Job Description

Founding School Principal of Louisiana Academy of Production

Job Description

About LAAP and the Founding Principal 

The Founding Principal of Louisiana Academy of Production (LAAP) will be the instructional leader charged with leading core academic and cultural work for all students and staff. This new school will prepare students for high-wage, high-growth careers in the film and TV production industry and ensure they graduate with a diploma that will also prepare them for success in college. This position will report to the Executive Director. 

LAAP will open in the fall of 2026 with approximately 100 freshman students and grow, one grade at a time, until reaching full capacity in four years with approximately 600 students. The LAAP board is looking for a Founding Principal who will join our team as a thought partner, collaborator, and visionary in the year prior to opening and lead LAAP in growth and development toward a successful and exciting August 2026 opening and beyond. The position will be full-time in year 0. The ideal candidate is looking for a long-term position as an educational visionary, new school developer, strategic partnership convener, and most importantly, the school’s leader. 

LAAP will be a TOPS diploma-granting high school that prepares students for college and high-demand, behind-the-scenes careers in the film and television production industries. LAAP’s focus within the production industry aligns with real-world jobs available to skilled high school graduates. We are explicitly not a performance academy. Instead, our Production Career Pathway Program prepares graduates for union industry roles such as costumers, lighting technicians, and camera operators. 

To prepare students for college and career, LAAP will offer students early exposure to career pathways, starting in 9th grade; an immersive Tier-1 9-12th grade curriculum that develops both hard and soft skills; professional internships; and certifications that are essential to securing jobs after graduation. The career pathways of post-production, technical, craft, and the business of entertainment, all focus on skilled, high-demand production jobs in areas such as camera/grip, costume and set design, and post-production editing. By providing a comprehensive high school education blended with meaningful career training and hands-on learning, the school maximizes students’ post-high school opportunities. 

In partnership with the Executive Director, school community, industry, and higher education partners, the Principal will refine and implement the core curricula to include project-based learning aligned with the industry. The principal will also refine and implement the production career pathway curricula, design and implement student and staff recruitment plans, create a strong school culture, and design systems for serving special student populations.

What will you be doing in Year Zero (Y0)?

“Year Zero” (Y0) is an important year in that the Founding Principal will establish roots in the community as the leader and codify the mission and vision of Lousiana Academy of Production. He/She will spend time on student and community outreach and further refine existing partnerships and build new partnerships, nurture existing partnerships, and facilitate other entities described throughout LAAP's charter application.

In Y0, LAAP's Founding Principal will hire founding staff and develop and implement a community outreach plan. Other responsibilities of the principal in Y0 include:

• Hire an office manager, faculty, and teaching staff
• Build/Train curriculum with founding faculty 
• Attend professional developments that institutes PBL and CTE
• Coordinate all operational and instructional aspects of the school
• Oversee and coordinate professional development for staff and faculty to include (as appropriate) professional development in project-based learning, career and technical education, and Tier 1 Core Curriculum
• Develop and align, with team, student post-secondary plan portfolios, exit outcomes in-depth educational plans that include internships and experiences on and off the LAAP campus, and align curriculum with state standards
• Develop job performance standards in support of faculty and staff evaluations
• Determine and implement revisions to LAAP's employee and student/parent handbook, grievance policy, and student and parent record-keeping systems
• Create LAAP's cultural handbook with founding faculty and staff
• Finalize LAAP's School’s discipline policy and student code of conduct with founding faculty and staff 

Responsibilities

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of the school’s academic and cultural plans to date and refine all plans such that they are ready for implementation in August of 2026.
• Design a staff recruitment process and execute all hiring processes for the founding academic team.
• Refine and implement the Film and TV CTE scope and sequence.
• Drive instructional excellence by setting aspirational school goals and ensuring that teachers receive appropriate, targeted coaching and professional development.
• Supervise, coach, develop, and evaluate teachers via regular observations, feedback, and coaching.
• Supervise, coach, develop, and evaluate all student support staff with particular attention to scheduling to ensure that all students remain on track to satisfy all diploma and graduation requirements. 
• Observe lessons regularly and deliver targeted feedback, developing plans for teacher improvement and facilitating data-driven instruction cycles.
• Ensure high-quality career-connected learning pathways for students in the film and TV industries.

Requirements

• Experience in designing and implementing complex programming ideally at a Louisiana high school.
• At least two years of experience in EITHER leading academic programming for a high school or as a school leader for a high school.
• Model strong organizational skills and distributed leadership to promote team empowerment through collaboration with school stakeholders.
• Demonstrated knowledge and/or passion for motion picture and/or digital media production. 
• Experience in data-based decision-making and strategic planning around instructional implementation to increase student achievement with all populations.
• Effective culture leader with the ability to build strong teams.
• Attentive to detail, well organized, able to work under pressure, and meet frequent and changing deadlines.
• Sound judgment; skilled with group problem-solving and working with complex concepts in a dynamic setting.
• Ability to organize facts and present information and figures in a clear, concise, and logical manner, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to synthesize information from multiple sources and reconcile incongruent data.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to receive constructive feedback and engage in a collaborative and rigorous development of school design. 
• Prior success in leading adult team building—being a team leader and teaching others how to lead teams. 

Qualifications

• Two or more successful years of high school leadership experience;
• Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university (a graduate degree from an accredited college or university is preferred); and
• Demonstrated results as a middle or high school teacher.

Salary, Benefits, and Terms

LAAP recognizes that a “Founding Principal” is a unique role and is offering a stipend for the work to be completed during Y0.

• Salary based on experience and qualifications
• Successful completion of a background check is a condition of employment
• Work a five day work week

How to apply

Interested candidates should send their resume, cover letter, 3 references, and a written reflection on their educational philosophy to fallon.ward@laapbr.org by April 1, 2025. The interview process will begin May 1, 2025 with an anticipated year 0 start date between June 2025 and August 2025. 

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