“Our mission is to ensure that every student develops the enduring knowledge, skills, and character to thrive in a changing world.”
Position: Licensed Assistant Principal
School Year: 2025-2026
Location: Crystal River Elementary School
Reports to: Receives direct supervision from the Principal.
Supports: Supervises building licensed staff and non-licensed staff.
Classification: Certified Exempt - Full-Time (1.0 FTE / 40 hours per week)
Contract Period: 204 working days.
Salary Range
- $90,451 - $109,766 depending on years of experience. Wages will be earned during the school calendar at the number of 204 required days, but will be paid over the twelve month contract period.
Benefits
- The Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) offers full district paid employee health benefits, including medical, life, voluntary vision, dental, and dependent coverage. Other benefits include, paid leave, CO PERA (pension plan) enrollment with district contribution, TSA options, employee assistance programs (EAP) and supplemental insurance. In addition, RFSD offers highly reduced and payroll deducted ski passes and an employee referral program. RFSD Benefits Guide
- RFSD prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in all district activities. Read the district's full nondiscrimination statement online at https://go.boarddocs.com/co/rfsd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DBTU5S7A6CE2.
About us!
- Crystal River Elementary school is a diverse PreK-4 school located in Carbondale. CRES challenges and inspires all students to develop character skills, reach their academic potential, and become global citizens.
With 14 schools and 5,600 students, the Roaring Fork School District is located in the culturally vibrant and naturally stunning Roaring Fork Valley serving the communities of Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Basalt. The Roaring Fork Schools believe that teachers are our most important asset, and our teachers enjoy a true teacher voice in decision-making; clear and collaborative leadership; small class sizes; a highly competitive and progressive salary schedule; access to our affordable housing program; and a culture of self-care and well-being. We believe diversity is a strength, and our staff makes a real difference for our students who come from different ethnicities, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds.
Position Overview
- The Assistant Principal will work alongside the Principal and is responsible for the collective success of Crystal River Elementary, including the learning, growth and achievement of both students and staff. As the schools’ secondary instructional leader, the Assistant Principal will enable critical discourse and data-driven reflection about curriculum, assessment, instruction, and student progress, and create structures to facilitate improvement. They will create systems that maximize the utilization of resources and human capital, foster collaboration, and facilitate constructive change. By creating a common vision and articulating shared values, they will lead and manage their schools in a manner that supports schools’ ability to promote equity and to continually improve their positive impact on students and families.
Necessary Credentials
- A minimum of three years teaching, preferably in an elementary school, or experience in school administration.
- Equivalent to the completion of a Master’s degree from an accredited college in education or a related field.
- Possession of or enrollment in a program to obtain a Principal’s license through the Colorado Department of Education.
- Possession of or ability to obtain and maintain an appropriate valid Colorado driver’s license.
Primary Duties
The following are examples of primary duties assigned to the Assistant Principal. Other related primary duties and responsibilities may be assigned.
- Strategic Leadership: Work in partnership with the principal to develop the vision, mission, values, expectations and goals of the school; Provide for data-based progress monitoring; Collaborate with staff and school community to implement strategies to move those goals forward.
- Instructional Leadership: Create processes and schedules which maximize student success and instructional time; Support teachers through ongoing, actionable feedback and needs-based professional development; Hold all staff accountable for setting and achieving rigorous performance goals for all students, and empower staff to achieve these goals across content areas.
- School Cultural and Equity Leadership: Articulate, model and positively reinforce a clear vision and values of the school’s culture, and involve students, families and staff in creating an inclusive and welcoming climate that supports it.
- Human Resource Leadership: Establish and effectively manage processes and systems that ensure a knowledgeable, high-quality, high-performing staff.
- Managerial Leadership: Establish systems to improve student learning and overall healthy development for all students; Proactively manage interactions and relationships, including those among and between parents/guardians, students and staff; Ensure that the school provides a supportive environment that fosters a climate of safety, respect, and well-being; Provide supervision of the school campus during school hours and at extracurricular activities sponsored by the school.
- External Leadership: Design and/or utilize structures and processes, which result in family and community engagement, support and ownership for the school; Develop systems and relationships to leverage the school district and community resources available to them both within and outside of the school in order to maximize the school’s ability to serve the best interest of students and families.
Desired Qualifications
Knowledge of:
- Educational needs of elementary school students
- Knowledge of curriculum development and effective instructional practices
- Knowledge of using data to promote student achievement
- Positive discipline and classroom management techniques
- Effective public speaking and presentation techniques
- Principles of supervision, training and performance evaluation
- Pertinent Federal, State and local laws, codes and regulation
- English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation
- Modern office procedures and methods
- Principles of business and letter writing and basic report preparation
Ability to:
- Supervise, plan and direct standards based education practices and curriculum development
- Implement district programs
- Oversee, direct and coordinate the work of staff
- Recruit, select, supervise, develop and evaluate staff
- Analyze situations and generate effective strategies
- Develop goals and implement plans, systems and procedures to achieve them
- Attend professional development, conferences and meetings (including evenings and weekends)
- Attend and supervise student and community activities (including evenings, weekends and holidays)
- Make presentations as required; create excitement for learning
- Be reflective on performance and have a continuous improvement mindset
- Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work
- Motivate staff and students to achieve high levels of engagement and performance
Desired Core Competencies
Assistant Principal/Principal/Director candidates are assessed using the following Roaring Fork Schools Leadership Competencies (derived from research about effective school leadership and from feedback from the Crystal River Elementary School community):
- An ambitious, approachable and courageous leader who tackles challenges directly with creativity and innovation and demonstrates grace, patience, and calm in stressful situations. Organized and efficient with strong executive skills and a responsive communication style.
- A collaborator who engages stakeholders in decision-making, trusts the team and leads by example, showing the ability to maintain and nurture school culture by building on existing strengths. A demonstrated team player who can embrace change while honoring the strong progress, history, and traditions of the CRES community.
- Knowledge and understanding of early childhood education. Experience teaching elementary school. Experience and demonstrated success with emerging bilingual students. Deep understanding of special education. Celebrates and advocates for the diversity of the school community and maintains strong family involvement.
- Supports teachers and staff with prioritizing student behaviors in line with current research and practices. Demonstrates knowledge of current social-emotional and behavior research and methodologies to support students. Has the skills, vision, and ability to plan concrete actions to address student behavior management.
- A relationship builder with the ability to build professional capital.
- An effective instructional coach who promotes and models learning and growth and is attuned to teacher and student wellness. A leader who is both data-driven and people-centered.
- Skills and experience with strategic hiring and recruiting and budgeting.
- Bilingual in Spanish and English preferred.
Physical Requirements
- Office environment; exposure to computer screens; travel from site to site. Primary functions may require maintaining physical condition necessary for sitting for prolonged periods of times; use of computer keyboard; light lifting and carrying.
We look forward to a new collaboration of leadership!