High School Director of Academic Operations (2026-2027 SY)
Valor Collegiate, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37247
Application Deadline
Friday, March 20th at 8:00am CST
Location Nashville, Tennessee
Employment Type Full-time, in-person, 12-month school-based leadership role for the 2026-2027 school year.
Salary The salary range for this role is$74,400-$85,600 and placement is based on years of prior comparable school leadership experience.
About Valor Founded in 2014, Valor Collegiate Academies is a top-performing, public charter school network in Nashville, Tennessee, serving students in Grades 5-12 across three schools. Our mission is to create a community where students of all backgrounds have equitable access to an education that prepares them to live inspired and purposeful lives. This mission is made possible through an innovative school model that balances rigorous academics and whole-child education in an intentionally diverse environment. Learn more about Valor: https://valorcollegiate.org/our-model/
About the Role Our schools are only as great as our teachers and leaders. Therefore, our goal is to attract, develop, and retain one of the best faculties in the nation. Our educators will become extraordinary teachers, mentors, and leaders, as well as play an integral part of the growth and decision-making processes of the organization.
The
Director of Academic Operations (DAO)
will play a key role in ensuring that high-stakes testing is executed smoothly and that students have course schedules that reflect their needs and aspirations while ensuring that they satisfy all MNPS graduation requirements. The DAO will be asked to both create new systems and improve upon existing processes. In addition, the DAO will sit on the school’s leadership team, which will require thoughtful and strategic thinking in contributing to both large and small decisions affecting the school.
Key Responsibilities Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
I. Student Academic Records Management (5%)
Ownership of Grade Reporting: Lead the comprehensive process of creating, validating, and distributing official student report cards and progress reports, ensuring accuracy and timely delivery to students and families.
Failure Card Process Management: Administer and optimize the student failure card system, including staff training, auditing, and grade adjustments where necessary.
Report Card Conference Coordination: Organize and lead all aspects of student report card conferences for families. This includes training teachers, setting up conference spaces, developing and executing communication strategies to maximize family participation, and managing day-of logistics to ensure a smooth event flow.
II. Student Graduation & Academic Progression (20%)
Graduation Requirements Oversight: Proactively manage and ensure compliance with all student graduation requirements, including tracking credits, course completion, and specific program criteria.
Special Populations Compliance: Oversee and ensure adherence to all academic compliance requirements for Special Education (SPED) and English Learner (EL) students, collaborating with relevant departments to support their academic progress.
Counseling Office Coordination: Manage and coordinate with the MNPS counseling office to align on student academic planning, course selection, and support services.
Credit Recovery Program Leadership: Plan, communicate, and oversee the implementation of critical credit recovery programs, including Summer School, Night School, and In-School Online Credit Recovery, ensuring accessibility and effectiveness for students needing to fulfill graduation requirements. This includes managing logistics, student enrollment, and progress monitoring.
Competency Testing Oversight: Own and manage the school's competency testing protocols for various student needs. This includes designing and administering tests for students who failed a course or arrive with unaccredited transcripts to test for credit. Additionally, coordinate native language competency testing to facilitate foreign language requirement exemptions.
III. Academic Scheduling & Course Advising (25%)
Data-Driven Schedule Creation: Collect, analyze, and synthesize diverse inputs (e.g., student data, teacher recommendations, etc.) to inform and optimize student scheduling decisions.
Comprehensive Schedule Management: Design, create, and meticulously maintain all student schedules (individual and master schedules), ensuring efficient allocation of resources and alignment with academic programs.
Course Advising & Request Process Oversight: Lead and manage the entire course advising and request process for students, providing guidance, addressing inquiries, and ensuring accurate course placements.
IV. High-Stakes Assessment Management (35%)
Assessment Program Leadership: Oversee the comprehensive planning, coordination, and logistical execution of all high-stakes assessments, ensuring compliance with state and district regulations. This includes:
Benchmark Exams
State End-of-Course (EOC) Exams
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams
PSAT Exams
ACT Exams
Practice ACT Exams
CLEP Exams
AAPPL Exams
Logistics & Administration: Manage all aspects of test administration, including ordering materials, securing testing environments, training proctors, managing student rosters, and ensuring secure handling of test materials and scores.
Compliance & Reporting: Ensure strict adherence to all testing protocols and maintain accurate records for audit purposes and official reporting.
School-wide Make-Up Testing Protocols: Develop, implement, and manage school-wide make-up testing protocols to ensure all students have equitable opportunities to complete required assessments.
V. Leadership & Student Support Initiatives (10%)
Actively participate in VCP’s Leadership Team responsibilities
Support VCP Leadership initiatives and priorities
Direct Report Management: Provide direct supervision and mentorship to the Academic Counselor, aligning their project execution with overall academic goals. Plan and delegate projects, ensuring effective student-facing interaction and support.
VI. Post-Secondary & College Readiness Programs (5%)
Post-Secondary Opportunities Management: Lead the development and management of post-secondary opportunities for high school students. This includes managing partnerships with organizations such as Tennessee Access for All and Modern States.
CLEP Testing Center Management: Maintain and ensure compliance of systems required to operate as an accredited CLEP testing center, providing students with opportunities for college credit.
Dual Enrollment Program Exploration: Actively research and explore potential dual enrollment options to expand advanced academic opportunities for students, fostering conversations with higher education institutions.
Qualifications & Experience
Friendly demeanor with a knack for building and maintaining relationships
Willingness to respond to urgent, unplanned situations (e.g. a mess created in a bathroom)
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Fluency with data management (specifically, must have confidence using Excel and/or Google sheets formulas daily)
Confident continually learning and navigating a variety of computer-based systems
Detail oriented and extremely organized
Comfortable with ambiguity and the dynamic nature of a start-up organization
Ability to work successfully with heterogeneous groups of an ethnically & economically diverse student body.
Ability to model, live, and reinforce the school’s core values inside and outside the classroom with colleagues, scholars, parents, and the larger community.
Applicants must possess optimism, resiliency, curiosity, perseverance, a sense of humor, and a burning passion for personal growth and student success.
Experience working within high-performing schools.
Interview Process
Resume & Cover Letter Review
Phone Interview
Performance Task
Interview with Leaders
Reference Checks
Offer extension
Compensation & Benefits
Full-time role with full comprehensive health and retirement benefits
8 weeks of fully paid parental leave
Valor-subsidized childcare and priority seating at Little Wonders Day Care
Free access to an on-site strength & conditioning facility, Vanderbilt Health Clinic, retirement counseling, and mental health support and resources
Employee laptop provided and unlimited school supplies
Full-time employees wishing to enroll their student at Valor in grades 5-12 will be placed at the top of the new student waitlist
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Valor believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization that enables students and staff to thrive. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We actively seek applications from people of all backgrounds to strengthen our community and the perspectives needed to thrive in a diverse world.
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Location Nashville, Tennessee
Employment Type Full-time, in-person, 12-month school-based leadership role for the 2026-2027 school year.
Salary The salary range for this role is$74,400-$85,600 and placement is based on years of prior comparable school leadership experience.
About Valor Founded in 2014, Valor Collegiate Academies is a top-performing, public charter school network in Nashville, Tennessee, serving students in Grades 5-12 across three schools. Our mission is to create a community where students of all backgrounds have equitable access to an education that prepares them to live inspired and purposeful lives. This mission is made possible through an innovative school model that balances rigorous academics and whole-child education in an intentionally diverse environment. Learn more about Valor: https://valorcollegiate.org/our-model/
About the Role Our schools are only as great as our teachers and leaders. Therefore, our goal is to attract, develop, and retain one of the best faculties in the nation. Our educators will become extraordinary teachers, mentors, and leaders, as well as play an integral part of the growth and decision-making processes of the organization.
The
Director of Academic Operations (DAO)
will play a key role in ensuring that high-stakes testing is executed smoothly and that students have course schedules that reflect their needs and aspirations while ensuring that they satisfy all MNPS graduation requirements. The DAO will be asked to both create new systems and improve upon existing processes. In addition, the DAO will sit on the school’s leadership team, which will require thoughtful and strategic thinking in contributing to both large and small decisions affecting the school.
Key Responsibilities Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
I. Student Academic Records Management (5%)
Ownership of Grade Reporting: Lead the comprehensive process of creating, validating, and distributing official student report cards and progress reports, ensuring accuracy and timely delivery to students and families.
Failure Card Process Management: Administer and optimize the student failure card system, including staff training, auditing, and grade adjustments where necessary.
Report Card Conference Coordination: Organize and lead all aspects of student report card conferences for families. This includes training teachers, setting up conference spaces, developing and executing communication strategies to maximize family participation, and managing day-of logistics to ensure a smooth event flow.
II. Student Graduation & Academic Progression (20%)
Graduation Requirements Oversight: Proactively manage and ensure compliance with all student graduation requirements, including tracking credits, course completion, and specific program criteria.
Special Populations Compliance: Oversee and ensure adherence to all academic compliance requirements for Special Education (SPED) and English Learner (EL) students, collaborating with relevant departments to support their academic progress.
Counseling Office Coordination: Manage and coordinate with the MNPS counseling office to align on student academic planning, course selection, and support services.
Credit Recovery Program Leadership: Plan, communicate, and oversee the implementation of critical credit recovery programs, including Summer School, Night School, and In-School Online Credit Recovery, ensuring accessibility and effectiveness for students needing to fulfill graduation requirements. This includes managing logistics, student enrollment, and progress monitoring.
Competency Testing Oversight: Own and manage the school's competency testing protocols for various student needs. This includes designing and administering tests for students who failed a course or arrive with unaccredited transcripts to test for credit. Additionally, coordinate native language competency testing to facilitate foreign language requirement exemptions.
III. Academic Scheduling & Course Advising (25%)
Data-Driven Schedule Creation: Collect, analyze, and synthesize diverse inputs (e.g., student data, teacher recommendations, etc.) to inform and optimize student scheduling decisions.
Comprehensive Schedule Management: Design, create, and meticulously maintain all student schedules (individual and master schedules), ensuring efficient allocation of resources and alignment with academic programs.
Course Advising & Request Process Oversight: Lead and manage the entire course advising and request process for students, providing guidance, addressing inquiries, and ensuring accurate course placements.
IV. High-Stakes Assessment Management (35%)
Assessment Program Leadership: Oversee the comprehensive planning, coordination, and logistical execution of all high-stakes assessments, ensuring compliance with state and district regulations. This includes:
Benchmark Exams
State End-of-Course (EOC) Exams
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams
PSAT Exams
ACT Exams
Practice ACT Exams
CLEP Exams
AAPPL Exams
Logistics & Administration: Manage all aspects of test administration, including ordering materials, securing testing environments, training proctors, managing student rosters, and ensuring secure handling of test materials and scores.
Compliance & Reporting: Ensure strict adherence to all testing protocols and maintain accurate records for audit purposes and official reporting.
School-wide Make-Up Testing Protocols: Develop, implement, and manage school-wide make-up testing protocols to ensure all students have equitable opportunities to complete required assessments.
V. Leadership & Student Support Initiatives (10%)
Actively participate in VCP’s Leadership Team responsibilities
Support VCP Leadership initiatives and priorities
Direct Report Management: Provide direct supervision and mentorship to the Academic Counselor, aligning their project execution with overall academic goals. Plan and delegate projects, ensuring effective student-facing interaction and support.
VI. Post-Secondary & College Readiness Programs (5%)
Post-Secondary Opportunities Management: Lead the development and management of post-secondary opportunities for high school students. This includes managing partnerships with organizations such as Tennessee Access for All and Modern States.
CLEP Testing Center Management: Maintain and ensure compliance of systems required to operate as an accredited CLEP testing center, providing students with opportunities for college credit.
Dual Enrollment Program Exploration: Actively research and explore potential dual enrollment options to expand advanced academic opportunities for students, fostering conversations with higher education institutions.
Qualifications & Experience
Friendly demeanor with a knack for building and maintaining relationships
Willingness to respond to urgent, unplanned situations (e.g. a mess created in a bathroom)
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Fluency with data management (specifically, must have confidence using Excel and/or Google sheets formulas daily)
Confident continually learning and navigating a variety of computer-based systems
Detail oriented and extremely organized
Comfortable with ambiguity and the dynamic nature of a start-up organization
Ability to work successfully with heterogeneous groups of an ethnically & economically diverse student body.
Ability to model, live, and reinforce the school’s core values inside and outside the classroom with colleagues, scholars, parents, and the larger community.
Applicants must possess optimism, resiliency, curiosity, perseverance, a sense of humor, and a burning passion for personal growth and student success.
Experience working within high-performing schools.
Interview Process
Resume & Cover Letter Review
Phone Interview
Performance Task
Interview with Leaders
Reference Checks
Offer extension
Compensation & Benefits
Full-time role with full comprehensive health and retirement benefits
8 weeks of fully paid parental leave
Valor-subsidized childcare and priority seating at Little Wonders Day Care
Free access to an on-site strength & conditioning facility, Vanderbilt Health Clinic, retirement counseling, and mental health support and resources
Employee laptop provided and unlimited school supplies
Full-time employees wishing to enroll their student at Valor in grades 5-12 will be placed at the top of the new student waitlist
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Valor believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization that enables students and staff to thrive. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We actively seek applications from people of all backgrounds to strengthen our community and the perspectives needed to thrive in a diverse world.
#J-18808-Ljbffr