The Gordon School is a racially diverse nursery through eighth grade, all-gender, independent school in East Providence, Rhode Island. Child by child, the Gordon School community cultivates successful students by inspiring joyful learning, encouraging intellectual leadership, fostering an empathic spirit and stimulating a drive for positive societal impact. 

OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR

Start date: July 1, 2023 

Overview

Founded in 1910 as the Open Air School by pediatrician Dr. Helen West Cooke, Gordon was Rhode Island’s first non-public all-gender school. In 1963, the school moved to its current twelve-acre site in East Providence and remains true to its progressive roots, instilling “the true spirit of joyous work” and holding fast to the belief that “mind and heart should be educated with equal care.” 

Today, Gordon is a racially and socio-economically diverse nursery through eighth grade independent school with an enrollment of 365 students, renowned nationally for a multicultural curriculum and a commitment to equity, inclusion and social justice. The mission is embraced by all members of the community and is championed in all aspects of school life, inspiring and informing daily decisions as well as long-term strategy. 

Gordon’s nursery to eighth grade model best serves the educational, social and emotional needs of children by allowing students to connect across grade levels, promoting a school-wide sense of community, cultivating leadership in children of all ages and making key social skills like courage and compassion essential elements of the day-to-day experience. 

Gordon's curriculum focuses on developing intellectual leadership by leveraging a child’s natural imagination, creativity and inquisitive nature. Students are challenged and inspired to be active participants in their own education, and faculty and staff strive to develop deep and meaningful relationships with each child and family.

Over the past two-and-a-half years, Gordon School has taken head on the challenge of delivering a progressive educational experience in the midst of a global pandemic. While the school’s flexibility and adaptability have been crucial elements of its response, ultimately, Gordon has been successful meeting this unprecedented moment by remaining true to its mission and committed to its empathetic approach to teaching and learning.

The opportunity 

With enrollment growing, parent enthusiasm strong, a firm financial foundation and experienced leadership, faculty, and staff in place, Gordon is excited to launch a search for a Middle School Director. Grounded in a progressive philosophy, meaningful student-adult relationships and a curriculum designed to connect classroom learning with real-world application, the Middle School division serves as the essential capstone experience of a dynamic nursery to eighth grade program focused on cultivating courageous learners and compassionate leaders. Gordon’s Middle School develops students’ academic and social-emotional skills in an engaging, challenging and joyful environment. 

Gordon is seeking a warm, enthusiastic, culturally competent visionary to lead the Middle School division, overseeing all day-to-day operations, including curricular and co­-curricular programs, faculty supervision and mentoring, student growth and well being, and family guidance and support. The ideal candidate will build and sustain a climate of trust, candor and belonging, take pleasure in the dynamic ways in which early adolescents engage with school-based learning, and have deep respect for the diversity of personalities, identities, perspectives and backgrounds that define Gordon’s Middle School community.

With approximately 143 students in the fifth to eighth grades and twenty-two faculty, the Middle School division is led by the director with the support of an administrative assistant, two deans (fifth/sixth and seventh/eighth), a full-time counselor who serves the entire school, a part-time consulting psychologist, two academic support specialists and a curriculum coordinator. Along with the Early Childhood and Lower School Directors, the Middle School Director reports to the Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning and is a member of the school's Leadership Team.

A day in the life of the Middle School Director

The Middle School Director position presents an exciting opportunity for a creative leader and lifelong learner to touch and impact every aspect of school life. 

On any given day, you might find the Middle School Director... 

• Greeting students, parents, and caregivers at arrival and dismissal along with other members of the Leadership Team. 
• Facilitating an Ages and Stages, a parent education forum, on the developmental characteristics of early adolescents and issues relevant to parents and caregivers of students this age.
• Joining an admissions event for prospective families to discuss Middle School pedagogy and practice and the benefits of a nursery to eighth grade model.
• Planning and facilitating a Middle School community meeting for fifth through eighth grade students, including identifying and inviting guest speakers.
• Convening the divisional student support team to discuss students of interest, to devise learning or behavioral plans and to check on progress toward goals.
• Working with the Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning to create a hiring committee for a teaching opening and conducting preliminary phone interviews with candidates.
• Making impromptu classroom visits and engaging teachers in conversation about their practice.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee the curriculum, programming and atmosphere of Middle School operations, ensuring a joyful, developmentally appropriate learning environment.
• Partner with the Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning to manage all aspects of staffing for the Middle School division including hiring knowledgeable professionals, articulating and evaluating progress towards individual and divisional goals, and providing ongoing evaluation, motivation and feedback.
• Facilitate proactive and consistent communication with all divisional constituencies, oversee divisional student support systems and ensure effective communication between teachers, internal and external service providers and Middle School families.
• Oversee the high school placement process and graduation.
• Serve as a grade-level advisor for eight to ten students.
• Design the agendas for divisional meetings.
• Collaborate with the Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning as well as the Early Childhood and Lower School Directors to design the divisional schedule, including teaching assignments and duty coverage.
• Support the Middle School faculty as they write bi-annual student progress reports and facilitate preparation for the two family conference days held each year.
• Collaborate with the Advancement Office and admissions team to recruit and retain mission-aligned families, effectively employing programmatic and messaging strategies, and articulating the division’s strengths and attributes to prospective families.
• Plan and manage the divisional budget, approve all purchases and any allocations required to meet the needs of the division, and work with the Business Office to ensure proper facility provisions.
• Serve on committees relevant to the work and life of the division. This includes acting as an administrative liaison to at least one board committee and, if needed, serving on ad hoc working groups.

Leadership and personal qualities

• A visionary leader with the knowledge, ingenuity, fortitude, passion and decisiveness necessary to build trusting relationships and to advance Gordon’s mission.
• An enthusiastic commitment to Gordon’s multicultural curriculum and progressive pedagogical approach.
• High cultural competency and racial literacy, and a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• An ability to lead and motivate collaboratively and to manage assignments with excellent organization, delivery, creativity, planning and attention to detail.
• A professional, collaborative, team-oriented style characterized by empathy, flexibility and grace.
• Excellent project management skills and the ability to manage multiple initiatives.
• A genuine appreciation of and respect for children, particularly early adolescents; energy and enthusiasm for all aspects of school life.
• Warmth and a good sense of humor; patience and persistence; sense of curiosity and a love of learning.
• The desire and ability to work collaboratively, to innovate, and to be part of a team.

Professional qualifications

• A Master’s degree in education, educational leadership, early adolescent development or a related field required. 
• A minimum of three years of school leadership and supervisory experience, preferably in a middle school setting, that reflects a track record of cultivating positive relationships with students, families, faculty and staff. 
• A deep understanding of progressive and antiracist pedagogy, nursery to eighth grade or middle school education, multicultural curriculum, and the developmental needs of early adolescents
• A capacity for strategic thinking with the ability to look to the future, anticipate needs, develop new initiatives and implement short- and long-term plans.
• Prior middle school classroom teaching experience.
• Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills and demonstrated skill in communicating and engaging effectively with a wide range of constituencies.
• Demonstrated success inspiring and leading teams, including establishing goals, managing performance and fostering professional growth.

Compensation and benefits

This is a full-time, twelve-month exempt position and reports to the Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning. The salary for this position will be commensurate with experience. Gordon employees enjoy a competitive employee benefits program including medical, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, retirement plan contribution, and voluntary supplemental life insurance and long-term care coverage. 

As an equal opportunity employer, Gordon School is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Gordon strongly encourages people from backgrounds historically underrepresented in independent schools to apply, particularly people of color and LGBTQIA+ educators.

How to apply 

Interested and qualified candidates should submit the following materials by January 13th, 2023: 

• A cover letter describing why you are interested in working at Gordon and how your talents and experience are a fit for this position. 
• A current résumé.
• A statement of your leadership philosophy (no longer than one page). 
• A list of three professional references with name, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without notifying the candidate first).  

Please send your materials electronically in one email and as separate PDF documents to: 

Clare Blackmer, Executive Assistant to the Head of School at cblackmer@gordonschool.org 

No phone calls, please.

Professional qualifications

• A Master’s degree in education, educational leadership, early adolescent development or a related field required. 
• A minimum of three years of school leadership and supervisory experience, preferably in a middle school setting, that reflects a track record of cultivating positive relationships with students, families, faculty and staff. 
• A deep understanding of progressive and antiracist pedagogy, nursery to eighth grade or middle school education, multicultural curriculum, and the developmental needs of early adolescents
• A capacity for strategic thinking with the ability to look to the future, anticipate needs, develop new initiatives and implement short- and long-term plans.
• Prior middle school classroom teaching experience.
• Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills and demonstrated skill in communicating and engaging effectively with a wide range of constituencies.
• Demonstrated success inspiring and leading teams, including establishing goals, managing performance and fostering professional growth.

About The Gordon School

Mission Statement The Gordon School is a racially diverse nursery through eighth grade coeducational independent school in East Providence, Rhode Island. Child by child, the Gordon School community cultivates successful students by inspiring joyful learning, encouraging intellectual leadership, fostering an empathic spirit and stimulating a drive for positive societal impact. Guiding Principles We emphatically believe that each of the following five principles is essential for the success of our mission: •Our curriculum is rooted in multicultural practice, which develops academic skills, thinking strategies, active imaginations and children’s social competencies •We teach students to investigate and study concepts and topics from multiple perspectives, a basic skill for success in school and in life •Students are challenged and inspired to be active workers toward their education •As articulated in the Gordon School Statement on Inclusivity, we create and sustain a diverse community of faculty, staff, students and families •As multicultural educators, our teachers strive to establish relationships of understanding and trust with each child and his or her family

Connections working at The Gordon School