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ABOUT US
Freedom Preparatory Academy Charter Schools is a network of public charter schools serving students in Memphis, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama. Our mission is to prepare all students in grades PreK-12 to excel in college and in life. Since opening our first campus in Memphis in 2009 with 96 sixth-grade students, Freedom Prep has grown to serve nearly 2,000 students in Tennessee and Alabama.
At Freedom Prep, we believe every child deserves access to a high-quality public education, that character development is essential to long-term success, and that exposure to meaningful opportunities and experiences helps students build the confidence and knowledge needed to thrive in college, career, and in life.
We fulfill this mission through a structured, joyful, and academically rigorous learning environment where students develop strong academic foundations, leadership skills, and a deep sense of belonging and purpose. Across all campuses, students are encouraged to embody Freedom Prep’s core values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Excellence, and Community.
Position Overview
Location: Hybrid - In person approximately 10 days per month with Freedom Prep regions; Southeast United States preferred
FLSA Status: Exempt
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Chief Schools Officer is a senior leader of Freedom Prep and serves as the national steward for teaching, learning, and leading across the network.
This role researches, designs, and supports implementation of the Freedom Prep model across academics, curriculum, instruction, special education, student support, school culture, school safety, data, accreditation, authorizer readiness, and post high school success.
The Chief Schools Officer does not directly manage regional or school based employees. Instead, the role equips regional teams with the standards, tools, training, resources, implementation guidance, and quality assurance systems needed to execute the Freedom Prep model with fidelity.
The Chief Schools Officer directly manages national academic staff and other national school support roles as assigned.
Location and Travel Expectations
This is a hybrid role requiring in person support with Freedom Prep regions approximately 10 days per month. This may include travel to Tennessee, Alabama, and future regions as Freedom Prep grows.
The role requires consistent field presence and effective remote support to build trust, observe implementation, lead training, gather evidence, and understand regional context.
Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
1. Freedom Prep Model for Teaching, Learning, and Leading
- Design, document, and continuously improve the Freedom Prep model for teaching, learning, and leading across PreK through 12.
- Define the instructional vision, leadership expectations, academic systems, culture standards, safety expectations, and performance routines that guide regional implementation.
- Research effective school models, instructional practices, curriculum approaches, assessment systems, and school improvement strategies.
- Lead the selection, review, and improvement of standards aligned curriculum across grade levels, content areas, and regions.
- Establish clear expectations for curriculum implementation, instructional planning, classroom instruction, assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring.
- Develop playbooks, rubrics, implementation guides, professional learning materials, dashboards, templates, and quality review tools to support consistent execution across regions.
- Lead the design and improvement of special education strategy, student support systems, academic intervention models, and post high school success strategy.
- Ensure regions have tools and guidance to support students with disabilities, English learners, gifted students, and students requiring academic or behavioral intervention.
- Support regional teams in meeting federal, state, authorizer, and network expectations for special education, student support, and intervention.
- Develop guidance for Individualized Education Plans, intervention plans, related services, accommodations, progress monitoring, and inclusive instructional practices.
- Monitor student group performance and use data to identify gaps, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
- Strengthen high school pathways, graduation readiness, college access, career exposure, alumni support, and postsecondary persistence.
3. School Culture, Safety, and Compliance
- Define and support Freedom Prep’s school culture model, including expectations for student behavior, adult culture, routines, relationships, Liberation Arts/character development, family partnership, and student belonging.
- Provide tools and training that help regional teams support safe, structured, joyful, and values aligned schools.
- Support regions in monitoring culture data, including attendance, behavior, suspensions, student belonging, family feedback, staff feedback, and student retention.
- Support regional compliance with school safety expectations, academic requirements, discipline procedures, attendance expectations, culture systems, and required reporting.
- Support strong safety practices, emergency response routines, incident reporting, crisis response, safety training, and readiness systems.
- Identify school culture, safety, and compliance risks and recommend tools, training, or system improvements.
4. Authorizer, Accreditation, Data, and Quality Assurance
- Ensure regions are equipped to meet charter authorizer expectations for academics, school culture, school safety, student outcomes, and required reporting.
- Support regions in preparing for charter renewals, academic reviews, culture reviews, safety reviews, accountability reviews, authorizer oversight, and corrective action processes.
- Lead the strategy for achieving and maintaining accreditation from the appropriate accrediting body.
- Lead the use of data to inform decisions across academics, culture, safety, compliance, student support, and post high school strategy.
- Develop systems for analyzing regional and school performance data across key indicators and translating findings into clear recommendations.
- Conduct quality reviews and use findings to strengthen implementation, support, accountability, and continuous improvement.
5. National Academic Team Leadership
- Directly manage, coach, develop, and evaluate national academic staff.
- Set clear goals, priorities, deliverables, and performance expectations for national academic team members.
- Ensure the team produces high quality tools, training, resources, data analysis, and implementation support for regional teams.
- Build a team culture focused on service, excellence, clarity, responsiveness, and measurable impact.
- Develop team structures, meeting rhythms, project plans, and accountability systems that support effective execution.
- Support the launch and onboarding of new regions.
- Provide academic, culture, safety, compliance, post high school, and school performance resources for new school launches and regional expansion.
- Define what must be true for a region to successfully implement the Freedom Prep model.
- Partner with the CEO and senior team to ensure growth decisions are aligned to Freedom Prep’s capacity for quality implementation.
- Partner with operations, compliance, people, finance, strategy, and growth leaders to ensure regional teams receive aligned and practical support.
- Build scalable systems that allow Freedom Prep to grow while maintaining strong standards, clear identity, and strong outcomes.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution required.
- Master’s degree in education, leadership, public administration, curriculum and instruction, special education, or a related field preferred.
- Experience supporting or leading across at least five schools or two regions required.
- Significant experience in K through 12 academic leadership, school leadership, regional leadership, or network leadership.
- Proven success designing or implementing academic models that improve student outcomes.
- Experience with PreK through 12 curriculum, assessment, instructional systems, intervention, and data driven instruction.
- Strong understanding of special education, student support systems, intervention practices, and compliance requirements.
- Experience supporting schools or regions across multiple campuses, regions, or states preferred.
- Experience in a charter school, charter management organization, school network, or high performing public school system preferred.
- Knowledge of charter authorizer expectations, school accountability systems, accreditation processes, academic compliance, school culture systems, and school safety requirements.
- Experience designing professional development, leadership development, playbooks, tools, and implementation systems.
- Strong data analysis skills and ability to translate data into clear decisions, supports, and improvement strategies.
- Experience with high school, college readiness, career readiness, alumni support, or postsecondary success strategy preferred.
- Experience managing academic staff or cross functional project teams.
- Ability to be in person with a Freedom Prep region at least 10 days per month.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Ability to manage ambiguity, complexity, and multiple priorities in a growing multi state organization.
- Commitment to educational equity and the belief that all students can achieve at high levels.
Skills and Competencies
The ideal candidate will demonstrate:
- Clear commitment to Freedom Prep’s mission, values, and communities.
- Strong instructional leadership and academic strategy expertise.
- Ability to design systems that others can implement with clarity and fidelity.
- Strong understanding of school culture, student experience, student support, and safe school environments.
- Ability to lead through influence, support, tools, training, and quality expectations.
- Strong judgment in complex academic, culture, safety, and compliance matters.
- Ability to build scalable systems across multiple regions and states.
- Strong data analysis and continuous improvement skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively with national leaders, regional leaders, board members, authorizers, accrediting bodies, staff, families, and community partners.
- Ability to balance standardization and local adaptation.
- Strong problem solving skills and sound decision making.
- High integrity, strong follow through, and a results oriented leadership style.
- Commitment to excellence, service, and sustainable outcomes.
BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION: We are excited that you are inspired or called to learn more about our mission, values, and potential opportunities. We’d encourage you to explore a few additional resources about us, the recent investment for what’s possible, and why you should consider our community as a place for you to become a part of. We are one of the few networks that centers the whole person and their needs to thrive and support themselves and their families in the South.
Check out some of the unique and rare benefits here, including but not limited to:
Paying higher, scaffolded teacher salaries from Year 1 to retirement stage
Zero dollar monthly premium options, including holistic options such as chiropractic or acupuncture care
Focus on staff well-being and collective care through our Adult Social-Emotional Learning
Support in obtaining licensure
At Freedom Prep, we strive towards trust and transparency in our application process. Our salary range varies for this position, commensurate with experience and expertise. During the interview process, we will align on salary expectations and continue to have transparent conversations at every stage.
COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY: Freedom Preparatory Academy is actively seeking to build a diverse and experienced team of educators. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, handicap, age, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin. We are an equal opportunity employer.
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