Headmaster

Position Description

OAKDALE ACADEMY JOB POSTING – HEADMASTER

About
Oakdale Academy is an independent, board-governed private Christian and classical school of approximately 170 students in Waterford, MI, that is dedicated to excellence in all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Founded in 2011, the school has enjoyed steady growth throughout its history and is guided by its mission statement, which describes its basic purpose:
To instill Character, Truth, and Wisdom in our students in order to prepare them for a life of service to God, family, community, and country through classical Christian education.
Additional information may be found at the Oakdale Academy website: www.oakdaleacademy.com

History of Oakdale Academy
A group of parents visited Hillsdale Academy in May 2011 and came away with a vision for bringing that same model of academic excellence and solid foundation of classical education back to the metro Detroit area. They learned about the curriculum and saw firsthand why the Hillsdale Academy model was so successful in producing graduates that were intelligent, articulate, well-read, and of great character.
When the group reconvened on June 11, 2011, they were called to carry out God’s plan to bring Oakdale Academy to Waterford. All eight families voted unanimously to dedicate the time and resources to open Oakdale Academy in September 2011.
United in purpose, and through many challenges, God continued to show His faithfulness by providing a beautiful facility, an incredible staff and students eager to learn and make new friends. The doors of Oakdale Academy opened on September 7, 2011, with offerings from Kindergarten through Grade 10. Each year thereafter grades 11 and 12 and, in 2013, a Junior Kindergarten program was added. Oakdale Academy presented its first graduating class in 2014.
Unique Benefits of Working at Oakdale Academy:
• Culture: We believe that student culture is primarily a reflection of the culture of the adults on campus. Therefore, we take seriously the responsibility to serve as witnesses of the Christian gospel, modeling faith, hope, and charity in all that we do as faculty and colleagues. We believe that health and vitality in our collegial work will lead to health and vitality among our students.
• Curriculum: We are committed to a serious and challenging classical curriculum that is rooted in the liberal arts, the great books of the Western tradition, and firmly in our Christian faith and heritage.
• Community: We are blessed to have a close-knit, supportive, inter-denominational parent community situated in the Lakes Area of Oakland County, MI, roughly 45 minutes north of Detroit and with easy accessibility to the city, major shopping areas, Ann Arbor, and the beautiful Michigan “Up North” region.

Headmaster Position Overview
As the executive leader of Oakdale Academy and steward of its mission, the Headmaster works collaboratively with the Board of Trustees in planning for the long-term flourishing of Oakdale Academy and is entrusted with the authority and responsibility to implement and safeguard its mission. The Headmaster’s ultimate responsibility is to ensure fidelity and excellence in the formation of the students. This is a profoundly rewarding and challenging leadership role. It requires strategic planning alongside daily duties, systems thinking paired with relational warmth, being conversant with the ancients while embracing the realities of operations, and any number of similar dynamics all of which involve maintaining peace and focus amidst the tensions and distractions of shepherding a community.

Required Qualifications & Skills:
• Personal affirmation of the Oakdale Academy Statement of Faith or the Apostles’ Creed and demonstrating a life that exhibits a strong and mature Christian faith. The Headmaster should belong to a local Christian church that will be in accord with our core beliefs.
• A respect for the decidedly Christian and distinctly classical educational mission of Oakdale Academy.
• Commitment to defending the truth of the Christian faith, and to leading the school’s faculty and staff with diligence and humility.
• Expertise in the intellectual tradition of Western civilization, classical curriculum and pedagogy, Christian faith and formation, and the ability to explain, defend, and establish the same.
• Manifest love for students and for their spiritual growth, including consistent and wise discipline.
• Passion for and expertise in identifying, developing, and supporting excellent faculty.
• A robust, mission-aligned vision for the development of faculty and student culture.
• Proven ability to develop, communicate with, and lead a team to achieve strategic goals.
• Proven administrative acumen, including the creation and implementation of operational systems, effective decision-making, and financial management skills such as budgeting and resource allocation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for engaging all members of the community in the full range of contexts from public address to private crucial conversations.
• Ability to lead during crises or emergencies with composure and effective decision-making.
• Bachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited college or university.

Strongly Preferred:
• 3 years of teaching and 5 years of leadership in classical Christian education.
• Advanced Degree in relevant area of study.
• Experience with long-term and long-range strategic planning and working with non-profit organizations and non-profit boards.
• Experience in fundraising and development.
• Experience in admissions decisions and process for private schools.
• Experience in a headmaster/head of school role or as a dean, principal, or department/division head.

Responsibilities:
• Execute the school’s mission and strengthen its fidelity to the Christian faith.
• Lead and develop all aspects of the culture, instruction, programming, and operations of Oakdale Academy in alignment with the mission.
• Set, communicate, and attain strategic goals in collaboration with the board.
• Lead the processes for the selection, hiring, training, development, evaluation and retention of quality faculty and staff.
• Ensure high-quality, mission-aligned instruction and fruitful evaluations through consistent observation and feedback of the faculty.
• Build robust, mission-aligned faculty and student cultures in concrete ways through communication, events, art selection, policies and practices, relationship development, etc.
• Model joy in work and an enthusiastic appetite for learning.
• Cultivate impactful relationships with students.
• Ensure consistent, clear, firm, and restorative discipline system is upheld.
• Provide high quality professional development for the faculty.
• Maintain and strengthen relationships with the school’s current benefactors and develop new sources of financial support from individual donors and foundations.
• Collaborate with the board to develop the school’s budget and manage the school’s operations to meet the budget.
• Evaluate and continually enhance the quality and content of the school’s academic program within a classical and Christian curriculum.
• Serve as the chief spokesperson for the school to all constituencies and communities.
• Build strong relationships with parents, alumni, and the local community.
• Serve as an Ex-Officio of the Board of Trustees and be its chief advisor on all school operations while simultaneously reporting to the Board of Trustees and serving on committees.
• Other duties as assigned by the Board of Trustees.

Timeline
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the hiring and oversight of the Headmaster. For this search process the Governance Committee will perform initial screening interviews of candidates.
Screening interviews will be scheduled upon receipt of resumes from interested candidates. Second round of interviews may be conducted virtually with the entire Board of Trustees either prior to Christmas or shortly after January 1, with a final round that will include a campus visit and meetings with key stakeholders of the Oakdale Academy community including the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, parents, and students.

Interested candidates should submit their resume/curriculum vitae to:
Mr. Mike Sias, Chair, Oakdale Board of Trustees – [email protected] and
Mr. Dion Roddy, Governance Committee Chair – [email protected]