Principal

Position Title:

Principal

Supervisor:

Superintendent

Meet and Discuss Group:

Act 93

Job description last updated November 23, 2026

Position Summary: William Penn School District (WPSD) is committed to nurturing and empowering each of our students to become career and/or college-ready. WPSD comprises 10 schools in 11 buildings across 6 boroughs in Delaware County, with an enrollment of more than 5,000 students. We seek school leaders committed to aligning their school's resources, systems, and people to support students' academic and socio-emotional growth.

The successful candidate will embrace the opportunity to lead with urgency, optimism, visibility, and purpose. This leader must believe deeply in the potential of every student and adult, recognize that meaningful school improvement requires both high expectations and strong relationships, and be able to translate vision into measurable results. We are seeking a leader who does not simply manage a school but energizes a community, develops people, builds effective systems, and creates the conditions necessary for students and staff to thrive.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Duties:

• Develop, communicate, and operationalize a clear vision for learning for all students, and implement a plan to accomplish that vision
• Ensure all school stakeholders can articulate a clear and shared vision for learning
• Promote high-quality instructional practices that allow for excellent instruction and learning school-wide
• Organize school operations around the vision for learning by maintaining a safe and orderly environment and upholding state laws, contracts, and WPSD policies.
• Manage the school budget, requisitions, and all school funds
• Effectively select, onboard, develop, and retain staff
• Support the professional growth of staff members in a differentiated manner based on identified needs and individual goals
• Develop a school culture that promotes reflection, restoration, giving and receiving feedback to support continuous growth and improvement, and shared accountability
• Collect, analyze, and use multiple sources of data to guide continuous improvement in students' achievement, student and staff well-being, and staff professional development
• Be a visible and consistent presence throughout the school
• Build and sustain relationships with families, community members, and businesses
• Act as a liaison between the District and the school, communicating needs and information to both sides

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Elementary leadership (K-6)
• Knowledge of elementary scheduling
• Demonstrate WPSD Core Values in interactions at the school, District, and community levels
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to connect and communicate with staff, parents, and the school community
• Ability to build and lead strong and collaborative teams
• Self-reflective and committed to continuous professional growth
• Ability to motivate staff, students, and families around the school vision
• Understanding of policies and laws affecting special populations, ELL students, and students receiving special education services
• Strategic problem-solving
• Persistence in the face of obstacles
• Ability to use challenges to innovate and drive change
• Commitment to the work of school leadership
• Well-organized
• Ability to balance competing priorities
• Creative and innovative thinking skills
• Knowledge/awareness of one's own cultural identity and how this influences behavior, and a desire to learn about the cultural identity of others
• Ability to establish and nurture an environment that promotes cultural competence and equitable treatment of staff, students, and patrons of the District. District to understand and hold itself and others accountable for promoting and attaining the goals as outlined in Focus Forward and Beyond
• Ability to recognize that each person is a unique individual, even as we celebrate their group cultural heritage

Culture & Climate / Special Education

• Lead a positive, inclusive school culture that promotes student belonging, high expectations, restorative practices, consistent behavior expectations, and strong relationships among students, staff, families, and the community.
• Develop and monitor schoolwide culture and climate systems, using attendance, discipline, behavioral, academic, and stakeholder feedback data to identify trends and implement targeted interventions.
• Provide instructional and administrative leadership for Special Education, ensuring students with disabilities receive appropriate supports, accommodations, specially designed instruction, and access to rigorous grade-level learning in the least restrictive environment.
• Ensure compliance with IDEA, Section 504, and Pennsylvania special education requirements, including effective implementation of IEPs, progress monitoring, timelines, documentation, and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams and families.
• Strengthen inclusive middle school practices by coaching teachers and support staff in differentiated instruction, positive behavioral supports, MTSS, co-teaching, de-escalation, and developmentally appropriate strategies that address adolescents' academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree
• Verifiable experience in Special Education Leadership
• Verifiable experience in Climate and Culture Leadership
• Verifiable experience in Instructional Leadership
• Three to five years of full-time, paid, professional educational experience, including at least two years as a Principal or Assistant Principal, educational administrator, or other leadership position at the elementary, middle, or secondary school level.
• Valid Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Administrative Certificate: PK-12 Principal or 7-12 Secondary School Principal.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Doctorate

Condition of Employment:

Current clearances as required by the PA Department of Education:

1. Copy of Act 33(PA Child Abuse History)
2. Copy of Act 34(PA Criminal Background Check)
3. Copy of Act 114 (FBI Fingerprinting Background Check)
4. Copies of Act 168 (Sexual Misconduct/Abuse Disclosure Release) forms from prior employers.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements:

• Work scheduled hours consistently.
• An indoor office environment with frequent interruptions.
• Pushing, moving, and lifting objects with a light-work strength factor.
• Hand and finger dexterity to operate a variety of standard office equipment.
• Clarity of vision at varying distances.
• Verbal, auditory, and written communication skills.
• Ability to sit and stand for extended periods.
• Frequent sitting, standing, and walking.
• Reaching overhead, above the shoulders, and horizontally to retrieve and store files and supplies.
• Lifting objects with a light-work strength factor.
• Occasional bending, reaching, and stretching.
• Occasional kneeling, crouching, and squatting.
• Occasional pulling and pushing.

Level of Compensation: Commensurate with experience.

Disclaimer: The preceding list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented as necessary. The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions of this job, the scope of responsibility, and the level of knowledge and skills typically required, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements, skills, or duties so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside their normal responsibilities from time to time.