Colorado Connections Academy - Executive Director

Position Summary and Responsibilities:

Colorado Connections Academy (ColoCA) seeks a dynamic, visionary leader and change agent to serve as its next Executive Director. This position ensures all students receive a personalized learning plan by implementing a virtual education instructional program with fidelity. The Executive Director is responsible for establishing an organizational culture: putting the interests of students and families first; recruiting, retaining and developing faculty and staff; building and growing relationships with key external stakeholders including district authorizers and monitoring the school improvement plan.

Working from your home office in Colorado, with occasional travel to authorizer meetings at various locations around the state, the Executive Director will manage staff as they consult regularly with Learning Coaches and students, ensuring that each child successfully completes his/her instructional program. The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing overall school operations working with parents, students, support staff, and certified teachers who “virtually” facilitate a home-based student instructional program. The Executive Director will spend their time working with external stakeholders on matters of policy, budget, academic outcomes, reporting, and supervision and be accountable for overseeing overall curriculum, instruction and assessments. The Executive Director will report to the Director of Schools.

Other key responsibilities include the following:

• Deliver the academic success and outcomes of the school, based on a list of annual school goals which will include the School’s Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) goals for each authorizing entity, to improve student academic achievement, Connection Academy school focus goals, and the Accountability score on the State Report Card;
• Oversee the implementation of the proven school curriculum and school operation protocols;
• Ensure that staff exhibit and maintain a high level of professionalism, instructional support, and customer service by implementing a mission for the school;
• Work with school staff and Pearson Virtual Schools (PVS) to create, implement, manage, and monitor the School Improvement Plan;
• Ensure all state reporting is completed correctly and on time;
• Stay current on the state’s policies, procedures and legislation, specific to count day and audit procedures, and accurately submit all required reports and paperwork in a timely manner;
• Maintain relationships with the authorizers and the state’s public education department while staying current on the state’s policies, procedures, and legislation, including specific Special Education procedures;
• Exhibit high quality, timely communication with all school staff, students, and families;
• Be responsible for establishing, monitoring, implementing the School’s budget; including working closely with Pearson Virtual School staff on staffing, budgeting, understand and oversee management of grants as allowed by each authorizer, and contracts in accordance with Colorado laws and regulations, as well as federal laws and regulations;
• Work closely with appropriate Legal Counsel as needed;
• Work closely with the School’s Leadership Team and PVS staff to implement the core operational model;
• Work with administrative team to implement any program changes processes and procedures, and/or new software application introductions;
• Handle any student, parent or teacher issues escalated from other stakeholders,
• Oversee the management of, contracting and/or delivery of Special Education services to ensure that the school is in compliance with state and federal laws;
• Oversee the implementation and coordination of state standardized testing process and ensure high student participation rates meet authorizer, state, and federal guidelines;
• Support the implementation of a benchmark assessment regime that ensures high student participation rates and that uses assessment data to inform instructional practices and student intervention;
• Ensure the academic success of individual students by utilizing all levels of academic support available and by maintaining a high level of communication with parents to deliver program information and address individual student needs;
• Oversee and model strong communities of practice culture through supporting the Professional Learning Community (PLC) structure, providing professional development agendas and engaging educational staff in continuous growth opportunities.
• Act as the “face of the school” at school events and with the Department of Education, this could include testimony;
•  Design and execute effective professional development strategies that support individual members of the executive leaders