Chief Executive Officer/Superintendent

Organization History and Background

Promesa Academy was founded in August 2020 to serve families in the Westside community of San Antonio, TX with the mission of ensuring that every child in our city has access to a quality, equitable public education. We opened with 200 students in Kindergarten-2nd grade and just over 20 staff and have grown in two years to over 300 students in Kindergarten-4th grade with over 50 staff. Our hope is to continue to grow by one grade level every year to eventually serve just under 800 students in Kindergarten through 8th grade.

At Promesa, we are rooted in equity, love, and innovation and this is manifested in our daily interactions and operations throughout our school and community. You can see this in practice in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG4OcHTbSFE&feature=youtu.be).

Promesa is truly a unique single-site school district and has managed to build a strong reputation in San Antonio as a public charter school who cares deeply about its students and families, is responsive to the diverse needs of our community, celebrates the strengths of each child, truly supports and sustains our staff, and continues to introduce innovative educational initiatives that are aligned to the needs of our community and the limitless potential of our students. To learn more about Promesa Academy, please visit https://www.promesaacademy.org/.

Overview of the Position

With the transition of the school’s founder who is the current CEO/Superintendent of Promesa Academy, the board and community have launched a search for our next Superintendent/CEO. As the Superintendent/CEO of Promesa Academy, you will work under the Board of Directors to provide leadership and direction for our single-site school district. You will be responsible for managing all aspects of the school, including financial operations, the educational program, legal compliance, relationships with the Texas Education Agency, facilities, student and staff recruitment, fundraising, community relations, and any other duties as assigned by the board.

You are someone who cares deeply about educational equity, is wholly committed to ensuring the success of every student in our district, leads with love for the community you serve, and knows that there is always room for growth and innovation in the field of public education. You have a bold, inspiring vision for the future of our district and will be relentless in bringing this vision to life to ensure that you deliver on the promise of a high-quality public education for our students, families, and community for years to come.

Leadership Profile

The Promesa Academy Board of Directors hired HYA Associates to lead the development of a leadership profile for our Superintendent/CEO role. Through a number of focus group sessions and a community survey, this report (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pbTefjKXKehL3ZH07RW-EmpAtdHJwuL4/view) was developed in collaboration with HYA to share the Promesa community’s hopes and dreams for the next leader.

Key Responsibilities

• Instructional Leadership. You will oversee the educational programs on our campus, ensuring that our approaches are aligned to the vision and mission of the school, are responsive to the needs of our diverse community, and are leading to academic growth for all of our students at Promesa Academy.
• Organizational Leadership. You will oversee our district’s operations, fundraising efforts, financial management, strategic planning, compliance with the state (i.e. charter renewals, reporting, and expansions), student and staff recruitment, and facilities funding and development. You will ensure that organizational systems and processes are effective and equitable and are aligned with our growth plans.
• Community and Stakeholder Relations: You will ensure that consistent and effective communication is maintained across multiple stakeholder groups (Board of Directors, donors, staff, students, families, community members, etc.).
• Mission and Vision. You will lead the mission and vision at Promesa Academy, ensuring that our academic programs, finances, operations, culture, and community engagements are grounded in our organization’s mission and goals.
• People Leadership. You will manage the school leadership team, not only as a supervisor but also as a coach and mentor. You will lead teams by building trust and relationships and work to develop and bring out the strengths in the team while holding them accountable to our organization’s goals.

Qualifications

• Experience with fundraising/development initiatives and building strong connections to donors, foundations, and others in the philanthropic community;
• Experience working collaboratively with a Board of Directors and school administrative team is preferred;
• 5+ years of demonstrated success as a school-based leader, executive director, or senior manager in an education-related organization; experience within an elementary and/or middle school public district or charter leading educators is preferred;
• Excellent writing, presentation, interviewing, public speaking, and partnership-building skills.
• Demonstrated business, financial, and entrepreneurial acumen; experience building and managing a budget; experience with facilities finance and project management is a plus.
• Demonstrated knowledge about the academic and social-emotional needs of students, especially those of different racial, linguistic, cultural, special needs, and socio-economic backgrounds;
• Master’s or doctorate degree in school administration or a related field, preferred

Required Licensure

• None

Compensation

The Promesa Academy Board will offer a salary of no less than $125,000 as well as a competitive benefits package. For additional questions about this position or to speak with someone about your interest, please contact Jeff Melendez, HYA Associate, [email protected].

Promesa Academy is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds and evaluate candidates solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.