Ravenscroft, a PreKindergarten through twelfth grade co-ed independent school located in Raleigh, North Carolina, seeks a visionary and collaborative leader to serve as the new Assistant Head of Upper School for Student Leadership to lead a vibrant student life program that nurtures resilient, resourceful and ethical student leaders.

Strategic Priorities

Reporting to the Head of Upper School, the Assistant Head is a member of the Upper School Leadership Team and Student Assistance Team and responsible for providing informal coaching and mentorship to faculty, especially on matters of student leadership and conduct. The ideal candidate is a firm disciplinarian whose actions are anchored in love, joy and accountability. Ravenscroft invites experienced educators who love working with Upper School students and have demonstrated proven success managing discipline and programs at this divisional level to join the Upper School leadership team.

The strategic priorities for the Assistant Head include the following:

• Develop programs and opportunities that develop student leadership and nurture community spirit

• Work in partnership with DEI teams to support affinity groups and 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 holds 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 for the Assistant Head of Upper School include the following:

• Serve as the primary person to direct and conduct the disciplinary process for potential violations of the Ravenscroft handbook, including the Honor Code, by investigating potential violations and communicating disciplinary decisions to students and parents/guardians

• Assist the Head of Upper School in fielding and responding to parent and/or student concerns

• Plan and communicate Community Time activities, including morning meetings, advisory, and other student life events

• Coordinate with the Upper School Counselor on development and implementation of the Lead from Here program in advisory, as well as transition programming for 9th and 12th graders

• Supervise and direct the activities of the Grade Level Deans

• Assist the Head of Upper School with other administrative programs and projects (exam and special schedules, providing support for divisional goals, etc.)

• Oversee Upper School events, including athletic events, dances, etc.

• Schedule assemblies, community and student organization time and activities

• Oversee the honor council, advisory program, and disciplinary process

• Teach one class

• Work in partnership with College Counselors to develop programs that build community values and assist students’ successful transition to university

• Collaborate with the Admissions team to develop the student ambassadors program and other leadership opportunities

• Supervise community service, service learning and other volunteer/service activities

• Communicate disciplinary decisions to parents and facilitate meetings with parents, as necessary

• Work collaboratively with the Assistant Director of DEI

Qualifications and Requirements

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

• A visionary thinker adept at building a culturally inclusive community and can skillfully activate well-planned and paced change

• Strong adaptability and emotional intelligence with prior experience successfully leading student life and handling discipline required

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

• A strategic innovator and culture-builder with strong communication skills, both written and verbal

• A willingness to provide input and feedback on areas of the division across roles and responsibilities

• The agility to exercise the utmost confidentiality with both student and faculty/staff information

• A creative problem-solver familiar with DEI competencies

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years teaching experience required; Master’s degree and experience in student life work highly desirable

The School

The Ravenscroft community, guided by a legacy of excellence, nurtures individual potential and prepares students succeed in college and beyond. 

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 1,200 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 and 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
April 12, 2022

Semi-finalist Interviews
Mid-April, 2022

Finalist Interviews
Late April, 2022

Announcement
Late April/Early May, 2022

*Approximate dates subject to change