Job Description

Chief Academic & Schools Officer

Neighborhood Charter Schools (NCS) is a public charter school network rooted in Harlem and the Bronx, serving students in an intentionally designed, inclusive learning community. NCS is built on a simple but powerful belief: every child deserves to be known, valued, and supported as their full self. Our schools operate as a true neighborhood model, grounded in deep relationships with families and a commitment to belonging for every student.

What distinguishes NCS is an inclusive by design approach. Classrooms, schedules, and supports are intentionally built to serve autistic students, multilingual learners, students with IEPs, and general education students together. Inclusion is not a program or an add-onit is the foundation of how our schools function and how students experience learning every day.

As NCS expands from a K8 network to a K12 system, the launch of its first high school marks a defining moment for the organization. This next chapter requires greater coherence across schools, clarity around vision and systems, and senior leadership to ensure quality and consistency as the network grows.

This role marks a new phase of academic leadership at NCS, with responsibility for clarifying and stewarding the organization's academic and culture vision, codifying the model, and strengthening coherence across schools. The CASO will guide the transition from a strong K8 foundation to a fully articulated K12 continuum aligned to the NCS high school vision. In close partnership with school leaders, the CASO will translate vision into practice, build durable systems, and support continuous improvement as the network grows.

As a senior organizational leader, the Chief Academic & Schools Officer also serves as a cultural standard-setter for the network. Grounded in a deep belief in equity for all students, the CASO models NCS's LIGHT values in practice, sets clear expectations for how leaders work together, and inspires teams to pursue system-wide change in service of students and communities.

Define & Uphold the K-12 Vision

• Articulate and steward a clear, shared K12 vision for learning and student experience, grounded in NCS's mission, values, and graduate outcomes.
• Set clear expectations for what excellent teaching, meaningful learning, and a strong student culture look like across the network.
• Ensure coherence across academic priorities and student experiencefrom curriculum and assessment to grading, routines, and expectationsas students move from elementary through high school.
• Ensure inclusive, culturally responsive, and developmentally appropriate practices are embedded in how schools are designed and led, not layered on as separate initiatives.

Refine & Codify the K8 Model Aligned to the High School Vision

• Clarify and strengthen the NCS K8 model so there is a shared understanding of what strong teaching, learning, and student experience look like across schools.
• Ensure K8 learning experiences consistently prepare students for the academic expectations, independence, and rigor they will encounter in high school.
• Align K8 practices with the NCS high school vision and graduate outcomes, maintaining coherence in expectations and approach as students progress across grade levels.
• Guide the thoughtful evolution of K8 practices to strengthen long-term K12 readiness, building on what is working while addressing gaps that emerge over time.

Build Coherent Systems to Drive Learning Outcomes

• Design and oversee network-wide academic systems, including curriculum, assessment, grading, and instructional professional learning.
• Establish clear goals, metrics, and monitoring processes for student learning, instructional quality, and school performance.
• Use data and qualitative evidence to identify priorities and drive continuous improvement.
• Build systems that are coherent, scalable, and responsive as the network grows.

Lead, Manage, and Develop School & Network Leaders

• Manage and support school principals as leaders and stewards of the NCS model.
• Lead and develop senior network academic leaders, including the Director of Humanities and Director of STEM.
• Build a culture of collaboration, accountability, and professional growth among school and network leaders.
• Partner with the Executive Director and talent leaders on leadership development, evaluation, and succession planning.

Steward High School Readiness

• Lead planning to ensure the high school launches with a clear, coherent academic program and student culture vision, setting shared expectations for teaching, learning, belonging, and student experience.
• Ensure alignment between high school academic and culture expectations and existing K8 practices, values, and norms, so students experience continuity as they transition into high school.
• Build readiness across core academic and student experience dimensionsincluding instruction, assessment, supports for diverse learners, and student culture structuresin collaboration with internal leaders and external partners.
• Partner closely with the Founding High School Principal to translate academic and student culture vision into school-level practice as the high school moves from planning to implementation.

Who You'll Work With

• Executive Director this role reports to the Executive Director and serves as a close thought partner and senior leader responsible for academic quality and school performance.
• School Principals direct reports and key partners in implementing the academic vision and driving school-level outcomes.
• Network Academic Leadership Team direct reports working closely with you will be Directors of Humanities, STEM and their respective teams.
• Special Education Team critical partners to ensure that that inclusion sits at the center of the academic vision and its implementation.
• Network Leaders cross-functional partners to ensure academic priorities are supported by talent, operations, and organizational systems.

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