Admin - Principal; COA; SY

Admin - Principal (COA) (SY25-26)

Chelsea Public Schools Chelsea Opportunity Academy - Chelsea, Massachusetts Open in Google Maps

Job : 5486743

Final date to receive applications: Mar 18, 2026 11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

Re-Posted: Feb 02, 2026 5:00 AM (UTC)

Starting Date: Immediately

Title
-Admin - Principal (COA) (SY25-26)

About Chelsea Public Schools:

Chelsea Public Schools (CPS) is a gateway school system committed to welcoming, educating, and uplifting all students and their families. We believe that every child is capable of achieving their personal best when they learn in safe, supportive, and culturally responsive environments. CPS serves over 6,200 students across 11 schools—including a pre-K–1st grade early learning center, four elementary schools, three middle schools, a virtual school, and two high schools.

As a proudly multilingual district, we view students’ languages and cultural identities as assets that enrich our community. We prioritize strong relationships, high expectations, and instructional practices that encourage students to take academic risks and grow. More information about CPS can be found on our website at  .

About Chelsea Opportunity Academy:

Founded in 2018, Chelsea Opportunity Academy (COA) is the district’s alternative high school designed for students who are overage and undercredited, balancing school with significant responsibilities outside the classroom. COA was created in partnership with Chelsea students, families, and community members, resulting in an innovative, flexible learning model that enables students to re-engage in school and earn a high‑quality diploma on timelines that work for them.

COA serves approximately 150 students each year through a personalized, relationship‑centered approach. The school’s flexible and asynchronous model supports the 80% of students who work while attending school, and its core value—Every Day Is a New Day—guides a culture of belonging, care, and possibility. With a small, mission‑driven staff, a deeply rooted crew advisory system, strong alumni mentorship, and an emphasis on healing‑centered practice, COA has supported more than 200 graduates who are now enrolled in postsecondary programs or employed.

COA is seeking a principal who recognizes the transformative power of relationships, deeply values young people’s strengths, and believes that with support, love, and academic challenge, all students can thrive.

About the Position:

The Principal of Chelsea Opportunity Academy serves as the instructional, operational, and cultural leader of the school. This role requires a leader who can both uphold the school’s unique model and guide its continued evolution in collaboration with students, staff, families, and district partners. The Principal is responsible for shaping a clear vision for student success, ensuring high‑quality teaching and learning, fostering a nurturing and culturally responsive environment, and maintaining the flexible systems that allow COA students to balance school, work, and family.

This is a highly relational leadership role in a small school community where visibility, presence, and partnership with staff and students are essential.

Now in our 8th year, COA is a strong and thriving school, continually refined through thoughtful input from educational experts funded by the Barr Foundation and Springpoint Schools. Our growth has been deliberate and mission‑aligned. Even so, we are excited for a new principal to bring fresh thinking and innovation, especially in the area of instructional systems and practice, as we look toward our next chapter.

The Principal retains ultimate oversight, progress monitoring, supervision, and evaluation of all administrators, educator teams, and staff responsible for implementing the following:

• Fostering a collaborative, student‑centered culture grounded in shared leadership and the school’s values.
• Setting and sustaining the vision for instruction, social‑emotional learning, and the holistic development of students in an alternative setting.
• Building and refining systems that uphold COA’s flexible,…