Key School Principal
Key School Principal
Carolina Day School seeks a Principal of the Key School who will serve as the relational heart and instructional leader of this distinctive program — someone who finds deep purpose in leading a program that changes the trajectory of young lives.
The Principal’s most important work happens in the hallways, classrooms, and conversations: building a strong faculty culture, knowing every student by name and story, partnering closely with families, and ensuring the instructional program remains excellent, coherent, and true to its mission.
Because CDS is fortunate to have world-class admissions, advancement, and operations teams, the Principal is freed from institutional responsibilities that often pull division leaders away from the work they entered education to do.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
The work is organized around the four domains that define effective division leadership. Listed in order of priority. The first two — instructional leadership and student life — define the heart of the role.
- INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP & CURRICULUM STEWARDSHIP
The quality of teaching is the single most important variable in student outcomes — and for Key School students, the stakes are especially high.
- Conduct daily classroom walkthroughs and provide real-time, specific, actionable feedback rooted in instructional knowledge and professional trust.
- Know the scope and sequence of Key’s structured literacy curriculum deeply, and ensure its fidelity and coherence across all grade levels.
- Lead weekly grade-level or team meetings focused on student progress, instructional planning, and collaborative problem-solving.
- Facilitate regular data review cycles using diagnostic and progress-monitoring assessments to inform instructional decisions.
- Co-teach or model lessons as part of an active instructional coaching practice.
- Design and lead professional development that keeps Key faculty at the leading edge of research based practice for students with language-based learning differences.
- Recruit, hire, mentor, and retain faculty with deep expertise in Orton-Gillingham methodology and structured literacy instruction.
- Conduct formal evaluations with clarity, directness, and care — celebrating excellence and addressing underperformance with equal conviction.
- Navigate difficult conversations about performance, expectations, and professional growth with honesty and empathy.
- Protect and strengthen the Orton-Gillingham training program that is central to Key’s identity and reputation.
- Build a collaborative faculty culture grounded in shared purpose, reflective practice, and genuine trust
- STUDENT LIFE & DAILY PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
The daily steward of every student’s experience — knowing students deeply, running the rhythms of the day, and being the first responder when a student or a schedule needs attention.
- Know every Key School student by name, learning profile, and story — and be a visible, trusted, daily presence in their lives.
- Manage the daily schedule, student groupings, classroom assignments, and the operational flow of a 100-student division.
- Be present at morning arrival, in classrooms during instruction, and at dismissal — not as performance, but as practice.
- Handle student behavioral and social-emotional concerns with immediacy, care, and sound judgment.
- Oversee student progress monitoring and program effectiveness using data and professional judgment.
- Lead student transition conferences: entry into Key, movement across grade levels within Key, and exit from Key into the mainstream CDS program or Upper School.
- Coordinate with the Key School team on individual learning plans, accommodations, and services.
- Cultivate an environment where students with learning differences feel known, challenged, celebrated, and safe.
- Champion student self-advocacy and executive function development as essential, daily elements of the Key School experience.
- FAMILY COMMUNICATION & PARTNERSHIP
Key School families have entrusted their children to a program that promises to change the trajectory of their learning lives. The Principal must honor that trust.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for Key School families on all matters related to their child’s experience.
- Communicate proactively and transparently about student progress, program decisions, and school life through regular updates, weekly communications, and standing check-ins with families of new students.
- Guide families through sensitive conversations about student learning, placement decisions, and transitions with honesty and care.
- Educate families about the Key School’s methodology and help them understand what realistic progress looks like for their child.
- Foster a strong sense of community among Key School families and support their connection to the broader CDS parent community.
- Lead or coordinate parent education sessions on structured literacy, learning differences, and student development.
- DIVISION OPERATIONS
Effective operations are what allow everything else to work. Institutional-level responsibilities sit with the Associate Head and leadership team.
- Manage staffing logistics, supply and resource coordination, and daily operational needs of the Key School.
- Build and maintain the division’s annual schedule, including class assignments, specialist rotations, and transition timelines.
- Provide input on division budget priorities in partnership with the Associate Head of School.
- Ensure compliance with accreditation standards (OGA, IMSLEC) in partnership with the Associate Head of School.
- Collaborate with CDS division heads (Lower, Middle, Upper School) to foster cross-divisional understanding, shared professional learning, and student transition support.
- Share Key School expertise with CDS colleagues, supporting school-wide capacity to serve neurodiverse learners.
- Participate in prospective family visits and student screening as requested by the Director of Admissions.
QUALIFICATIONS, REQUIRED
- Bachelor’s degree in education, special education, educational leadership, or a related field.
- Master’s degree strongly preferred.
- Minimum five years of direct experience in educational leadership with responsibility for faculty supervision, evaluation, and development.
- Deep expertise in structured literacy and the Orton-Gillingham approach. Experience in an OGA- or IMSLEC-accredited program is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated success working with students who have language-based learning differences, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.
- Significant classroom teaching experience with students who have learning differences and high cognitive ability.
- Understanding of child and adolescent development across the full 2nd–8th grade span.
- Experience with curriculum design, instructional coaching, and program review in a specialized or independent school setting.
- Strong communication skills — written, verbal, and interpersonal — and the ability to navigate sensitive conversations with families and faculty.
QUALIFICATIONS, PREFERRED
- Certification as a Certified Academic Language Practitioner (CALP), Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), or Orton-Gillingham Fellow.
- Experience in an independent school setting, particularly one that serves students with learning differences within a broader school community.
- Familiarity with executive function development, self-advocacy programming, and transition planning for students with learning profiles.
- Experience leading or contributing to accreditation processes (OGA, IMSLEC, or similar).
- Knowledge of current research in neuroscience, literacy acquisition, and evidence-based interventions for students with dyslexia.
HOW TO APPLY
Carolina Day School has engaged DovetailED to lead this search. Interested candidates should submit the following materials together as a single application packet to Ashlyn Chillemi, Senior Recruiter, at ashlyn@dovetailedsourcing.com.
Please do not contact the school directly.
01. Cover Letter — Express interest in this specific position and articulate your connection to the Key School’s mission.
02. Current Résumé — A complete record of your professional experience, education, and credentials.
03. Statement of Educational Philosophy — One to two pages addressing your approach to leading a program for students with language-based learning differences.
04. Five Professional References — Name, relationship, phone number, and email. References will not be contacted without the candidate’s permission
Americans with Disability Specifications
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
Work Environment:
Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
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