For over 35 years Boulder Country Day School has been at the forefront of education in the Boulder Valley. The hallmarks of our school - Community, Character, Academic Excellence, and Small Class Sizes - are the keys to our success and allow us to create an educational experience where children innovate, create, grow and thrive. We believe our children are our future, and, to that end, we offer a broad-based liberal arts education that focuses on developing lifelong learners and responsible global citizens. The Boulder Country Day challenge, Discover Your Excellence, recognizes that excellence is teachable, personal, and can be achieved in a variety of different disciplines - academic, athletic, community service, leadership, and more. We seek to provide just the right amount of nurture, structure, and latitude to live up to this challenge.
Ideal candidates for employment at BCD share our beliefs and, above all, love working with children. We look for evidence of these traits in a candidate’s education, work, and volunteer experience. We believe everything we do is curriculum, and, as a result, we consider all BCD employees important members of our community. We look for employees who have intellectual lives outside of their classrooms or work spaces, believe intelligence is teachable and achievable and not inborn, are data driven, and ask great questions both of our school and our students.
Members of BCD’s Professional Staff:
- Find joy in taking risks and failing forward.
- Are passionate about their work; they are optimistic about and love working in a school environment.
- Possess a strong sense of integrity; they embody and promote trust and character in our school and its community.
- Employ innovative practices in their fields; they are curious, creative, and enthusiastic.
- Are eager to collaborate with multiple constituencies, including employees, parents, students, and members of the greater BCD community.
- Have a growth mindset; they are open minded, flexible, and reflective.
- Believe in and are committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.
- Model balance, are deeply curious, and share their interests within and outside of school.
Boulder Country Day School celebrates, honors, and appreciates all forms of diversity in an environment of inclusivity. Individual differences are highly regarded, nurturing the human dignity of each member of our community. Our intentional work to embrace and understand the value of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and social justice affords the freedom for all members of our school community to flourish as unique, confident, compassionate, and ethical individuals. Boulder Country Day does not discriminate against any employee, student, applicant for employment, or applicant for admission on the basis of age, disability, culture, ethnic origin, nationality, race, color, religion, creed, family, marital status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, military service, socioeconomic status or any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local law.
The Position
The Dean of Students and Belonging (Dean) serves as the champion of the student experience at BCD. This position is new to BCD and will be responsible for fostering a supportive school environment that brings our vision, mission, and values to life. The Dean will be our lead practitioner for inclusion and belonging, supporting teachers and staff to continue to implement the Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards and leading BCD’s effort to become an anti-bias school. The Dean will build positive
relationships with students and families while having primary oversight for student social and emotional growth, student activities, and discipline. The goal of this position is to ensure all members of the BCD community feel seen, valued, respected, and included. The Dean will be a key member of the Academic Leadership Team, report to the Elementary and Middle School Heads, and will maintain a highly collaborative working relationship with administrators and teachers.
Required Skills/Characteristics
The Dean must have deep experience as a leader and teacher, and will possess the following skills/characteristics:
- Love for working with students, teachers, and families in Preschool-8th grade independent school.
- A personal and professional commitment to strengthening a culture of belonging with deep and demonstrated experience in the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging space
- A team builder who brings joy, kindness, maturity, and flexibility to the school environment
- Strong conflict resolution skills
- Superb interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
- Ability to supervise and manage multiple functions and activities
- A strategic thinker who sees the larger picture and who can identify and problem solve with appropriate solutions
- A minimum of five years of teaching and leadership experience in an independent school environment with evidence of successful management of the student experience
- Enthusiasm for personal and professional growth
Challenges and Opportunities
- The Dean of Students and Belonging is a new position at BCD. As a result, the Dean will need to build relationships within and across constituencies to enhance the experience for students, staff, and families through clear and consistent communication, fostering an environment of
inclusivity and belonging, and highly visible leadership.
- The Dean will serve as the leader of the student experience of a three-division school, each having their own building. With the support and collaboration of the Head of School and the Senior Leadership Team, the Dean will work to strengthen the overall student experience, including social emotional curriculum and implementation from Preschool through 8th grade, with a focus on collaboration, consistency, and connection.
- The BCD faculty is experienced and dedicated to their work. The Dean will need to form authentic relationships with this team, motivating and inspiring them to engage in ongoing professional growth, evolve in response to the global challenges currently facing our students, and designing new and innovative programming to meet the needs of current and future students.
- This position is designed to serve the entire PS - 8th grade experience, integrating social emotional learning with inclusion and belonging.
- Boulder Country Day is in the midst of a review of mission, vision, values and strategic planning to propel us into our next 3-5 years. The Dean will assist in implementing the outcomes of that process into a vibrant, bold, and unapologetic day-to-day experience for students, employees and parents in our community.
Duties and Responsibilities
Primary duties and responsibilities for the Dean of Students include:
- Inspires a joyful, collaborative culture that puts the students at the center of the BCD educational experience
- Emphasizes a forward thinking, growth oriented approach to working with children on a daily basis
- Oversee the student experience and foster a positive school climate that enhances community and student growth
- Leads inclusion and belonging efforts across the entire school, including workshopping with faculty and staff, organizing parent information sessions, and working with school administrators
to eliminate bias in all school policies and practices
- Ensure a consistent, developmentally appropriate restorative practices based approach to discipline across the entire School
- Develops and sustain key co-curricular programs, including character education, human development, and plan other special programs
- Reviews student attendance data in the student information system
- In collaboration with the head of school and division heads, and in alignment with the new vision, mission, and values, communicates across constituencies a vision for the student experience.
Student and Teacher Support/Programming
- Coordinate and co-develop SEL programming with the school counselor and other wellness initiatives with the Academic Leadership Team
- Coordinate and develop inclusion and belonging programming across the entire school
- Support teachers with ongoing questions regarding emerging diversity work in their classrooms and curriculum
- Participate and lead appropriate student support conversations at the grade level meetings or Student Success Team as necessary
Student Activities
- Advise Student Council
- Collaborate with division heads to coordinate and oversee student leadership opportunities
- Partner with the senior leadership team to build the annual calendar
- Coordinate and co-plan student assemblies
Student Discipline
- Oversee student discipline ensuring a consistent and age appropriate approach across divisions
- Incorporate restorative practices into all discipline matters and overall relationship-building
- Warm and friendly, yet also firm with student accountability for School rules
- Support faculty in managing classroom issues as needed
- Be an active presence on campus throughout the day, especially during recess and transitional times (morning, lunch, after school)
- Collaborate with all necessary parties to oversee student safety
- Review, revise and enforce BCD’s dress code
Administrative Duties
- Participate in senior leadership team, academic team, and grade level team meetings as needed
- Lead the annual review of student handbook in collaboration with the division heads
- Assist with new faculty orientation and provide support for new teachers
- Collaborates with division heads and the chief enrollment and strategy officer on enrollment and retention strategies
- Performs other duties as assigned by the Head of School
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Hours and Pay*
- BCD’s Dean of Students and Belonging will work traditional school hours (7:30 - 4:00) following the BCD 10-month school calendar, beginning August 1 and ending the first Friday after Memorial Day.
- Salary starts at $75,000 - $90,000
- This is an exempt position with excellent benefits and paid time off as outlined below
- Generous Paid Time Off including 10 paid holidays, as well as 6 paid vacation days and 6 paid sick days, and breaks during Thanksgiving, winter and spring school breaks
- Approximately 92% employer paid medical/dental/vision insurance for employees
- Annual Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution
- Life Insurance, AD&D, Short- and Long-Term Disability
- A generous retirement savings plan with a 5% employer match
- Tuition reduction up to 50% for students of employees that enroll in BCD
Benefits
- Medical with a Health Savings Account, vision and dental insurance
- Dependent Care Assistance through our 125 flexible spending plan
- Life insurance as well as both short and long-term disability for you
- BCD currently matches your contribution to our 403b retirement plan up to 5% of your salary
- Vacation/sick time plus 4 additional weeks off – 2 weeks for Winter break, Thanksgiving week, March Spring Break
- 50% tuition reduction for children of full time employees that enroll in BCD
Characteristics of Professional Excellence
Members of the BCD’s Leadership Teams:
- Model balance, are deeply curious, and share their interests within and outside of school
- Believing leadership is a privilege, we act with integrity, transparency, and dedication in our service to others.
- Create and nurture a joyful, authentic, and balanced environment for faculty, staff, students, and families
- Cultivate trust; we are accountable and embody vulnerability, kindness, and respect
- Have a growth mindset; we are strategic, tactical, visionary, and proactive
- Support and encourage risk-taking and innovation in the pursuit of excellence
- Recognize strength in diversity; we actively foster a safe and equitable community
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Commitment
Boulder Country Day School recognizes and values all forms of diversity and is dedicated to providing an inclusive environment which honors each member for their individual differences, experiences and strengths. Our intentional commitment to embracing and exploring issues of diversity, equity and inclusivity in support of social justice affords the freedom for all members of our school community to flourish as unique, confident, compassionate, and ethical individuals.
How to Apply
We invite all interested and qualified candidates to send a current resume and cover letter expressing interest in the position to lhildebrand@bouldercountryday.org.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $90,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person