

This employer strives for a balanced, productive workforce, which is diverse in terms of age, gender, and cultural identity. We do not base hiring or promotional decisions on factors other than performance and professional growth potential.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum 3 years teaching experience in an urban district or charter school setting.
• Strong organizational skills and able to multitask effectively 
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and able to build positive, trusting relationships with staff, students, families and community members
• Warm demander – sets high expectations for students with high support
• Creative and able to motivate students to be their best selves
• Passionate about improving educational outcomes for historically underserved children and communities.
• Clear fingerprints & background check with Puget Sound Educational Service District
• Official College Transcripts 

Compensation and current Roles Available:

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

If interested in this position, please email your resume and cover letter to careers@myrvla.org. Only applicants chosen for an interview will be contacted, and we interview and hire on a rolling basis. The start date for this position is late  August 2023. Only applicants chosen for an interview will be contacted.