Back to jobs
New

Middle School Principal (2025-2026 School Year)

New York City, NY

Who You Are

  • A leader and educator with an unwavering commitment to the Democracy Prep mission of college success and authentic civic engagement for all scholars, especially those with significant challenges. You have an innate or highly-developed ability to set a vision across an entire school and motivate others towards achieving the vision. 
  • A highly effective leader with a clear track record of raising student achievement in a classroom for at least four years.
  • A self-reflective and self-aware leader who is dedicated to aligning their school to Democracy Prep's commitment to antiracism and who is eager to use these skills to further a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • An educator who values diverse perspectives and is committed to empowering young people and to lifting up and working alongside communities.
  • An expert at translating academic standards and state assessment requirements into effective instructional design.
  • A coach with demonstrated success in building and developing the leadership capacity in others.
  • An excellent writer and skilled orator – ability to easily connect with students, families, and staff and effectively tailor communication to multiple stakeholder groups.
  • A data-informed leader, adept at data analysis; ability to extract meaningful insights across school wide data. A constant learner who is willing to reevaluate one’s understanding based on new information and data.

What You’ll Do

Instructional Leadership

  • Provide exemplary leadership to all school community members to achieve outstanding performance 
  • Develop and communicate strategic school systems, culture, and vision, and build a plan to achieve that vision
  • Implement effective assessment systems and use data to inform decisions
  • Lead all aspects of curriculum execution and assessment and ensure consistency within the school program and alignment with state and other rigorous standards.

Teacher Coaching & Evaluation

  • Conduct daily teacher observations and provide real-time feedback to move the needle on student achievement;
  • Oversee faculty and staff, including evaluation, retention, and dismissal and hold primary responsibility for professional development, staff observations, staff communication, and school decisions
  • Lead faculty to ensure that all staff are providing well-managed and rigorous daily lessons
  • Foster commitment among staff to the development and fulfillment of the school’s mission and objectives;
  • Hold teachers accountable for meeting a high bar for student performance including requirements for special education accommodations and IEP modifications in partnership with the Dean of Special Services

School Culture

  • Build a joyful and rigorous school culture
  • Foster consistency in academic and behavioral expectations
  • Collaborate with school staff to support students’ academic and socio-emotional development

Family Engagement

  • Communicate regularly with families, ensuring they are kept involved with and held accountable for their scholar’s performance, and correspond about school policies, trips, and events;
  • Respond to family concerns promptly and effectively.

Qualifications 

  • Passionate commitment to the mission of Democracy Prep Public Schools and investment in our vision as an anti-racist organization
  • Strong record of driving outstanding student and teacher growth and achievement
  • Strong data analysis skills
  • Ability to provide high leverage feedback via classroom observations
  • Strong communications skills with multiple stakeholders including teachers, students, families, and colleagues
  • Strong organizational skills, careful attention to detail and follow-through

Preferred Experience:

  • At least 4 years of teaching experience with evidence of outstanding student growth and achievement;
  • At least 2 years of experience as an instructional leader, Assistant Principal, Dean or equivalent leadership role at a high-performing urban public school;
  • A graduate of a Bachelor’s degree program (required), Master's degree in related field (preferred). *Please note that we request transcripts as a part of our onboarding process.*
  • Experience at a high-performing charter school is highly preferred.
  • School Building Leader or School District Leader (preferred)

Compensation

Salary range starts at $141,000 and is commensurate with experience. Democracy Prep employees are provided with a benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental insurance, 403B matching, and parental leave. 

---

Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and expertises, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf


Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Democracy Prep Public Schools’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.