Lead Global Foundation (LGF), an Austin-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is preparing a Generation 32 charter application to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to open Global Lead Academy (GLA), a tuition-free public charter school in South Austin. We are seeking our Founding Principal: the campus instructional leader who will build GLA’s academic program, teaching team, and school culture from the ground up.
Where we are — please read this first
We believe in complete transparency with candidates, so here is our stage, plainly stated:
- Global Lead Academy is a proposed school. Our charter has not yet been approved.
- Our Generation 32 charter application is due to the Texas Education Agency on November 12, 2026, and TEA’s decision is expected around March–April 2027.
- If the charter is awarded, 2027–28 is the planning year, and the school opens in fall 2028 with grades K–4 (about 225 students), growing one grade per year to K–8 (about 495 students) by Year 5.
- Any offer for this role is conditional and at-will, and employment is contingent on TEA charter approval, board ratification, and standard pre-employment requirements (background checks and credential verification). Paid employment begins in the planning year, upon charter award and receipt of start-up funding.
- Anything a candidate chooses to contribute before charter award is voluntary and uncompensated, and it creates no employment relationship.
- With your consent, the selected finalist may be identified in our application to TEA — a résumé and conditional offer letter may be included as evidence of proposed campus leadership — and may choose to take part in application preparation and TEA’s capacity interview.
If building a school from this stage sounds energizing rather than alarming, read on.
About Global Lead Academy
Global Lead Academy will be a STEM-forward, leadership-focused, whole-child K–8 public charter school — tuition-free and open to all. We are designing GLA for and with a diverse South Austin community, with significant emergent bilingual (approximately 30%) and special education (approximately 15%) enrollment anticipated. Our conviction is simple: every child can learn to lead — their own learning first, then their teams, and one day their community.
The role
The Founding Principal is GLA’s campus instructional leader, reporting to the Founding Superintendent. While the Superintendent runs the district — finance, compliance, governance, agency relations — the Principal owns what happens inside the school: instruction, teachers, students, culture, and families.
What you’ll own
- Lead instruction. Build a rigorous, joyful K–8 STEM-forward instructional program; select and implement high-quality instructional materials; establish data-driven instruction, assessment, and MTSS systems that catch students early.
- Coach teachers. Recruit, develop, and retain a strong founding teaching team; run consistent observation-and-feedback cycles; implement T-TESS with fidelity; grow teacher leaders.
- Serve every learner. Design strong programming for emergent bilingual students (approximately 30% of anticipated enrollment) and students receiving special education services (approximately 15%) — inclusive by default, with language supports built into first instruction.
- Build culture. Establish a leadership-focused, whole-child culture with high expectations and high support, where students practice real leadership from kindergarten on.
- Partner with families. Make family engagement a working system rather than an event calendar — communication in families’ home languages, real input channels, and shared ownership of student growth.
- Co-lead the launch. During the planning year: curriculum selection, hiring pipeline, schedules and systems design, student recruitment, and family engagement ahead of a fall 2028 opening.
Who this seat is for
Proven campus leaders: principals and assistant principals who have led measurable improvement in student outcomes — ideally in elementary or K–8 settings — and who want to build a school rather than inherit one. If your experience is district- or network-level executive leadership and you are looking for the chief executive seat, see our separate Founding Superintendent posting on Indeed.
Required qualifications
- Texas Principal as Instructional Leader (EC–12) certification, or eligibility for and willingness to obtain Texas principal certification (a master’s degree is required for certification).
- Campus leadership experience (principal or assistant principal) with evidence of strong or improving student outcomes.
- Instructional coaching expertise, with working knowledge of T-TESS or a comparable observation and evaluation framework.
- Meaningful experience serving emergent bilingual students and students receiving special education services.
Preferred qualifications
- Elementary or K–8 leadership experience.
- Charter school or new-school start-up experience.
- Established knowledge of South Austin and the Central Texas education landscape — or a demonstrated record of building deep community knowledge and trusted relationships quickly in a new place.
- Bilingual (English/Spanish).
- Experience with sheltered instruction (e.g., SIOP), dual language, or other strong programs for emergent bilingual students.
Community matters here
Global Lead Academy will be built with South Austin, not just in it. We are looking for a campus leader who understands the strengths, needs, and aspirations of Central Texas families — the languages they speak, the organizations they trust, the opportunities they want for their children — or who can show us they know how to earn that understanding quickly. Candidates with established roots or working relationships in this area will find that experience highly relevant to the work.
Compensation
Competitive and commensurate with experience. Compensation and benefits for the planning year and beyond will be set by the Board of Directors upon charter award and receipt of start-up funding, consistent with the school’s approved budget. As an operating public charter school, employees would participate in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).
Equal opportunity
Lead Global Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. We warmly encourage bilingual candidates to apply.
How to apply
Apply through Indeed with your résumé; no cover letter is required.
Pay: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
