Assistant Principal

About Breakthrough Public Schools

Breakthrough Public Schools is a high-performing charter network serving scholars across five campuses in Cleveland. We operate as a unified system grounded in a shared academic vision and the Arc of the Year — our framework for adult development and instructional excellence that progresses from strong classroom environments to rigorous instruction, high-quality feedback, and culminating academic growth.

At Breakthrough, we believe great schools are built by great adults.

The Assistant Principal of Instruction (API) is the primary manager (and evaluator) of teachers and is directly responsible for the quality of instruction and execution of the Breakthrough Unified School Model in the classrooms under their care.

As a core member of the School Leadership Team, the API collaborates at a high level to ensure the full student experience — academic and cultural — reflects the Breakthrough model.

Scope of Work: Instructional Manager Who Achieves Results Through

The Assistant Principal of Instruction achieves results through teachers. The API reports directly to the Principal and serves as a key member of the School Leadership Team.

The API improves student outcomes by

• Developing teacher instructional skill
• Ensuring fidelity to curriculum and grading expectations
• Driving high-quality lesson internalization
• Using Real-Time Coaching to raise the bar for adult practice
• Holding teachers accountable to measurable student mastery

The API is

• Manager of Teachers – accountable for teacher performance and growth
• Owner of Classroom Quality – responsible for instructional execution under their supervision
• Curriculum & Grading Guardian – ensuring fidelity to approved materials, scope and sequence, and Breakthrough Grading Guidelines
• Lead Real-Time Coach – using immediate feedback to shift adult practice
• Model of Excellence – ready at any time to demonstrate the instructional bar
• Collaborative School Leader – partnering across leadership functions to ensure coherence in the student experience
• Exemplar Feedback Receiver – modeling growth by adjusting practice immediately when coached

Core Responsibilities

1. Student Outcomes, Curriculum Fidelity, and Breakthrough Unified Model Execution

The API is responsible for student mastery within their teacher caseload and owns the quality of instruction in those classrooms.

They achieve this by ensuring teachers

• Implement Breakthrough-approved curriculum with strict fidelity
• Follow the established scope and sequence
• Apply Breakthrough Grading Guidelines consistently and accurately
• Engage in high-quality lesson internalization prior to instruction
• Deliver instruction aligned to grade-level standards and the Breakthrough Teacher Rubric

The API monitors execution through

• Frequent classroom observation
• Student work analysis
• Assessment data review
• Lesson internalization checks
• Grading audits aligned to network guidelines

Deviation from curriculum, scope and sequence, grading guidelines, or instructional expectations is addressed immediately.

As a member of the School Leadership Team, the API collaborates with the Principal, Network Directors, and other leaders to ensure curriculum, culture, grading, intervention, and instructional systems operate cohesively.

2. Real-Time Coaching (RTC) as the Primary Lever

Real-Time Coaching aligned to the Breakthrough Teacher Rubric and Arc of the Year (AOTY) is the API’s primary mechanism for improving teacher practice and student outcomes.

To achieve this, the API

• Defines the rubric bar clearly
• Calibrates consistently with the Principal
• Aligns with other leaders on quality expectations
• Coaches teachers toward rubric mastery using Breakthrough’s coaching model
• Uses observable classroom evidence to measure growth

This includes

• In-the-moment instructional feedback
• Immediate corrections to instructional moves
• Resetting rigor when it slips
• Reinforcing alignment to lesson objectives
• Providing specific, actionable next steps
• Following up to ensure implementation

The API must be

• Comfortable interrupting and/or stepping into instruction when necessary
• Skilled at identifying misalignment to rigor or standards
• Ready to model high-quality instructional moves across content areas
• Prepared to practice techniques with teachers until mastery is achieved

Coaching frequency and intensity are determined by evidence of student outcomes — not tenure or teacher self-perception.

If students are not mastering standards, coaching deepens.

The API collaborates to identify schoolwide instructional trends and align coaching priorities to broader school goals.

Further, as a member of the School Leadership Team, the API collaborates to ensure instructional expectations align with culture systems, student supports, intervention structures, and family communication — ensuring every aspect of the student experience reflects the Breakthrough Unified Model and coaching their teachers to uphold the model consistently.

3. Feedback Culture & Personal Growth

The API is both a coach and a learner. They receive functional role support from Breakthrough’s Academic Team.

APIs receive frequent real-time coaching from

• The Principal
• Managing Directors of Schools and/or Head of Schools
• Strategic instructional partners

They are expected to

• Receive feedback non-defensively
• Adjust practice immediately
• Demonstrate visible growth in their coaching craft
• Seek calibration to strengthen impact

APIs model what it looks like to receive feedback, refine practice, and raise the bar for themselves.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Breakthrough Assistant Principal of Instruction

• Achieves measurable student growth through teacher development
• Ensures full fidelity to approved curriculum, scope and sequence, and grading guidelines
• Guarantees high-quality lesson internalization prior to instruction
• Uses frequent Real-Time Coaching to improve adult practice
• Models instructional excellence confidently
• Resets the bar immediately when rigor slips
• Collaborates effectively as a senior member of the School Leadership Team
• Receives and applies feedback to strengthen their coaching

Most importantly

Student mastery improves because teacher preparation improves, instructional execution improves, and leadership across the school is aligned and coherent.

Skills & Qualifications

• 3+ years teaching experience required, preferably in urban setting with proven track record of driving student academic growth
• Strong instructional knowledge and coaching ability
• Experience leading and developing adults preferred
• Ability to give direct, actionable feedback
• Comfort operating in high-accountability environments
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred
• Valid teaching license required, or in the process of obtaining a valid Ohio teaching license which can include a 1 or 5-year substitute license preferred.
• Valid Ohio Principal Licensure preferred, inclusive of non-traditional Licensure Pathways

Why Breakthrough

At Breakthrough Public Schools, leadership is not a title — it is a mindset.

We believe transformative schools are built by leaders who embody a clear set of mindsets that shape every decision, every interaction, and every outcome.

Our Assistant Principals of Instruction lead with the following mindsets:

We Do Our Job.

• We take full ownership of results.
• We do not blame circumstances, systems, or people — we improve them.
• We ensure the work gets done at a high level because students are counting on us.

We Hold High Expectations.

• We believe all students can achieve at the highest levels.
• We define excellence clearly and refuse to lower the bar.
• We intervene quickly when performance slips — in ourselves and in others.

Kid Needs > Adult Needs.

• We make decisions based on what is best for students, even when it is hard.
• We prioritize long-term student success over short-term adult comfort.

We Communicate Openly and Honestly.

• We give direct, actionable feedback.
• We say what needs to be said in service of growth.
• We seek clarity and alignment rather than comfort.

We Remain Committed.

• We persist through challenge.
• We do not waver when the work is difficult.
• We understand that consistency — not intensity — drives transformation.

We Center Joy.

• We believe rigor and joy coexist.
• We create environments where adults and students feel purpose, belonging, and pride.
• We celebrate growth and progress along the way.

Breakthrough operates as a unified system across five campuses, grounded in a shared school model and a clear Arc of the Year for adult and instructional excellence.

We are seeking Assistant Principals of Instruction who are relentless about outcomes, courageous in coaching adults, and unwavering in their commitment to students.

If you are energized by building strong teams, setting a clear bar, and driving meaningful academic growth for children — you will find your work here matters deeply.

ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF FALISIFCATION UNDER SECTION 2921.13 OF THE REVISED CODE, WHICH IS A MISDEMEANOR OF THE FIRST DEGREE

DISCLAIMER

The information outlined in this job description indicates the general nature and type of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities or competencies required of employees within this classification.

Benefits

Compensation packages are competitive and commensurate with experience. Breakthrough Schools offer a comprehensive benefit package that includes medical, dental and vision, life and disability coverage. Employees also participate in the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) or the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS).

Breakthrough Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.