Director of Secondary Performance (High School)

Overview

Friendship Public Charter School operates a thriving network of college preparatory public charter schools. Headquartered in Washington, DC., Friendship serves over 4,800 students in preschool to grade 12 and guides a growing network of alumni to college completion annually.  Our mission is to prepare students to become ethical, literate, well-rounded and self-sufficient citizens by providing a world-class education that motivates students to reach high academic standards, to enjoy learning, to achieve success, and to contribute actively to their communities. For 25 years, with the support and guidance of our exceptional faculty, our students have risen to the challenge with high graduation rates, college acceptances and unparalleled success academically and socially.

The Director of Secondary Education serves as a key instructional and operational leader for high schools within the Friendship PCS network. This role provides direct coaching and support to high school principals and leadership teams to ensure all scholars graduate college- and career-ready. The Director will lead efforts to align academic programming, school culture systems, and leadership development with the DC PCSB Aspire High School Framework, as well as the network’s mission and performance goals.

This is a high-visibility, hands-on leadership position that requires frequent time spent on-site in schools, deep instructional knowledge, and a proven track record of improving secondary school outcomes.

Please note, the salary range for this role is $130,000 - $187,500

Responsibilities

School Leadership Coaching & Development

• Provide one-on-one executive coaching to the high school principal using the Friendship Leadership Competencies with a focus on instructional leadership, team management, culture-building, and strategic planning.
• Partner with the school’s leadership team to strengthen instructional coherence and teacher development systems.
• Facilitate data-driven school reviews, performance check-ins, and ongoing support aligned to key DC PCSB ASPIRE metrics.
• Build leadership capacity within assistant principals, instructional coaches, and department leads.
• Serve as a thought partner and systems-level coach to school leaders, leveraging best practices to scale high-impact leadership routines and professional learning systems.
• Spend consistent time embedded in school communities to observe leadership team meetings, instructional walks, and the implementation of school-wide systems to provide actionable feedback.
• Codify and refine replicable leadership practices and toolkits to support principal onboarding, coaching, and development across the high school portfolio.

Instructional & Academic Excellence

• Monitor fidelity of curriculum implementation in core content areas, including ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies.
• Partner with the central academic team to align curriculum, pacing, and assessments with high school standards and college/career readiness expectations.
• Support intervention and acceleration strategies to ensure all scholars meet graduation requirements and postsecondary benchmarks.
• Champion effective use of data (interim assessments, MAP, SAT/PSAT, graduation rates) to drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with academic and assessment teams to codify high school instructional systems including walkthrough tools, teacher coaching cycles, and department-level data reviews.
• Build a knowledge base of effective instructional models and high school practices from within and beyond Friendship PCS to inform continuous innovation.

Alignment to the DC PCSB Aspire High School Framework

• Guide school leaders in deep understanding and use of the Aspire Framework to inform instructional priorities, interventions, and strategic planning.
• Ensure progress on key indicators including: academic growth, college and career readiness, mission-specific goals, and attendance/graduation metrics.
• Lead internal Aspire-aligned data reviews and support performance management reporting.
• Develop cross-school progress monitoring protocols to ensure real-time insight into Aspire-aligned performance and guide mid-course corrections.

School Culture & Climate

• Collaborate with school leaders to implement inclusive, scholar-centered behavior systems.
• Promote equitable discipline practices and positive school culture aligned to Friendship PCS’ values.
• Serve as a visible presence in the building, observing classrooms, supporting school events, and cultivating a joyful, rigorous learning environment.
• Support school teams in codifying culture-building practices and rituals to ensure consistency across the high school experience.
• Identify and scale strong practices that promote student belonging, identity development, and school pride.Systems & Operations Alignment

• Partner with operations, special education, and postsecondary teams to ensure all compliance, scheduling, and programmatic needs are met.
• Lead cross-functional planning for the school calendar, master scheduling, and key academic initiatives.
• Support the codification of high school operational systems such as advisory programming, testing schedules, and collaborative planning structures.
• Serve as a liaison between schools and central teams to ensure alignment on strategic priorities, resource allocation, and implementation fidelity.
• Maintain documentation of school-based systems to build scalable templates and implementation guides.

Qualifications

• Experience in the role is preferred
• Master's or Doctorate degree in Education, Educational Leadership, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in Secondary Educational Leadership
• Strong knowledge of curriculum development, instructional best practices, and assessment strategies aligned with district and state standards.
• Demonstrated success in leading and supporting school improvement initiatives, with a focus on closing achievement gaps and promoting academic growth.
• Proven ability to analyze data and use evidence-based decision-making to drive instructional improvement.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills to work effectively with diverse stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, and community members.
• Visionary and innovative thinker with the ability to lead transformational change in education.
• Familiarity with the Washington, D.C., education landscape and understanding of local education policies and regulations; preferred

FPCS’s policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants and employees regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, status as a special disabled veteran, or any other protected criteria as established by federal, state, or local laws.  This policy applies to recruitment and hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfer, layoff, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.  Employment decisions at FPCS are based solely upon relevant criteria, including an individual’s capabilities, qualifications, training, experience and suitability.