Freire Schools→
Assistant Principal - Head of Student… at Freire Schools · Philadelp…
Job Description
About Freire Schools
Established in 1999, Freire Schools (www.freireschools.org) is a network of four charter schools across Philadelphia and Delaware whose mission is to prepare students from historically underserved communities for success in college and beyond. We’re distinguished by our belief in every student who walks through our doors, our strong code of conduct and commitment to peace that ensures a safe environment for all, our sense of family throughout our community, and our joyous and engaged classrooms that focus on academic achievement. As evidence of our impact, in 2023 Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes ranked Freire Schools in the top 15 in the country for academic gains out of 368 charter networks nationwide.
About the team
For this Head of Student Services position, you’ll be working at Freire Charter High School in Center City, Philadelphia. Philadelphia Magazine recently named Freire Charter High School (#18) among the top high schools in Philadelphia. While we’re proud of our accomplishments, we’re not bound by tradition—if something isn’t working, we take a proactive, solutions-oriented approach. Since Freire’s founding in 1999, our network has achieved strong outcomes for students through a rigorous college-preparatory program and a deep commitment to peace, within our walls and beyond.
Freire Charter High School (9–12): 2027 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
What you’ll do
As the Head of Student Services at Freire, you’ll lead and oversee systems that support students academically, socially, and emotionally across the school community. In partnership with the Heads of School and instructional leadership team, you’ll manage intervention programming, special education and counseling supports, and college and career readiness systems while helping ensure students receive the services and structures they need to thrive. This role also plays a key part in building leadership capacity across the school by developing and coaching academic and operational leaders to manage their departments with clarity, efficiency, strong systems, and a focus on results.
Responsibilities
- Supervise and support student services team members across special education, intervention, MTSS, ELL, counseling, and college advising.
- Lead schoolwide intervention programming, including credit recovery, summer interventions, ACT Prep, Reading Allowed, Team Tutor, and college and career readiness initiatives.
- Partner with the Director of College Counseling & Advising to strengthen postsecondary planning and student advising systems.
- Collaborate with instructional leadership to align academic supports, interventions, and student services programming.
- Build and maintain systems that improve student outcomes across academics, attendance, graduation readiness, and overall student support.
- Develop and coach academic and operational leaders to strengthen department management, systems thinking, communication, and execution so teams operate with clarity, efficiency, and effectiveness.
- Serve as a member of the Heads team and contribute to broader school leadership initiatives and strategic planning.
Who you are
You are a collaborative, student-centered leader who believes deeply in the academic potential and outcomes of all students and is committed to ensuring every student has access to the systems and supports needed to succeed. You are aligned to a strong, schoolwide vision for academic excellence and understand the critical connection between academics, student supports, and school operations in driving student achievement. You are highly organized, relationship-driven, and skilled at leading through influence, managing complex systems, and partnering across departments to ensure students receive consistent, high-quality academic interventions and supports that help them thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. You consistently ground your work in student data and measurable outcomes, maintaining a relentless focus on improving academic achievement and ensuring systems translate into real results for students.
Minimum requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s Degree strongly preferred
- Previous leadership or management experience in schools or student services
- Experience supervising adults and leading teams
- Strong understanding of special education, MTSS/intervention systems, and student support programming
- Demonstrated commitment to equity and serving diverse student populations
- Strong organizational, communication, and relationship-building skills
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate across departments
- Minimum of two years of classroom teaching experience
Pay and benefits
This is a 12-month position and part of the school’s Heads team. The role begins July 1 and includes two weeks off during July. Freire offers a competitive benefits package including health, dental, vision, and retirement benefits.
Freire Schools is committed to maintaining a workplace environment that is free from all forms of discrimination and discriminatory harassment, in service of the policy goal to provide all persons equal access to all categories of employment regardless of a person’s actual or perceived race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and expression), age, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic background, marital status, pregnancy or related conditions, disability, veteran/military status, or any other category protected by state or federal law.