Position Title: Superintendent/Principal

Salary: Competitive and negotiable depending on qualifications and experience

Initial Application Screening: February 20, 2009

Downloads:

• Job Application
• Job Brochure

The Position

The Board of Trustees of Ackerman Elementary School District is seeking a superintendent/principal with strong leadership skills who is committed to academic excellence for students at all levels.

The superintendent/principal must be a “generalist” with experience in all areas of district and school administration, including instruction, finance, budget, personnel and special education.

The board is seeking a dynamic, innovative and creative leader to help the district continue their tradition of excellence. The ideal candidate will be someone who is a strong leader with excellent communications and interpersonal skills. The successful candidate will also be someone who understands and embraces charter schools and is committed to being highly visible and involved in the school and the community.

The Community

The Ackerman Charter District is located near Auburn, California, in Bowman, an unincorporated area of Placer County, just 30 miles northeast of Sacramento on Interstate 80.

The region’s climate, natural beauty and small town feeling make it an ideal place to live, work and raise a family, and is is filled with the historical reminders of California’s Gold Rush days.

The district is situated in the heart of the Gold Country. During the Gold Rush in May of 1848, a miner by the name of Claude Chana was taking a short cut to meet his friend James Marshall and discovered gold in the Auburn Ravine. The area then became a shipping and supply center of hundreds of gold camps. In 1853, Auburn became the seat of Placer County, an honor befitting its stature as an important trading center and supply depot for the mines.

Placer County took its name from the Spanish word for sand or gravel deposits containing gold. Miners washed away the gravel, leaving the heavier gold, in a process known as “placer mining.”

Gold mining was a major industry through the 1880s, but gradually the new residents turned to farming the fertile foothill soil, harvesting timber and working for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Ackerman Charter District is to assist students to be academically successful, responsible, confident and creative by providing a safe, nurturing and academically challenging environment.

The District

Bowman Elementary School is located in the Ackerman Charter District near Auburn and is the only school in the district. Bowman Elementary School opened in 1895 and now marks over 100 years of quality education for students in the Ackerman Charter District. Bowman Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through eighth grades with an enrollment of 500 students. Bowman Elementary School has a supportive and nurturing environment where students build a strong foundation for the future through a challenging and comprehensive academic program.

Using an interdisciplinary and spiraling curriculum, the core of which is language arts and math, our teachers work to build upon each child’s strengths and provide appropriate challenges while also identifying individual areas that may need strengthening. Starting in kindergarten, students are not only introduced to the basics of the core curriculum, but also participate in social studies, science, computer, library, art, music and physical education.

Serious learning is the focus of our days. However, we are just as serious about instilling in every student a sense of confidence that will lead to a lifelong love of learning and an appreciation of honor and integrity that will lead to a lifetime of good citizenship. Every one of our graduates follows a different path, but each of them goes out into the world well prepared, possessing the basic skills and tools that they need for success in high school and beyond.

The student population includes 80 percent Caucasian, 9 percent Hispanic, 11 percent other. The district has a general fund budget of $3,130,000 and is served by the superintendent/principal, a vice-principal, and 29 certificated and 6 classified employees.

Bowman Elementary has long been noted for its excellent academic program and the wide variety of innovative and creative extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Bowman Elementary School is proud to have been designated as a California Distinguished School.

The school’s success is directly attributable to the excellent teaching and support staff, who have set high expectations for student achievement, and the strong parent and community support for the schools. The regular classroom program is supplemented by the After Care Kids Club where students receive daily homework assistance, arts and music enrichment and supervised sports activities. The regular school program includes a competitive after school sports program.

Please visit our district Web site at www.ackerman.k12.ca.us to learn more about our schools and district.

Selection Criteria

The following criteria represent standards to be used in the evaluation of applications and in the selection of the superintendent.

Professional Experience and Preparation

• Master’s degree and administrative credential required
• Principal experience required
• K-8 classroom teaching experience required
• District level experience/responsibilities desirable

Personal Characteristics

• Has high integrity and is honest, consistent, and fair when dealing with people
• Is accessible and easily approachable and has an “open door” policy
• Is a “people person” with strong public and human relations skills and a sense of humor
• Genuinely loves children and working with children, kindergarten through 8th grade
• Has excellent communications and listening skills and relates to people at all levels
• Has a record of creating a district climate of cooperation and collaboration with district employee groups
• Is an enthusiastic and energetic team builder who recognizes the abilities and contributions of all district staff
• Is a decisive leader who makes sound, difficult decisions and takes responsibility for those decisions
• Is highly visible and active in the community and school
• Has a high level of energy, enthusiasm, and motivation, with a strong work ethic and highly professional demeanor

Professional Skills and Abilities

• Provides a balanced leadership at the superintendent and principal levels, wears two hats effectively
• Has knowledge of and embraces the charter school concept
• Has a commitment to academic excellence and a clear vision for education that maintains a focus on improving student performance, moving the curriculum forward as we move through the 21st century
• Has excellent knowledge of K-8 curriculum and instruction and also values extra-curricular and enrichment activities
• Has success in improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap for diverse socio-economic student groups
• Has demonstrated ability to manage the district’s finances, facilities and resources in a responsible manner, as well as the ability to seek and find new funding sources
• Has excellent delegation skills and knows how to utilize and support the efforts of staff, parents, and community members
• Is technology literate and supports the use of technology in the work place and in classroom instruction
• Has the ability to work effectively with the board and provide the board with relevant, timely and accurate information, alternatives and recommendations to make informed decisions
  in a timely manner
• Demonstrates the ability to create a positive climate in employer/employee relations

Application Procedure

All applications will be held strictly confidential. Each applicant is requested to follow the procedures listed below. Those applicants wishing additional information should contact the CSBA adviser at (916) 669-3297. For duplication purposes, please do not bind application materials.
Applications are to be sent to:

Ackerman Charter School District
c/o Dr. Wendell Chun, Adviser
California School Boards Association
Executive Search Services
3100 Beacon Blvd., Suite Ackerman
West Sacramento, CA 95691

All applicants must provide the following items by the closing date, February 20, 2009 (5:00 p.m.), to be considered:

• A completed Application Information Form. (Please complete as instructed; do not complete by stating “see attached résumé”.) The Application Information Form and brochure may be downloaded via CSBA’s Web site at www.csba.org/es.aspx
• A personal letter of application stating reasons for interest in the Ackerman Charter School District superintendent/principal position
• A résumé providing biographical background information about educational preparation, experience and achievements
• A placement file and/or five (5) current letters of professional references describing the applicant’s performance in previously held positions
• A photo copy of academic degrees and administrative credential(s)

It is the applicant’s responsibility to arrange to have placement papers or reference letters forwarded in time to meet the February 20, 2008 (5:00 p.m.) deadline. Additional brochures may be requested by calling the CSBA 24-hour Brochure Request Line at (916) 669-3296.

Selection Procedure

A professional screening committee will evaluate the qualifications of each applicant. The board and the screening committee will use the described criteria during the screening, interviewing and final decision-making process. After receiving and studying the report of the screening committee, the board will select and interview the top candidates.

Both the board and the Superintendent Search Advisory Committee (SSAC), consisting of staff and community members, will interview the selected candidates. After the interviews, the SSAC will report to the board the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the candidates.

The board will select candidates for the final interviews, conduct the interviews and select the superintendent. Any applicant who contacts a board member with the intent of influencing the board’s decision will be disqualified.

Travel expenses for those candidates selected for the initial interview will be the responsibility of the candidate.

Salary and Contract Terms

The Ackerman Charter District Board of Trustees will offer a competitive and negotiable salary, plus fringe benefits to the successful candidate, based on that individual’s experience and qualifications. The board intends to offer a multi-year contract.

If you are offered the position you will be asked to provide the district with certified transcripts that verify your academic degrees and proof of your administrative credential(s).

It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide the district with employment eligibility and verification of citizenship in compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

Board of Education