School Principal

Overview

At Acceleration Academies, we transform the lives of students who have disengaged from traditional schooling to achieve their high school diploma through personalized, flexible learning and innovative educational practices. We empower young adults to earn their high school diploma tuition-free. Partnering with school districts nationwide, our dropout recovery and student re-engagement programs are supported by technology and a commitment to compassionate, impactful teaching.

As an Academy Director (School Principal), you will serve as the operational and instructional leader of your academy site(s), ensuring alignment to our mission of helping young adults re-engage with their education and achieve postsecondary success. You will lead a team of educators and support staff, foster a positive and inclusive school culture, and collaborate with district partners and community stakeholders.

This role blends strategic oversight with hands-on support, requiring a visionary leader who can coach staff, drive student outcomes, and manage academy operations with excellence.

This is a full-time, in-person position reporting to the Regional Vice President.

• Lead new GC enrollment through recruitment and engagement efforts
• Lead the implementation of GC Orientation
• Lead Friday Fidelity Forum Meetings focused on data review and collaboration
• Support the Career Life Coach in the development of Graduation Candidate individual learning pathways and individual support plans to gauge individual Graduation Candidate progress

• Train and lead staff in the use of the Retention Cycle Protocol; create and maintain a positive school culture and lead the instructional and/or operational vision of the Acceleration Academy program
• Advocate and support site-level incentive programs
• Use technology and Learning Management Systems to track Graduation Candidate progress, assign interventions, and support course completion as determined in individual graduation candidate learning pathways
• Complete all required data formulation for all AA reports, including local, state, and federal compliance of all ESE and ELL programs
• Lead the staff in the collection and analysis of data for instructional decision-making
• Lead the staff in the documentation and tracking of GC progress, the assignment of academic interventions to support on-time course completions as determined by the Personalized Learning Plans for GCs
• Maintain all required documentation for graduation including course completion, GPA, and standardized testing requirements
• Ensure compliance for all ESE and ESOL individualized learning plans
• Implement weekly workshops that focus on non-academic topics

• Lead and manage staff, keeping them strongly connected to the mission of Acceleration Academies
• Act as the primary point of contact between the Academy and the District as well as the Academy and community organizations
• Oversee positive relationship building and collaboration among staff, Graduation Candidates, and their families
• Facilitate communications with community organizations to support the removal of non-academic barriers for GCs (health, social services, mental health, law enforcement)
• Create schedules for employees to ensure adequate and effective staffing at all sites
• Provide ongoing feedback and support in the growth and development of all staff members connected to goals and milestones
• Perform other related duties as assigned

• Maintain compliance with the various requirements of the SCPCSD

Education: Bachelor’s degree required;
Master’s degree in education or a related field preferred.

Certification: Educational Leadership endorsement in the state of employment highly preferred.

Experience: Minimum 7 years of relevant education experience, including at least 3 years in a direct supervisory role.

Skills: Visionary leadership, data-driven decision-making, staff development, and stakeholder engagement.

Passion: A deep commitment to serving non-traditional learners and improving student outcomes through innovative education models.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with competency-based learning, project-based…