Associate School Director (ASD) (2025-2026 School Year)

POSITION: Associate School Director (ASD)

GRADE LEVEL: Hiring for both middle school and high school positions

LOCATION: Hiring at multiple locations. View current openings here. We encourage you to apply even if your preferred location is not currently listed.

SALARY: $85,000-$105,000 based on up to 10 years of aligned experience. We also offer a relocation stipend for anyone joining us from 75 miles or more from Denver!

STATUS: Full time regular year round, benefits eligible, exempt, in-person position (Denver, CO)

START: Summer 2025. View the current School Year Calendar here.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Associate School Director (ASD) serves as a systems, culture, and curriculum/instruction leader on the campus in partnership with the School Director. They are responsible for coaching and managing people in both their teaching practice and leadership practice as well as their continuous growth personally. The ASD role supports our belief in the human condition, that every human being strives to be fully known for who they are and the unique contribution they make to the human story. In addition to this, the ASD, in partnership with the School Leadership Team, is responsible for the overall results of the school.

Leadership

• DSST Mission Driven: Demonstrate a sense of urgency about achievement for ALL students and preparing every student for post secondary success.
• Pursue solutions with tenacity that maximize student achievement. Is willing to do whatever it takes to get the work done right.
• Model professional maturity; emotional constancy in stressful situations, bringing out the best in others, seek solutions and positively motivating.
• Mentor and coach staff members to encourage growth and results.
• Identify and systematically develop future leaders.
• Act as a strategic partner to the School Director; fully responsible for executing the vision of the leader in all areas.
• Supervise a substantial portion of the team.

Culture

• Cultivate school culture centered on core values that deeply care for each student and staff member and hold each student and staff member to the highest level of accountability.
• Coordinate with the school leadership team to ensure Morning Meetings are robust and supportive of our values-based culture.
• Collaborate with school staff to maximize the ability of the school to support students' academic and socio-emotional development.
• Provide leadership to establish a positive, structured, achievement-oriented, and fun school culture for all staff and students.

Instruction, Coaching and Evaluation

• Provide instructional leadership informed by a nuanced understanding of DSST best practices
• Use centralized coaching tool to track all coaching meetings, observations, and action steps.
• Provide teachers with specific, actionable, qualitative (i.e., narrative) and quantitative (i.e., rubric) feedback on their performance in all areas.
• Manage a data-driven instructional process that includes rigorous interim assessments that are effectively aligned with year-end assessments and college readiness. Able to align all other school leadership components to the data driven instructional process (professional development, curriculum development, teacher observation/supervision, etc.
• Work with teachers to create and refine DSST curriculum documents (assessments, plans, data tracking), which correspond to college readiness standards, core instructional practices, and the benchmark assessment program
• Create, maintain, and update whole school, grade level, and teacher level student academic and assessment records and reports.
• Oversee required standardized testing
• Identify and arrange for staff development opportunities which relate to core instructional practices, standards based assessments, and content areas.
• Co-manage department chairs to ensure effective outcomes within departments.

Systems

• Implement systems that emphasize attention to detail, maximize programmatic goals, and are scalable as the school grows.
• Develop solutions to complex problems involving all stakeholders.
• Manage with fiscal responsibility - develop a disciplined planning process that identifies the school's highest-priorities.

Additional Duties

• Recruit and hire school staff
• Serve as a recruiter for new students; actively engage prospective families in an effort to draw more students to choose your school; be willing to take on additional tasks to support recruitment, as needed.
• Work with DSST Home Office to create network-wide standards, curriculum, and assessment documents
• Work with DSST Home Office to create network-wide new teacher professional development; create school-specific new and returning teacher professional development
• Participate in network wide Instructional Leadership Development and Culture Leadership Development
• If applicable, teach select course(s) within the school
• If applicable, act as a student advisor for a group of students

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree
• At least 5 years working in schools and classrooms
• At least 2 years of experience in 6-12 grade school-based leadership
• Demonstrated ability to coach, manage, and lead adults to achieve student success and professional growth
• An unwavering belief that all students can succeed in high school, reach their most ambitious post-secondary goals, and lead exemplary lives
• Desire to personally professionally grow in their practice of becoming an anti-racist educator
• Self-awareness, a regular practice of reflection, and a desire to continuously improve

IDEAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Proven commitment to and experience with serving students of color, students with disabilities, and/or multilingual students

WHO WE ARE

At DSST Public Schools, we are proud to be the largest and highest-performing network of public charter schools in Denver and Aurora with 100% of our students having been accepted into college or post secondary programs since our inception in 2004. When you join DSST, you play a part in ensuring all 7,500+ students at our 16 schools have access to a transformational and joyful education.

INTERVIEW EXPECTATIONS

For most of our positions, we hire on a rolling basis. Therefore, we recommend that you submit your application as soon as you are able! You can learn more about what to expect in our interview process here.

WHY JOIN DSST?

At DSST, we know that our people are the greatest asset we have in reaching our mission of eliminating educational inequity. We work hard to build a work culture that allows our staff to not only feel fulfilled by the work they do but also feel supported to live a joyful, healthy life. We want this work to be your life's work. Check out why our teachers love working at DSST as well as our benefits website to learn how we deliver on our commitment to the human condition.

• Health and Supplemental Insurance: DSST staff have access to comprehensive medical benefits, including fertility benefits and a mental health counselor that is dedicated solely to DSST staff.
• Time Off: DSST Staff enjoy 11+ weeks off per year + paid PTO (from Day 1!)
• Professional Development: As a learning organization, DSST values both internal and external development opportunities for staff. See some examples below:
  
  • DSST Back to School Development Series including New Staff Institute, New Educator Institute, New Leader Institute, Leader You, and Teaching & Learning Institute.
  • Weekly 1:1 Coaching from a School Administrator at your campus.
  • Clear internal career pathway opportunities such as our Apprentice Teachers, Emerging Leaders, and School Director in Training Programs. Read more here.
• And more!

DSST COMMUNITY REFERRAL PROGRAM

Not a best fit role for you but know someone else who would be a great fit? Refer them here and earn $500 if they are hired!

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

DSST Public Schools is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not exclude participation in, deny benefits to or discriminate on the basis of, race, color, religion, National origin, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), Age (40 and older), Disability, Genetic information (including employer requests for, or purchase, use, or disclosure of genetic tests, genetic services, or family medical history), retaliation for filing a charge, reasonably opposing discrimination, or participating in a discrimination lawsuit, investigation, or proceeding in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is active and may require standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, and crouching throughout the day. The employee must lift and/or move items up to 30 pounds. The employee must have sufficient hand, arm, and finger dexterity to operate a computer keyboard and other office equipment. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.