Job Description

Position Type:

Principal

Date Posted:

2026-05-26 Location:Administration or As Assigned

ABOUT CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is Ohio's third-largest public school system, serving more than 35,000 students.

CMSD strives to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education, regardless of the provider. To that end, CMSD lets families choose which District schools their children attend, with options that include STEM, the arts, single-gender education, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and early college.

Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing their school as a high-quality, high-expectation academic center focusing on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results.

CMSD ensures that students have access to technology and training to prepare them for the future. The District provides a free laptop or tablet for every student and connects every family that needs internet access. Graduating seniors leave commencement with not only a diploma but also a laptop.

In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we strive to ensure that all of our learners, both scholars and educators, to be challenged with academically and intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their efforts and provide them opportunities to demonstrate their best work.

BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES

The Cleveland Board of Education adopted the Building Brighter Futures (BBF) initiative on December 9, 2025. Building Brighter Futures is a strategic and data-driven plan shaped by more than a year of community engagement, information analysis, and thoughtful deliberation. The goal of this plan is to strengthen enrollment and ensure scholars attend a newer school building that offers more educational opportunities, including algebra in the eighth grade, more sports and extracurricular activities, and college credits and college and career pathways in high school. BBF is ensuring academic excellence so every CMSD scholar can thrive.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

THE OPPORTUNITY:

CMSD seeks a full-time Assistant Principal(s) who will have the primary responsibility of overseeing programs established by the school’s Principal. The Assistant Principal strongly contributes to establishing the school as an active learning center. Selected candidates are expected to focus on student engagement, professional support for teachers, instructional practices that lead to dramatic academic progress, and measurable results that lead to better outcomes for our schools and scholars. We are looking for individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who are inspired by our mission and are highly motivated to work in urban education. Successful candidates must be instructionally strong and confident administrators who can provide decisive management, coaching, and rigorous leadership. This application is for entry to the applicant pool of PK-12 Principal opportunities for the upcoming school year, to be filled as needed. You’ll be right at home in CMSD if you enjoy solving problems and cultivating strong relationships.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES include, but are not limited to:

Leadership – The effective educational leader acts ethically as an agent of continuous improvement by fostering a shared mission, vision, and core values to promote each student’s well-being and academic success.

• Model and uphold high expectations for personal and professional conduct, including ethics, policies, and legal codes throughout the school community.
• Facilitate and model the articulation and realization of a mission, vision, and situationally appropriate strategies for continuous improvement and change management.
• Articulate a vision of equity and inclusion for all members of the school community.
• Develop the capacity of staff as leaders and provides opportunities for staff to assume leadership positions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to develop, enact, model, and evaluate a data-driven shared mission and vision that drives school improvement.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of Ohio public education laws, rules, and requirements, as well as District policies, procedures and agreements, applying as appropriate.
• Build and sustain partnerships with public and private sectors in order to employ the community’s resources to promote continuous improvement and student learning.

Learning- The effective educational leader fosters professional learning environment-based instructional practices to promote each student’s well-being and academic success.

• Ensure that students in all classrooms have access to and are completing complex academic texts.
• Promote the responsible and effective use of a variety of educational resources, including technology, in support of learning and personal growth.
• Continually improve your own effectiveness through reflection, study, and other professional development opportunities.
• Use standards to align, focus, and implement systems of curriculum. Instruction, and assessment within and across grade levels to promote high expectations for student learning and the school’s mission and vision.
• Ensure that each student has equitable access to effective teachers, challenging learning opportunities, educational resources and social support.
• Support teachers and staff by providing ongoing actionable feedback, as well as individual and group professional development opportunities, to promote continuous improvement.
• Organize the school as a professional learning community to achieve positive outcomes for each student.
• Plan for school improvement in collaboration with staff and stakeholders and implement processes and procedures in support of the plan,
• Ensure the school implements a balanced system of assessment and analysis to ensure students receive targeted instruction.
• Recognize, respect and employ the student’s strengths, diversity, and cultures as assets of teaching and learning for personalized instructions.
• Ensure students have opportunities for learning in flexible, innovative and /or real-world situations.

Culture - The effective educational leader cultivates an environment defined by culturally responsive practices, equity, and commitment to students, staff, and stakeholders through sustained partnerships reflective of the unique profile of its surrounding community to promote each student’s well-being and academic success.

• Establish and sustain a professional culture of engagement and commitment to the education of the whole child through the use of coherent academic and SEL supports.
• Support students and staff by establishing norms of respect, caring, learning, and safety.
• Cultivates and monitors a school climate characterized by equity and inclusiveness.
• Utilize coherent systems of academic, physical, social, and emotional supports to meet the needs of each student.
• Proactively address individual and institutional behaviors that disregard equity and cultural responsiveness.
• Provide mentoring opportunities and connections to the community for students.
• Model cultural knowledge and sensitivity in interactions with staff, students, and families.
• Ensure the school has a common language of high expectations for all student performance and goals.
• Create an environment where staff-to-student relationships are a priority in every class.
• Create an environment where student voice, agency, and leadership are evident
• Maintain a presence in the community to create and sustain a positive, productive relationship with families and stakeholders, so these groups can utilize the school as a resource

Management- The effective educational leader maximizes the human capital, operational, policy, and fiscal systems to promote each student’s well-being and academic success.Demonstrate effective hiring practices, including seeking out high quality candidates and utilizing clear selection criteria.

• Align the assignment of staff to the needs of students and priorities of the school.
• Retain high performing teachers and coach low performers to improve or exit.
• Plan and execute a fiscally responsible budget ensuring that federal, state, and local guidelines are followed to support building and district goals.
• Conduct an evaluation process, following contractual procedures and timelines, which promotes the professional growth and performance of staff.
• Utilize current resources and identifies untapped resources, in alignment with the shared vision and goals of the school.
• Collaborate with school and Central Office staffs to support and facilitate policies and procedures that ensure a smooth progression for students through their school careers.
• Cultivates and manages productive professional relationships with students, staff, district personnel, and other stakeholders to positively impact school operations.
• Develop and implement a school safety plan.
• Support student learning by implementing a school schedule designed to meet student needs.
• Promote wellness best practices, including work life balance, for staff and self.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors Required; Master’s degree preferred
• At least three years of K-12 classroom teaching experience
• Administrator Certification or eligibility for Alternative Administrative certification as required by Ohio Department of Education.
  • For Alternative Principal eligibility requirements, please access the Ohio Department of Education at http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Teaching/Educator-Licensure/Resident-License-Options/Alternative-Principal-License
• Building or district level administrative experience strongly preferred.
• Ability to successfully demonstrate an understanding of Teacher Development and Evaluation System in alignment with the Cleveland Plan.
• Strong record of helping students achieve academic success, primarily with minority and low-income students
• Experience working effectively with urban schools, students and families, and outside partners with demonstrated exemplary results
• Record of success in leading adults; prior experience with direct management and supervision
• Possess an entrepreneurial spirit, be flexible, willing and able to play different roles at the school, and to go above and beyond to meet the varied and constant needs of CMSD scholars
• Special training and/or experience with school turnaround highly desirable

WHAT WE OFFER:

CMSD offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience. We offer a comprehensive benefits plan, including dental and vision plans, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, professional development, and contributions to the STRS/SERS retirement system. We also offer an inclusive environment where our staff is encouraged to bring their whole selves to work every day.

Open positions for the 2026-2027 School Year:

• TBD, please check back for a list of open positions

Education

To Apply

EEO Statement

We believe that equity and inclusion at CMSD is an essential call to action, a catalyst to ensure value and appreciation among all our employees, so we may be fair and welcoming now and in the future. CMSD provides equal opportunities for employment, retention and advancement of all personnel by administering all terms and conditions of employment regardless of race, color,ethnicity , ancestry, national origin, sex, disability orgenetic information, age, citizenship status, military status, sexual orientation or expression, socio-economic status, title, other dimensions of identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.