Executive School Director

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Are you an experienced, passionate early childhood leader ready to lead a thriving school community? Join us as the Executive School Director at The Gardner School of North Center!

At The Gardner School, we believe in providing a nurturing, academically focused environment where children thrive—and where leaders like you inspire excellence every day. As the Executive School Director, you’ll be at the helm of building a high-performing team, cultivating family partnerships, and bringing our mission and values to life from Day One.

The Executive School Director at The Gardner School is a dynamic leader responsible for fostering a positive educational environment, driving operational excellence, and upholding The Gardner School’s mission, vision, and values. This role requires a hands-on leader who can inspire, mentor, and manage a team, while maintaining high standards of educational quality, compliance, operational efficiency, and community engagement.  In addition to upholding a positive brand image for The Gardner School within the community, the Executive School Director drives the school’s financial performance, meeting key objectives through effective operational management, team leadership, and strategic planning. The Executive School Director plays a critical role in shaping the school’s success and reputation.

The anticipated salary range for this position is $58,000-$73,000 per year, which represents what The Gardner School reasonably expects to pay for this role based on the position location, experience, education, internal equity, and other job-related factors. Actual compensation may vary depending on these factors and geographic market conditions.

This position is also eligible for a quarterly performance bonus based on individual and school performance. We offer full medical benefits, 401k, and discounted childcare tuition.

Key Responsibilities

Enrollment Management:

• Drive enrollment to align with the school’s performance targets, maintaining accountability for meeting or exceeding enrollment milestones each quarter.
• Serve as the primary sales leader for the school by actively engaging prospective families through tours, follow-ups, and converting inquiries to enrollments.
• Execute community marketing initiatives with measurable outcomes, building relationships with local organizations, businesses, and family-centric groups to increase brand awareness and drive enrollment leads.
• Track, analyze, and act upon enrollment pipeline metrics to identify areas of opportunity and refine sales strategies as needed.
• Strategically open new classrooms in alignment with enrollment projections, ensuring staffing, materials, and readiness support a seamless launch.

Team Staffing, Leadership and Development:

• Lead, inspire, and manage a diverse team effectively, ensuring alignment with organizational goals while promoting a positive and productive work environment.
• Recruit, interview, hire, and train Team Members to maintain proper staff/child ratio.
• Lead monthly team meetings, ensuring alignment with school goals and fostering a collaborative work environment.
• Conduct regular classroom observations to provide teachers with constructive feedback and developmental support.
• Encourage and support the creation of individualized development plans for all Team Members focusing on continuous performance improvement and professional growth.
• Uphold and train the team on The Gardner School’s strategy, vision, and values, promoting a unified culture that supports the school’s mission.
• Oversee onboarding activities with a focus on mentorship and long-term development for new team members.
• Maintains effective communications between Team Members and parents.
• Support performance management and development planning for team members.

Operational and Financial Management:

• Forecast and manage staffing levels to align with current and projected enrollment, ensuring timely hiring of qualified teachers to maintain optimal classroom readiness and ratios.
• Collaborate with recruiting partners to anticipate hiring needs and proactively fill roles in alignment with enrollment growth.
• Balance labor cost efficiency with service quality by monitoring the timing of staff additions and classroom openings based on real-time enrollment data.
• Oversee daily school operations, ensuring efficiency and resource management, while meeting compliance and quality standards to maintain excellence in education and care.
• Managing financial operations, including budgeting, financial reporting, and ensuring the financial health of the school.
• Ongoing Enrollment Management:
• Develop and execute seasonal business plans for Summer, Back to School, and Spring Ramp, collaborating with the District Manager for alignment and approval prior to each season.
• Actively evaluate the school roster and execute strategic plan for transitioning children to the next group to ensure appropriate ratios are maintained and enrollment is maximized.
• Effectively resolves issues related to the management of the School and/or seeks appropriate assistance from the District Manager.
• Ensures that the Enrichment programs are operational and fully enrolled.

Family and Community Engagement:

• Serve as the face of The Gardner School in the community by building a strong brand network, engaging with families, and developing community partnerships.
• Partner with the Marketing Coordinator and Assistant Director to support outreach efforts, promote school events, and enhance the school’s visibility in the community.
• Conducts parent meetings and other conferences as requested.
• Regularly solicits feedback from parents to make improvements in the school.
• Ensures that parents of enrolled children complete all necessary forms. Plans and conducts orientation for newly enrolled parents.

Quality Assurance, Safety, and Compliance:

• Ensure that the school meets or exceeds all state and local licensing standards, as well as internal policies, to maintain a safe and welcoming environment.
• Maintains administrative records for the School including appropriate and required records on Team Members and children.
• Ensures that classroom equipment is maintained in good repair. Requests replacements and contracts for needed repairs following Company policies and procedures.
• Conducts training of Team Members in School safety rules and regulations.
• Enforces all safety rules and regulations with Team Members for the safety of the children and parents.
• Maintains a clean environment by providing for scheduled cleaning of the school and through frequent visual checks.
• Ensure best in class execution of general educational curriculum; collaborate with Team Members to develop positive learning activities; manage adherence to state and local regulations.
• Resolve conflicts (including corrective action when necessary) to ensure a positive experience for everyone.

Qualifications:

Education/Certifications:

• Meet Illinois Rules Child Care Director Licensing Standards for education and experience (Required).
• Bachelor’s degree (Required).  Master’s degree (preferred).  Prefer degree in Early Childhood Education, Childhood Development, Education Administration, Business or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum of two years in licensed childcare with at least one year as a Director or supervising a childcare program with a track record of team management, operational oversight, and community engagement (Required).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong leadership, financial, organizational, and communication skills; proficiency with relevant software, including Microsoft Office.
• Demonstrated proficiency in budget management, financial analysis, and resource allocation to support the school’s financial health and growth targets
• Skilled in optimizing school operations, managing workflows, and maintaining high standards in both educational quality and compliance.
• Strong understanding of licensing standards
• Capable of problem solving by assessing situations quickly and developing solutions that align with school objectives and benefit the school community.
• Ability to read, write, speak, and understand English fluently, sufficient to communicate effectively with students, families, and staff, implement curriculum and safety procedures, and complete written reports.
• Ability to manage time effectively and efficiently
• Ability to multi-task
• Regular and reliable attendance
• Engages effectively with families, Team Members, and community partners, fostering trust, collaboration, and customer satisfaction.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to operate computer, phone and other office equipment as needed
• Ability to lift and carry children up to 60 pounds
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the position

The Gardner School extends equal employment opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual’s age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other reason prohibited by law.