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 JOB ANNOUNCEMENT 

 

Executive Director – Washington State Charter School Commission

$150,000 - $198,000 annually 

  Recruitment Closes July 30,2024 

 

The Washington State Charter School Commission is currently seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of Executive Director in Olympia, Washington. This full-time permanent position offers the possibility of partial telework, allowing for a combination of days on-site and off-site. 

Charter public schools provide education choices for families seeking resources that best empower their children to learn and thrive. Like all public schools, they are open to all students, tuition-free, publicly funded, staffed by certified teachers, and held accountable to state and national standards. 

The Washington State Charter School Commission (Commission) is an independent state agency. The Commission’s mission is to authorize high-quality charter public schools, especially schools designed to expand opportunities for students who have been underserved, and to ensure the highest standards of accountability and oversight for these schools by holding school boards accountable. The Commission works to ensure that charter public schools respect the rights of students, staff, and families within the schools as well as the interests of the general public while meeting the legal requirements and obligations of state and federal government. 

Per the Commission’s educational equity policy, the agency is committed to closing opportunity gaps between the state’s most and least privileged groups of students within the educational system. It has a moral obligation and legal obligation to cultivate charter schools where socio-economic status and protected groups status such as race, gender, language, sexual orientation, national origin, and disability cease to be a predictor of academic and life outcomes. The Commission believes that educational equity benefits all students and our entire community. 

Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to visit the Commission’s website (www.charterschool.wa.us) to gain insight into the agency’s mission, vision, strategic plan and educational equity policy.

Position Objective 

The Executive Director (ED) is responsible for the overall operation of the Commission, an independent state agency, and reports to an 11 member Commission. The ED has the authority to specify actions required and to detail how the Commission, will operate.   Work is accomplished by providing strategic leadership to the Commission and staff, engagement with internal and external stakeholders, and by system development and subsequent leadership to achieve the Commission’s vision.  The ED serves as the Chief Executive Officer, operating under the policy direction of the Commission and in accordance with federal and state laws.  The ED also serves as the managing director of all agency operations and is the main link between the agency, Commissioners, and external partners.  The Commission will evaluate the performance of the Executive Director on an annual basis.   

 

Primary Responsibilities

Strategic Vision & Administration

  • Serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the agency.
  • Controls the $4.6 million Biennial budget for the Commission. Responsible for the overall financial planning and budget execution of the Commission.
  • Develops Commission program design and implementation for new charter public school applications as well as quality and accountability of authorized charter public schools providing education to Washington children throughout the state.
  • Leads the development and implementation of Commission policies.
  • Provides strategic, long-term direction and recommendations to the Commission.
  • Administers the development, implementation and assessment of the Commission’s Performance Framework consistent with the state statute.
  • Serves as the state’s expert regarding charter public schools, requiring broad professional knowledge of the Washington charter school law, its implementation including compliance with academic and organizational requirements and national charter public school standards, growth and compliance with educational standards.
  • Assesses progress towards strategic goals, effectively communicating progress and barriers to realizing goals, and implementing tactics to propel the Commission’s progress in achieving its strategic goals.
  • Develops entrepreneurial strategies and oversees the implementation of the Commission’s legislative and public policy agenda at the state level with particular focus on specific priority areas.
  • Engages regularly with community and school stakeholders to receive input and feedback to ensure successful alignment of the authorization and oversight processes to the Commission’s educational equity policy.
  • Researches, collaborates, and leads efforts to fully understand and affect change across multiple state agencies and state regulations in the development and sustainability of a charter public school sector in Washington.
  • Manages all aspects of the Commission, through the leadership of a highly qualified professional team, to operate efficiently, effectively, equitably, and ethically.
  • Is adept in navigating complex legal and political issues as the Commission representative with the Legislature, the Governor’s Office, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, educational organizations, the media, citizen groups, other state agencies, school districts, and representatives of other local and federal government offices to provide information for the establishment, continued operations and performance measures applicable to Washington charter public schools. Provides the Commission with necessary facts, information, and reports, as needed, concerning these interactions.
  • Employs an advanced understanding and expert application of educational theory, finance, public organization, and state and federal legal education requirements including those involving special education, English language learners, transportation, and free and reduced price meal programs.

 

Commissioner & Staff Management

  • Oversee and coordinate submissions and recommendations to the Commissioners on all matters requiring action. Provide the Commissioners with necessary facts, information, and reports needed to make informed decisions.
  • Provide ongoing professional development to build staff and Commissioner capacity.
  • Communicate openly and regularly with the Commissioners concerning programs, practices, and problems of authorized charter schools, and established Commission authorization and oversight practices and policies.
  • Lead the development and implementation of policies developed by the Commission.
  • Oversees the hiring, assignment of work and supervision of Commission staff.
  • Ensure the Commissioners, the agency, and the staff comply with all laws, regulations, and Commission policies.
  • Foster a professional, respectful work environment that encourages open communication, continuous learning, and improvement for the staff, and lead the team through a lens of transparency and authenticity.
  • Ensure policies are in place to develop and implement effective performance management and evaluation of staff. Place focus on improving individual and collective knowledge and skills around high quality charter school authorization and oversight.
  • Makes administrative decisions necessary for the effective and efficient operations of the Commission.  Has full authority to act when emergency action is necessary in matters of urgency which are not covered by Commission policy. Reports such emergency actions to the Commission and makes recommendation of policy for future guidance.

 

Legislative Relations, Policy & Advocacy

  • Establish and maintain relationships with legislators, the Governor, government relations leaders, charter school funders, and policy and public influencers to support the ongoing development of the charter public school sector in Washington.
  • Support the charter school community in their efforts to promote new legislation to allow authorization of charter public schools.
  • Seek out and build strong relationships with state and local community-based organizations that represent and/or support diverse communities. Provide capacity-building opportunities to provide a continuing growth in understanding charter public schools and improved educational opportunities for students.
  • Educate legislative staff who can impact issues important to the Commission and charter public schools.
  • Serve as the Commission’s spokesperson for legislative engagements, testifying before legislative committees, providing analysis and impact of proposed legislation on the Commission and authorized charter school operations to the media and other audiences.
  • Proactively educate key stakeholders (i.e., communities served by charter public schools, partner state agencies, legislative and policy staff, and the media) about charter public schools.
  • Partner with existing and emerging charter public school support organizations and leaders to increase capacity to support Washington charter public schools.
  • Foster relationships with education reform organizations and entities that support charter public schools to positively influence legislative policies impacting charter public schools.

 

Charter Public School Relationships & Oversight

  • Communicates a clear and understandable outline of the Commission’s roles, responsibilities, and authority as the regulatory agency.
  • Fosters the development of respectful and dialogue-drive relationships between the Commission, its staff, and school boards of the districts that charter public schools are sited within.
  • Ensures underrepresented communities are included at all levels of charter public school development and authorization.
  • Oversees the intervention process with schools that are not meeting legal standards and performance expectations, including potential contract revocation and school closure.
  • Aligns statewide resources including talent, knowledge, and collaborative partnerships with community-specific needs for the benefit of all students in the charter public school system.
  • Assures ongoing development and revision of accountability systems and oversight practices.
  • Develops and implements a comprehensive evaluation rubric to ensure that all charter public school applications are vetted and assessed for the applicant’s educational, organizational, and financial capacity governing the authorization of contracts to operate a school from the Commission.
  • Ensures that operating charter public schools provide the educational services required by state and federal law as well as additional requirements under their contract. This oversight includes periodic site visits, quarterly budget review and annual financial audits. Initiate action to close a charter public school failing to meet legal standards and performance expectations.
  • Researches, investigates and interprets current trends and developments in charter school authorization and oversight, and new rules and regulations from Department of Education and federal and state law.
  • Employs advanced education principles and analysis to identify and address historically underserved student populations in Washington including systemic or programmatic barriers for academic success.
  • Provides recommendation for development and ensures implementation of Commission policies across the agency.
  • Reports to the Commission about the status of financials, application processes, charter school oversight, internal and external communications, and other programs for Commission.
  • Communicates openly and regularly with the Commission concerning programs, practices and problems of authorized charter schools as measured by authorization and oversight practices and policies.
  • Communicates, represents and actuates the Commission’s mission and vision to internal and external stakeholders in an effort to seek fulfillment and refinement of the Commission‘s mission and vision.
  • Responsible for developing, gaining Commission approval, and implementing the agency’s strategic plan.

 

Decision-Making & Policy Impact

  • Leads the development and implementation of Commission policies.
  • Develops, implements, monitors and updates operations level practices and policies including but not limited to:
    • New School Application Process;
    • Charter School Oversight and Monitoring;
    • Charter Contract Renewal and Revocation;
    • Contracts;
    • Human Resources;
    • Finance;
    • Travel
  • Administers the development, implementation and assessment of the Commission’s Performance Framework consistent with the state statute.
  • Ensures the Commissioners, the agency and the staff comply with all laws, regulations and Commission policies.
  • Develops Commission program design and implementation for new charter public school applications as well as quality and accountability of authorized charter public schools providing education to Washington children throughout the state.
  • Develops strategies and oversee the implementation of the Commission’s legislative and public policy agenda at the state level with particular focus on specific priority areas.
  • Identifies and drafts amendments and legislative proposals.
  • Cultivates relationships with key elected and appointed officials, staff, policy makers and related governmental bodies and leaders.
  • Prepares policy and advocacy materials including talking points, issue briefs, letters, press statements, opinion editorials, website updates and legislative and public policy reports;
  • Oversees and coordinates submissions and recommendations to the Commissioners on all matters requiring action.
  • Responsible for developing, gaining Commission approval, and implementing the agency’s strategic plan.
  • Directs and oversees the monitoring, and when necessary intervention, of non-profit’s compliance with its charter contract.  Intervention for non-compliance could include issuing corrective action, sanctions, and/or revocation of a charter school’s contract (school closure).

 

Required Education, Experience and Competencies


 

  • Proven ability to build strong external relationships with a variety of public leaders, systemically marginalized communities, educational leaders, partner organizations, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
  • Demonstrated commitment to advancing educational equity and strong educational outcomes for all students, preferably within charter public schools, as well as an ability to work effectively with individuals from diverse communities and cultures across the state.
  • Strong experience working directly with/for a Board of appointed and/or governmental officials.
  • Success in advocating for or obtaining adequate financial resources for a public entity.
  • Proven success in building strong and productive work teams with a focus on mentoring and nurturing staff development.
  • Ability to articulate and interpret the history of inequities in the educational system. Apply current day Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives and an understanding of the current reality of communities of color to decision making and leadership framework.
  • Strong analytical and strategic-thinking skills, with a demonstrated ability to create, implement, and monitor complex plans and then translate those plans into goals and concrete strategies.
  • Career track record that shows stability with an organization and capacity to develop and nurture relationships culminating in overall success.
  • A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in leadership and management, with documented ability to manage staff and lead teams.
  • A Bachelor's degree in education, business administration, public administration, or other related field is preferred or, in place of a Bachelor’s 6 years of experience is required in addition to the 7 years of progressive experience in leadership and management, with documented ability to manage staff and lead teams. The 6 years of experience may be outside of public policy settings.

 

Compensation

The annual compensation for the position is up to $150,000 to $198,000 per year and depends upon experience, educational background and qualifications. Washington State offers a generous benefit package including health, dental and life insurance, retirement and an optional deferred compensation program. Please visit Health Care Authority for information regarding health benefits and the Department of Retirement Systems for retirement plan information. This position serves at the pleasure of the Commission, and is Civil Service Exempt. This position is not represented by a bargaining unit.

 

Application Process

Those interested in this position must apply through Careers.wa.gov. Applications must include the following documents in MS Word and PDF format only:

  • A letter of interest specifically addressing the qualifications listed in this announcement;
  • A current résumé, and;
  • A list of three or more professional references.

Please address any questions to:

Sal Salazar, Human Resources

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
600 Washington Street Southeast
Olympia, Washington 98504-7200

360-725-6278: sal.salazar@k12.wa.us 
 
Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at (360) 725-6270 or (360) 725-6066, or e-mail hroffice@k12.wa.us.

 

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CSC is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from job seekers who will contribute to our diversity. CSC provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. If you would like, please include your name and gender pronouns in your application, to ensure we address you appropriately throughout the application process. Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the human resource consultant listed in “Application Process.”