Middle School Dean of Student LIfe

Middle School Dean of Student Life

Reports To: Head of MS

FLSA Status:  Exempt

Division:  Deans

11 Months

Learn More About The Alexander Dawson School

Position Summary

The Alexander Dawson School seeks a passionate educator committed to the Dawson Mission and sensitive to and understanding of adolescents. The Dean of Student Life is student-centered and integrates restorative practices into faculty and student responsibilities, and our commitment to DEI work. The Dean of Student Life serves as a central architect and advocate for student culture at Dawson. As a visible presence in students’ daily lives, the Dean nurtures a positive, inclusive environment through consistent interactions and intentional programming. Within this work, the Dean also oversees all disciplinary matters, ensuring that expectations and consequences align with the school’s values and support students’ growth.

Building on this culture-forward approach, the Dean’s work centers first on proactive practices that cultivate trust, belonging, and shared responsibility before addressing moments of conflict when they arise. The Dean of Student Life is responsible for designing, implementing, supporting, and evaluating relational discipline and restorative justice programs at Dawson. They will develop and expand proactive strategies that build and strengthen the student culture and design and facilitate training for students and staff. The responsibilities of this position can be summarized into four priority areas: Proactive/Preventive Engagement, Responsive Restorative Practices, Faculty Training, and Teaching and Learning.

This full-time, 11-month position begins on July 1, 2026.

Essential Functions
The essential duties and responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

Professional Work Habits & Mission Alignment

Professional Standards & Conduct: Consistently upholds professional standards of personal presentation, punctuality, attendance, and engagement at meetings, duty coverage, safety protocols, decision-making, and maintains required credentials.
Commitment to Dawson Culture: Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding and support of Dawson’s mission, vision, core values, and diversity statement; actively participates in school-wide events and is a visible presence at school, including all divisional activities and events
Confidentiality & Ethical Practice: Honors confidentiality of school, student, and family information and demonstrates ethical decision-making in all professional contexts. Talks to people and not about people.
Working Agreements: Upholds Dawson working agreements, such as assuming positive intentions in all interactions, holding self and others accountable for the impact of words and actions, mindfully sharing the air, and proactively looking for solutions before problems escalate.

 

Knowledge & Expertise

Leadership & Professionalism

Supervises the implementation of consistent, fair, and equitable student disciplinary procedures
Develops and meets annual goals in support of the overall strategic plan and school-wide goals
Facilitates training and coaching for students, staff, and families on restorative practices, peer mediation, meaningful restorative conversations, and techniques for resolving conflict
Provide resources, coaching, and professional development to staff on classroom management and classroom culture
Serve on community teams as needed
Serve as a member of the Admissions team to assist with testing and student shadow days

Proactive & Preventive Engagement

Models a relational approach to interacting with students, families, and staff, and works explicitly to build relationships within the community
Facilitate meetings with families to address student performance, behavioral concerns, and overall academic and social development, ensuring clear and constructive communication
Builds a strong school culture of equity, inclusion, leadership, and respect based on principles of restorative justice and Dawson’s Core Values
Supports students and staff through observations, coaching, modeling restorative language, and debriefing with both staff and individual students
Observes staff and provides frequent, non-evaluative feedback about classroom management and behavioral interventions
Organizes and analyzes case management data to identify behavioral trends and opportunities for support; informs stakeholders
With an asset-based approach, identifies positive student trends and celebrates successes
Facilitates regular community-building engagements and learning circles as proactive measures
Regularly solicits feedback on restorative interventions to improve future programming
Collaborates with the LS Dean of Student Life to create a seamless transition for students rising to Middle School
Documents student behaviors, consequences, and family outreach in memos to file
Annually reviews and makes recommendations for the family handbook language
Collaborates with the Enrollment, athletic, retention, and CARE teams on how to best support students and families
Monitors behavior adjacent systems like school uniform, attendance, and gradebooks to support student well-being and success.

Responsive Restorative Practices

Facilitates and oversees mediations, listening circles, and other appropriate processes in response to conflict
Develops and manages a system to respond to incidents on campus, incorporating staff and student voice and involvement
Collaborates with division heads, assistant division heads, and counselors for appropriate community interventions
Manages student restoration plans, day-of-reflection modules, and reinstatement plans; uses Canvas to create a bank of restorative practices
Designs and implements a variety of creative, proactive, and responsive interventions, which could include any of the following: restorative circles, mediations, community meetings, weekly group sessions, day-of-reflection modules, restorative group programming, community service, or art, etc.
Tracks social and behavioral incidents to identify patterns and inform interventions

Teaching & Learning

Supports and plans for “Plus” day and special events
Collaborates with the campus leaders in the design of community meetings
Develops skill-building with student leaders; provides ongoing coaching about relationship building, strong decision-making, and inclusivity
Teaches at least one course, in line with all other school administrators.
Chaperones annual field study experiences

Professional Growth & Self-Awareness

Self-Reflection & Growth Mindset: Demonstrates deep self-awareness, consistently seeks feedback, identifies areas for improvement, and implements meaningful changes to practice.
Professional Learning & Adaptation: Creates personal development plans, actively seeks learning opportunities, and demonstrates flexibility in adapting to Dawson’s culture and practices.
Effective Communication & Listening: Demonstrates excellent listening skills, remains alert to diverse perspectives, and communicates effectively with various stakeholders throughout change processes.

 

Care for Others & Community Investment

Family Communication & Partnership: Establishes reliable, clear communication systems with families, regularly shares student progress, and responds appropriately to concerns with supervisor consultation.
Team Collaboration & Engagement: Actively participates in team m
Meetings and collaborative efforts, contributes positively to grade-level or department teams, and seeks appropriate guidance from colleagues.
Learns From Others: Consistently consults with mentors, supervisors, and colleagues for guidance on student interventions, parent communication, and classroom challenges.
Identity Awareness: Demonstrates a commitment to ongoing cultural competency and exhibits a deep understanding of how identity and lived experiences influence relationships and interactions.

Qualifications, Education & Experience

Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.) from a four-year college or university
Master’s degree preferred
Five years of related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience
Ability to work collaboratively with all of the leadership team and the Dawson community stakeholders
Excellent organizational and supervisory skills are required
Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to write routine reports and correspondence; ability to speak effectively before families or employees of the organization
Growth mindset, sense of humor, passion for education, and commitment to seeking professional development
Sound judgment, respectful toward all individuals and groups, and dedication to our School’s Mission and Vision
Experience in any of the following is appreciated: Anti-bias training, Responsive Classroom, Crucial Conversations, Restorative Justice or any form of relational discipline training.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and walk; use hands to handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.