Executive Director - Helix School; CA)

The Helix School, a Cognia-accredited nonpublic school (NPS) in San Rafael, California, serving autistic and neurodivergent learners from kindergarten through age 22, seeks an empathetic, decisive, and deeply relational operational leader to serve as its next Executive Director.

Founded in 2014, Helix has grown from two students to a close-knit community of approximately 65, distinguished by an interdisciplinary model in which clinical staff and teaching faculty work as a single integrated team around every student. For many families, Helix is the place where a child is finally seen, understood, and given room to thrive — a distinction that shapes the trust and loyalty at the heart of the Helix community.

Having completed its first decade of rapid growth, Helix is now focused on building the organizational systems, staffing depth, and financial discipline that will let its distinctive clinical academic model reach more students without losing what makes it exceptional. The Board recently engaged an Interim Executive Director for the  school year, allowing time for a deliberate, thorough search for the leader who will guide Helix through this next chapter.

In partnership with the Board of Directors and Helix’s Leadership Team, the incoming Executive Director will focus on the following priorities in the first years of the role:

• Deepen and protect the interdisciplinary model. Helix’s core differentiator — clinical and teaching staff functioning as one coordinated team around each student — has thrived through strong individual relationships. The Executive Director will work to document and systematize that coordination so program quality holds steady as the School grows, rather than depending on any single team or pairing.
• Build the leadership bench. Recruit, develop, and retain a seasoned senior team, beginning with academic leadership capable of running day-to-day academic and clinical operations.
• Secure credential continuity. Helix’s NPS certification and district master contracts depend on specific state-required credentials, and the School’s certification has historically rested on a single credential holder. The Executive Director will build durable, redundant coverage and maintain compliance across the School’s roughly twenty district funding relationships.
• Strengthen financial sustainability. Fundraising is Helix’s second-largest source of revenue after district funding/tuition, but the School’s philanthropic infrastructure remains early-stage. Partnering with the Director of Finance, the Finance Committee, and the Board, the Executive Director will bring greater discipline to operations and build a more diversified, resilient revenue base.
• Invest in faculty and staff development and retention. Beyond the senior leadership team, Helix’s broader faculty and staff are the foundation of the School’s program and culture. The Executive Director will prioritize professional development, recognition, and a sense of shared investment across the staff, strengthening retention and continuity for the students and families who depend on consistent relationships.
• Build a culture of philanthropy. Helix’s fundraising has depended heavily on a small number of individuals. The Executive Director will help cultivate a wider base of engaged donors and a more active Board role in fundraising, building a sustainable philanthropic culture that extends beyond any single relationship.
• Build the School’s external reputation. Helix’s model is distinctive, but the School is not yet as widely known, regionally or nationally, as its outcomes would merit. The Executive Director will establish Helix as a visible, trusted institution and a recognized contributor to the national conversation on…