Neighborhood Charter Schools, Founding High School Principal

About Neighborhood Charter Schools

Neighborhood Charter Schools (NCS) is a public charter school network rooted in Harlem and the Bronx. We serve students in an intentionally designed, inclusive learning community. NCS is built on a simple but powerful belief: every child deserves to be known, valued, and supported as their full self. Our schools operate as a true neighborhood model, grounded in deep relationships with families and a commitment to belonging for every student.

NCS expands from a K‑8 network to a K‑12 system, and the launch of its first high school marks a defining moment for the organization. The Founding High School Principal will play a central role in shaping this next chapter and bringing the NCS high school vision to life.

What distinguishes NCS is an inclusive‑by‑design approach. Classrooms, schedules, and supports are intentionally built to serve high‑functioning autistic students, multilingual learners, students with IEPs, and general education students together. Inclusion is not a program or an add‑on—it is the foundation of how our schools function and how students experience learning every day.

To learn more about NCS, please visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

The Founding High School Principal is the instructional and culture leader of NCS’s first high school. Reporting to the Chief Academic & Schools Officer and serving as a key member of the school and network leadership team, the Principal is responsible for bringing the NCS high school vision to life through excellent instruction, a deeply inclusive school culture, and strong adult leadership.

This role is both entrepreneurial and deeply instructional. The Principal will join NCS for a full planning year before the first day of school and work alongside network leadership to launch and scale the high school, translating the school's vision into daily practice as the community grows.

• Lead the instructional vision and day‑to‑day academic life of the high school, ensuring classrooms reflect the depth, rigor, and inquiry at the heart of the NCS high school model.
• Bring coherence to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and grading so that students experience learning as purposeful, challenging, and connected across disciplines.
• Lead an academic program intentionally designed for inclusion, where instructional planning, classroom practice, assessment, and student supports are built from the outset to serve a wide range of learners and pathways.
• Use student work, observation, and multiple forms of data to continuously strengthen teaching practice and student learning.

• Build a joyful, affirming, and intellectually serious school culture where students feel known, challenged, and empowered to take ownership of their learning.
• Establish shared norms, rituals, and routines that reinforce a sense of belonging, purpose, and high expectations for students and adults.
• Model and cultivate culturally responsive, inclusive, and restorative practices as foundational—not supplemental—to the school's identity.
• Ensure that academic expectations, student experience, and community values are tightly aligned and mutually reinforcing.

• Build the founding leadership team—including Assistant Principals, Deans, the Director of Operations, and the Director of College and Career—and set a strong foundation for collaboration and shared leadership.
• Recruit, develop, and retain educators who are deeply aligned with the school's instructional vision and commitment to inclusion.
• Invest in adult learning through meaningful observation, coaching, feedback, and professional learning experiences that strengthen practice over time.
• Create clear expectations and accountability structures that support growth, reflection, and collective responsibility for student success.

• Serve as a visible, trusted leader with students, families, and community members.
• Build strong relationships with families through clear communication, partnership, and shared ownership of student success.
• Engage community…