About Sea Islands Heritage Academy

Grounded in community, Sea Islands Heritage Academy empowers and prepares all scholars to recognize the fullness of their identity and determine, pursue, and succeed in the future of their choice.  Newly authorized in Beaufort County by the South Carolina Public Charter School District (“SCPCSD”), Sea Islands Heritage Academy combines four key elements to ensure we are developing empowered learners: place-based instruction, personalized learning, powered by community, and proactive school culture.  

In July 2024, Sea Islands Heritage Academy opened its doors to 6th and 7th graders. We will grow grade by grade until we reach a total capacity of 585 scholars during the 2030-2031 school year. We are actively building a founding team that honors the gifts of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and shares our belief that with rigorous academics, high-quality instruction, and charter development, all scholars can excel in college and life.

Be the Community Advocate at Sea Islands Heritage Academy

Our Community Advocate will work across the organization and local community to ensure a safe, trusting climate is maintained across our campus. With community at our core, the Community Advocate is the keeper of the school culture and climate systems.  Unique to Sea Islands Heritage Academy, the Community Advocate role interfaces directly with our local community.  The ideal candidate will be a systems-minded school culture administrator with experience in creating and maintaining systems to uphold our culture. Ideally, our Community Advocate will have worked in a school; however, mission alignment is most important.  Our mission is as follows: Grounded in community we empower and prepare all scholars to recognize the fullness of their identity and determine, pursue and succeed in the future of their choice.  

The Community Advocate must be passionate, detail-oriented, and unrelenting in their belief that all children deserve a high-quality education regardless of their demographics.

Mission Alignment

Mission-aligned members of the Sea Islands Heritage Academy community share the following values and beliefs. As a leader, the Community Advocate is also expected to model all the following. Mission-aligned Sea Islands Heritage Academy members have a…

• Passion for education and a dedication to Sea Islands Heritage Academy’s mission
• Steadfast belief that all students can achieve at the highest academic levels and deserve an opportunity to succeed in the college and career of their choice
• Maintains professionalism through excellent organizational skills, timeliness, regular communication, and meeting deadlines
• Self reflective and open to feedback, with the ambition and desire to grow one’s professional practice
• An entrepreneurial spirit, embracing the opportunity for creativity and hard work
• A positive, solutions-oriented attitude and drive for excellence
• Are active participants in a supportive and demanding professional community that foster respect, trust, honesty, risk-taking, open-mindedness, flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Mindsets & Skill Sets

• Maintain professionalism through excellent organizational skills, timeliness, regular communication, and meeting deadlines
• Willingness to take on physical and sometimes menial tasks necessary for the greater good
• Interpersonal skills to foster excellent relationships with families, scholars and staff across lines of sameness and difference
• Passionate dedication to Sea Islands Heritage Academy’s mission, with a steadfast belief that all students deserve preparation for the college and career of their choice
• Detail and solutions-oriented mindset
• An entrepreneurial spirit, embracing the opportunity for creativity and hard work
• Discretion and confidentiality with sensitive information
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Cultural competencies to work in low-income communities and a willingness to examine own biases across lines of sameness and difference
• Eagerness to work collaboratively as part of a team
• A strong track record of building positive relationships across various stakeholder groups demonstrating a value towards diversity and inclusivity

Overall Leadership Responsibilities

As a community and school culture leader of Sea Islands Heritage Academy, many of the responsibilities are cumulative and involve organization-wide leadership

• Community Responsibilities

• In collaboration with Executive Director and other campus, establish community engagement goals and objectives (inclusive of co-development of Community Engagement course materials and Enrollment outcomes)
• Plan and lead quarterly Community Council meetings
• Establish and continue to build partnerships and meaningful relationships with related organizations throughout the community
• Train, supervise, and evaluate community partners in Community Engagement Course  
• Develop,organize and facilitate or co-facilitate family engagement events
• Manage House System alongside campus leadership

•  Whole School Responsibilities

•  Work with the Principal, Academic Leadership Team, and Operations Team to plan and implement both staff and student orientation.
•  Create, evaluate and seek to constantly improve overall school culture, with an emphasis on creating a culture that is academically focused, joyful,  safe and secure, and allows scholars the opportunity to develop positive and age - appropriate peer relationships.
•  Lead and model respectful and effective family communication
•  Regular meetings with operational staff to proactively plan for culture events
•  Participate in culture walkthroughs
•  Real time coach teachers when necessary
•  Proactively plan and execute systems to drive positive student behavior and create a culture of achievement that is focused on academic success, joyfulness, a safe and supportive school culture, and creating positive and  age - appropriate relationships.
•  Own and track systems to check uniforms and ensure all scholars meet dress code expectations each day.

•  Disciplinary Responsibilities

• Help students internalize and practice the school’s core values.
• Support scholar growth by guiding him/her through restorative practices
• Support teachers by taking initiative to address behavioral problems as they arise, ensuring that instructional time is maximized and that students miss as little time in the classroom as possible.
• Manage the entire dean referral process, from classroom push - in support to dean’s office processing, to detention and restorative consequences.
• Manage all reentries around suspensions, in - school and out - of - school
• Manage consequences systems.
• Maintain records of disciplinary actions
• Coordinate students’ positive student culture incentives according to school wide systems and expectations
• Provide parents/scholars with tools to track their progress to earning school wide incentives

• Instructional Responsibilities

• In consultation with operational staff, assist in the facilitation and observation/feedback process for House System groups.
• Co-lead professional development around House System
• Provide classroom management support and coaching to teachers as needed.
• Comanage grade teams and grade level leaders to ensure teachers are collaborating effectively to meet the needs of all scholars and supporting positive team culture.

Required Qualifications

Applicants for the Executive Director of Sea Islands Heritage Academy are expected to meet the required qualifications and, ideally, many of the desired qualifications.

• Have at least three years in community engagement or school climate.  
• Have a bachelor’s degree in relevant field.
• Be a highly collaborative, results-oriented, adaptable, problem-solving self-starter who seeks feedback to continue professional growth.

• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Commitment to and experience working with students from diverse backgrounds with unique academic and personal needs.

Desired Qualifications

• Previous experience working in K-12 school setting.
• Have experience with charter schools, either as a teacher or with charter school laws generally.

• Be positive, thoughtful, passionate, motivating, and empowering with staff and students.
• Be computer savvy and proficient in email, word processing, spreadsheets, Google Docs, etc.
• Familiarity with Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and Beaufort area.

If you are interested in this position, please send your resume and cover letter to info@HeritageAcademySC.org.