Ravenscroft, a Pre Kindergarten through twelfth grade co-ed independent school with 1,205 students located in Raleigh, North Carolina, seeks a visionary and collaborative leader to serve as the new co-Assistant Head of Lower School to create a vibrant student life program that nurtures resilient, resourceful and ethical student leaders.

Strategic Priorities

The strategic priorities for the Assistant Head of Lower School for Student Learning include the following:

• Develop programs and opportunities that build on student learning and nurture community spirit

• Work in partnership with the Lower School Leadership Team and the Assistant Director of DEI to further develop a sense of belonging for all students

• Identify and develop supports for faculty that push the division forward through the celebration of its differences and hold student behaviors accountable

• Develop effective teams and modes of communication that encourage healthy debate, feedback, collaboration, and the free flow of ideas

Essential Priorities

The essential functions of the Assistant Head of Lower School for Student Learning include the following:

• Meet weekly, or as needed, with the Head of Lower School and/or Assistant Head of Lower School to review Lower School needs

• Serve on the school-wide Academic Committee

• Meet with the Lower School Leadership Team weekly, or as needed

• Assist the Assistant Head of Lower School with student behavior and Honor Code when applicable

• Meet and plan with each grade level during Professional Learning Communities (PLC) meetings once during each eight-day cycle

• As a Lower School Leadership Team member, assist the Lower School’s curriculum and instruction as well as current best practices based on research with the faculty, staff, and school community

• Serve as a resource to parents

• Serve as a member of the Lower School Student Assistance Team

• Manage Lower School administration of CTP 5 and Milestone testing for grades 3, 4, and 5 in partnership with the Assistant Head of Lower School

• Provide data analysis to the Lower School Leadership Team

• Provide data and assessment information to parents when applicable

• Continue professional growth and strengthen professional teaching knowledge and align with best practices, skills, and strategies through an ongoing program of workshops, seminars, conferences, and/or advanced coursework

• Maintain a collection of professional materials that reflect current research and best practices

• Plan and lead Lower School Department Meetings in partnership with the Head and Assistant Head of Lower School

• Assume additional duties as a faculty member (sponsor an after-school club, join a standing committee, support carpool, lunch/recess duty, etc)

Qualifications and Requirements

In addition to the qualities and skills noted above, the successful candidate will exhibit the following competencies and accomplishments:

• Advanced degree required

• Proven success working with children in PreK–fifth grade and demonstrated understanding of the developmental needs of young children

• Experience with actively coaching and supporting faculty and staff is strongly preferred, especially with Math in Focus and Lucy Calkins Units of Studies

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; tact in dealing with parents, faculty, staff, and students

• Commitment to modeling Ravenscroft’s Lead From Here competencies and its citizen leader framework

• Ability to make and implement difficult decisions

• Familiarity with data analysis

• Experience with technology and social media as a communication tool

• A growth mindset with interdependent leadership skills and the desire to collaborate

• Ability to give and receive constructive feedback

• A creative problem-solver familiar with DEI competencies

The School

The Ravenscroft community, guided by a legacy of excellence, nurtures individual potential and prepares students to thrive in a complex and interdependent world. 

Ravenscroft serves students in PreKindergarten through twelfth grade and is divided into three divisions: Lower School, Middle School and Upper School, each with individual directors. The enrollment of the school is 1,205 students. The academic program is both broad and deep, offering a remarkable range of opportunities for students.

Academics

Ravenscroft is committed to delivering its mission through an educational experience deeply rooted in on-campus programming while also providing learning options for those that are unable to be on campus due to health concerns. The School cultivates the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills and believes that strong written and verbal communication skills are at the heart of an exceptional education and successful career.

Through a student-centered learning environment, the School fosters intellectual, artistic, and athletic inquiry built on hands-on experimentation, project-based learning, active practice, and a global perspective. Ravenscroft has joined forces with the Center for Creative Leadership — one of the world’s top-ranked providers of executive education — to pioneer a groundbreaking curriculum designed to teach critical leadership skills to children of all ages.

All students can become citizen leaders, leading and collaborating with others to create positive change. Through the Lead From Here frameworkand their curriculum, students are taught life competencies, cultivating critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will prepare them to thrive in a complex and interdependent world. Students in PreK through twelfth grade hone resilience and growth-mindedness as they face new challenges inside and outside of the classroom.

Lower School

The journey begins in Lower School, where young people learn, through work and play, to listen, to collaborate, and to begin to see themselves as part of a larger community. Ravenscroft meets children where they are and helps them develop at their own pace and in their own time.

The Middle School

Middle School is an entry and a bridge. It encourages hands-on practice and active, joyful learning, not only in the science labs and playing fields, but in creative writing and many electives like art journaling or North Carolina folklore.

The Upper School

Upper School students have many opportunities to pursue their interests, wherever it leads them. In preparing each student for a college experience and life beyond that, the School emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and the ability to face challenges inside and outside the classroom.

Community

The Ravenscroft experience spans the classroom, the sports field, the art room, the stage, and the community.

Ravenscroft is a supportive, warm community that values diversity, equity, and inclusivity and the unique gifts each individual on campus brings to our shared experience. As students develop the competencies that will help them succeed in an unpredictable world, Ravenscroft becomes a community of citizen leaders.

Lead From Here

“Character, service, leadership — this is the context within which learning takes place.”

A Ravenscroft education has these values at its core. Lead From Here is a one-of-a-kind educational framework that has transformed the school culture and curriculum to imbue its students with these values, to teach them leadership skills, and to equip them to take their place as citizen leaders in a complex, multicultural world.

Lead From Here enhances Ravenscroft’s rigorous academic program and helps develop children who are confident and have high aspirations — they will thrive as students today and change the world of tomorrow.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

A significant part of supporting their mission is Ravenscroft’s ongoing commitment to be a school that feels safe and inclusive for everyone.

Lead From Here provides the educational framework for teaching and learning to Lead Self, Lead With Others, and Change Your World; and it is through their citizen leadership education that the School is able to nurture and support their inclusive community and deliver on the promise of their mission.

Community Service

An integral part of school life at Ravenscroft, community service helps shape well-rounded individuals like nothing else can. It is the most important way in which their students learn to look beyond themselves, to develop the capacity for empathy, acceptance and grace, and to take an active role in positively shaping their community. Their students participate in service-related activities in a variety of ways, all of which are age-appropriate.

The Campus

Ravenscroft’s beautiful campus is situated on 135 wooded acres in North Raleigh, approximately 15 minutes from both downtown Raleigh and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Ravenscroft facilities include Holding Hall Lower School, featuring dedicated PreKindergarten and Kindergarten centers, Middle School, Murphy Hall Upper School, Keim Center for Innovation and Research for Middle and Upper School students and Winston Library for Lower School Students.

SEARCH CALENDAR*

Priority Application Deadline
May 6, 2022

Semi-finalist Interviews
Mid-May, 2022

Finalist Interviews
Late May, 2022

Announcement
Early June, 2022

*Approximate dates subject to change