Head of Lower School

The Pike School, an independent elementary school in Andover, MA, serves 440 students in grades pre-kindergarten through nine. We are looking for a Head of Lower School to begin as of July 1, 2017. The Head of Lower School is responsible for approximately fifteen faculty and 120 students as well as the academic and social/emotional programs at the school. Interested parties should apply at the employment tab of the school’s website (http://www.pikeschool.org/employment where more details about the position can be found.

Head of Lower School
Job Description

Curriculum and Program

• Assure the implementation of a well-balanced and developmentally appropriate program for Pre-K – Grade 2
• Oversee Lower School curriculum; participate in the curriculum change process
• Stay abreast of best practices and share resources with faculty
• Support the work of Professional Learning Teams (PLTs)
• Meet regularly with teachers and the Lower School psychologist to assure that individual students’ needs are being met
• Meet with instructional coaches and specialists regularly to oversee PLT and curricular work

Communication

• Act as the Lower School liaison to the administrative team
• Respond to parents’ concerns and needs; attend/facilitate parent conferences when needed
• Seek teachers’ ideas and input
• Provide the best possible role model for honest, open communication among students, teachers, parents and administrators
• Work to keep lines of communication open, solve problems early and keep morale high
• Write articles for Pike’s magazine (The Quill) and blogs for Pike Perspectives
• Respond to student discipline issues and problems

Supervision and Evaluation

• Meet yearly with individual Lower School faculty members to set goals for the year
• Facilitate professional development for faculty
• Support the ongoing learning of teachers through observations and evaluations
• Meet regularly with new faculty to ensure smooth integration into Lower School

Administration

• Actively support the school’s mission and values
• Assist the Head of School in hiring teachers and staff
• Meet regularly with division heads and administrative team to coordinate and strategize about ongoing school operation
• Oversee assignment of students to anchor and specialist groups
• Coordinate weekly assemblies
• Facilitate division meetings
• Plan parent forums; including Back to School Night and curriculum nights
• Assign duties to be shared by staff and teachers (e.g., lunch, dismissal, bus, recess)
• Arrange substitute teachers when needed
• Personally substitute when appropriate and necessary
• Perform drop-off, dismissal, recess, and lunch duty when needed
• Observe, report, and oversee maintenance and repairs on the building

Admission

• Support the admission director’s work on screening candidates for Pre-K – Grade 2
• Participate on the Lower School admission team
• Facilitate the orientation process of new Lower School students in May through step-up visits to next year’s classrooms
• Hold grade-level transition meetings for parents in May about what to expect next year