Elementary School Principal - Kennebunk Elementary School
Pay Range: $131,306 to $151,561 annually per Administrators Association CBA Salary Schedule 2026-27
Reports to: Superintendent of Schools
Manages: All school-based professional, paraprofessional, administrative, and support personnel
Position Summary: Maine Regional School Unit 21 (RSU 21) serves 2300 students with 600 employees across three communities and has an annual budget of $65 million. RSU 21 schools are consistently ranked as top performers in Maine. As Principal, you will deliver measurable results that drive student growth and achievement. As building leader, you will work collaboratively with other principals, district-wide instructional leaders, and educators to deliver on the district’s mission and strategic plan. Principals set the tone and lead by example to ensure the strongest school, parent/family, and community partnerships. RSU 21 principals operate with a mindset and framework of continuous learning and improvement, and both equip and inspire instructional staff to do their best work to improve student outcomes.
Qualifications: Love what you do, and the opportunity this position presents — especially your ability to shape, drive, and lead a high-expectation instructional climate and culture dedicated to improving student outcomes. We seek a proven instructional and talent leader with a passion and a demonstrated track record of creating and maintaining high-performing learning environments. Maine certification (or conditional certification)* as a school Principal required. Master’s Degree required. Five years of successful K-12 teaching experience required. Experience in instructional leadership roles and experience working with teams of teachers strongly preferred. Experience as a Principal or Assistant Principal required. Our ideal candidates will be strong instructional leaders with both classroom and administrative experience, but we welcome candidates with educational and/or leadership backgrounds and expertise from outside the district-setting as well. Candidates with a proven record of using data to impact school and student growth are encouraged to apply.
Responsibilities:
Instructional Leader
Ensure all strategy and instructional design, delivery, and decision-making is centered around rigorous student learning and high expectations for students and staff
Develop, communicate, and employ a shared vision of instructional excellence to guide decisions and strategic planning. Establish meaningful goals to drive towards continuous school achievement and improvement. Ensure that benchmarks, curriculum, and instruction are aligned to outcomes that produce interdisciplinary and critical thinking, high student achievement
Use student achievement data to drive instruction, program interventions, and teacher supports and development; analyze data to interpret whether students are on track and to assess the health of school programs; use results to initiate and manage school-wide and classroom-specific data-driven change
Talent Manager
Serve as enthusiastic recruiter and effective school ambassador to market your school and attract high quality staff
Recruit, select, hire and retain high percentages of strong teachers and make tough and timely decisions about exiting poor performers; employ a strategy to prioritize retention of high-performing staff; ensure district alignment, guidance, direction, and support of all staff
Accurately evaluate teacher performance against ambitious performance standards; communicate feedback that yields actionable change in teacher performance; create and monitor the effectiveness of systems for teacher improvement at the school level, ensuring that evaluation systems are instructive as well as evaluative
Frequent classrooms to observe, monitor, and improve instructional and non-instructional effectiveness; share actionable, honest, and ongoing feedback with teachers designed to improve their instructional performance; serve as instructional coach
Provide frequent feedback to paraprofessionals to monitor and improve instructional and non-instructional effectiveness
Hire and build school-based instructional leadership teams based on leadership strengths and needs
Culture and Community Builder
Create and sustain an organizational culture that promotes high instructional and professional expectations for all members
Effectively run a school building with a positive, inspiring, inclusive, and nurturing culture — that attracts staff and families to want to join and remain in the school community
Promote a safe and orderly learning environment which embraces collaboration, cooperation, and empowers all members of the learning community; enforce consistent student behavior expectations and provide positive behavior supports to build and maintain a positive learning environment
Build healthy, beneficial and respectful relationships across the school community; including families and community members to positively impact school goals
Communicate district perspective effectively with all stakeholders including staff, students, families, and community members, while engaging stakeholders in ways that convey mutual respect and effective conflict management, when needed
Model ongoing personal self-reflection and a mindset of continuous learning and development
Operations Expert
Manage school operations effectively and efficiently. Manage time, projects, financial resources, human resources, and technological resources strategically and effectively to drive student achievement
Exhibit management skills to lead a building successfully including effective verbal and written communications, engaging in difficult conversations, time management, and meeting facilitation.
Understand how managing operations aligns with school goals and missions; leverage operational assets to enhance instructional effectiveness
Oversee non-instructional core functions including fiscal and facilities management, serving as a disciplined, insightful, and responsible steward of district funds
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Lens
Oversee improvements to curriculum, academics and instruction with awareness and understanding of their impact on a community of diverse needs; communicate a commitment to the dignity and contribution of all cultures
Address negative instructional experiences by students or staff that conflict with our stated DEI priorities, values, and beliefs, and, when needed, respond with strategies to decrease reoccurrences
Ensure students and staff see you as their advocate, feel comfortable sharing examples of discrimination and harassment they witness or experience, and trust that discrimination and harassment will be addressed if shared
Demonstrate a commitment to district’s DEI priorities and policies; model behaviors to reinforce the equity-based, diverse, and inclusive culture we seek
Reflect on personal biases that may impact your work, decision-making, and/or the culture of the district you help lead through a commitment to personal DEI growth
Data-driven and Goal-Based Instructional Strategist
Ensure that academic decision-making is driven by the analysis of comprehensive, relevant, accurate, and up-to-date data
Manage with a goals-based approach, setting ambitious and measurable school- and classroom-level goals that will result in meaningful growth for students that can change the trajectory of their lives
Create and maintain a school-wide culture of ongoing accountability checks to gauge progress towards data-driven goals
Develop disciplined data collection, monitoring, analysis and reporting routines to ensure the accessibility and timely integration of data into the ongoing cycles of instructional planning
Track academic outcomes by student sub-groups, with a particular focus on minimizing achievement gaps by various identities
Competencies:
Change agent mindset: You see education as a relentless effort towards improving students’ lives; you believe in your ability to make a difference, and inspire others to believe the same; you are not satisfied with the status quo or “the way things have always been done”; you see education as a pivotal driver of opportunity
Leadership orientation: You take strong positions, lean into difficult conversations and decisions, and occupy a clear leadership position amongst staff; you intervene and apply pressure when needed, embracing your authority; you encourage innovation and autonomy to empower your staff
District representative: You promote our strategies and district positions coherently and persuasively; you present our value convincingly and creatively and can defend it when questioned; you balance an urgent and aggressive approach with respectful boundaries; you deflect rather than internalize stakeholder stress
Strong communicator: You communicate compellingly and commandingly; you listen actively and question liberally; in written and verbal communications and presentations you articulate clearly, powerfully and with self-assurance; you exude leadership, control and focus; you hold an audience’s attention with your presence and verbal command
Relationship-oriented: You recognize the deep importance that relationships with colleagues and stakeholders play in your work; you build rapport and trust with others; you’re comfortable with and adept at navigating a diversity of personalities and work styles; you value authentic collaboration
Impact and influence: You adapt your leadership style to influence others, anticipate reactions of others, and make a compelling, persuasive, and motivating case to inspire others to take action
Strategist: You outline plans to achieve a new outcome; you can synthesize large amounts of evidence to identify a smarter or different approach; you connect analysis to recommendations; you take action on what’s most important; you drive work forward with an urgency to see results
In the first year, Principals will be expected to focus on the following priorities:
Establish a strong vision of instructional excellence and school-based strategic plan; and align staff in that vision to achieve school specific goals
Implement school-based systems, processes, and structures to recruit, select, hire, onboard, develop, and retain high-quality teachers based on school-specific needs
Diagnose and address school-specific culture gaps, deficiencies, challenges, and implement strategies to strengthen a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative culture dedicated to improved student learning
Manage operations to ensure smooth and efficient logistical processes, while seizing opportunities to innovate for enhanced impact
Embrace and champion the district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) goals
Partner with district staff to create the infrastructure for, and implement, a goals-based data-driven approach, to target school-specific areas of growth — training and investing in staff as needed.
Reasonable Accommodations: RSU 21 will provide accommodations to an individual with a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or applicable law, who has made the district aware of their disability, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship to the district.
Terms of Employment: As per contract, total compensation to be established by the Superintendent commensurate with experience and approved by the Board.
Evaluation: Performance of this job will be evaluated by the Superintendent, in accordance with the Board of School Directors Policy on evaluation of Administrative Personnel (GCOC).
Apply via our application portal
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Internal Applicants: Submit a Letter of Interest (upload it where the resume is requested). No resume or letters of reference are required.
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External Applicants: Submit a current resume/CV and three letters of reference.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
