Description

Career Opportunity

Sun Prairie West High School Principal

Start Date: July 1, 2026

The Sun Prairie Area School District seeks a dynamic, student-centered, equity-focused leader to serve as Principal of Sun Prairie West High School in the growing community of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. We believe diversity is an asset and strongly encourage women and candidates of color to apply.

Our District Commitments

In Sun Prairie, we:

• Value the diversity and lived experiences of our students and community
• Prepare students to thrive in a dynamic future through critical thinking and meaningful learning
• Support students’ social, emotional, and academic growth
• Foster ethical behavior, strong character, and lifelong learning
• Create safe, welcoming, and nurturing learning environments
• Invest in a highly qualified, culturally responsive, and diverse workforce
• Believe strong partnerships with families, staff, and the community lead to educational excellence
• Commit to continuous improvement in pursuit of excellence

The Sun Prairie Experience

Sun Prairie is a vibrant and rapidly growing community in northeastern Dane County, just east of Madison, with a population of approximately 39,000. The Sun Prairie Area School District serves more than 8,600 students, over one-third of whom identify as students of color, with 10% speaking a language other than English. Our community consistently supports our schools, including the successful passage of multiple referenda to meet the needs of our growing district.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years of school administrative experience (experience in racially, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse schools preferred)
• Minimum of 3 years of professional educator experience at the secondary level
• Master’s Degree in Educational Administration
• Valid Wisconsin DPI Principal (51) license; Director of Instruction (10) or Director of Student Services (80) licensure is highly valued
• Demonstrated alignment with district vision and core values
• Proven commitment to equity, anti-racism, and culturally responsive practices
• Experience working across cultures and a commitment to continued growth in cultural proficiency
• Strong relationship-building skills with students, staff, families, and community partners
• Ability to use data to improve student learning and lead effective, equity-focused professional development
• Demonstrated success in leading school improvement
• Experience in instructional, operational, and human resource leadership, and in cultivating a positive school culture and climate, including safety

Desired Qualifications

• Multilingual, with a preference for fluency in Spanish and/or Hmong
    

Do you want to be part of a district that works in close partnership with its community to provide high-quality educational experiences for all students?
Do you want to join a team committed to ensuring academic and social-emotional success for every child, every day?

If so, please apply through the Sun Prairie Area School District Employment Opportunities page:
https://www.applitrack.com/sunprairieschools/OnlineApp/JobPostings/view.asp?FromAdmin=true&AppliTrackJobId=3231

To build a staff that reflects our student population, candidates of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Application deadline: March 20, 2026 

Requirements

SUMMARY:
Provides equity focused, racially conscious instructional leadership and support to the staff and students at the high school level as they develop and advance curriculum and instructional services in the schools, through program evaluation and curriculum development focused on improved and equitable academic outcomes where all high school students are college and career ready. The High School Principal maintains a close relationship with the Director of Secondary Teaching, Learning, and Equity and other directors to assure that the programs and policies of the school board are carried out in an efficient, equitable, ethical, and uniform manner.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES include the following: Other duties may be assigned.
This position is responsible for promoting the success of all students by:
Creating structures and strategies that promote and lead towards excellence in equity, anti-racism, and cultural competence for staff, students, and families.
Articulating the systems that lead to inequitable outcomes for students, creating learning opportunities focused on disrupting racist practices, and creating an
inclusive school environment.
Providing focused instructional leadership to facilitate a collaborative problem solving environment for students and staff.
Providing coaching for the improvement of the staff and their practices.
Oversee faculty and staff performance evaluations and conduct investigations that may lead to disciplinary action(s).
Ensuring teachers and staff are aware of and utilizing the most current practices of learning and makes the discussion of these a regular aspect of the school’s culture.
Collaboratively leading the school community in a school improvement plan that provides high accountability by establishing goals and metrics to measure progress to positively impact student achievement for all students.
Recruits, selects, develops, evaluates, and assigns staff members to continuously improve the school environment and student results outcomes in alignment with the school’s goals.
Modeling professionalism and anti-racist, ethical behavior in all interactions with staff, students, families, and community members.
Maximizing time focused on student learning, uses feedback to improve school performance and student achievement, and demonstrates initiative and persistence to achieve school goals and improve performance.
Involving teachers in the design and implementation of important educational decisions and rules.
Willingly and actively challenging the status quo as an innovative disruptor.
Fostering a shared belief that all students can learn at a high level.
Advocating for the school to all stakeholders.
Providing teachers with the materials and professional development necessary for the successful execution of their jobs aligned with the school district strategic plan.
Establishing a set of standard operating principles and procedures.
Working with stakeholders to develop a positive climate and culture where all students can thrive and feel connected to.
Maintaining current knowledge base about best practices in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Establishing strong lines of communication with and among teachers, staff, students, and parents.
Adapting leadership behavior to the needs of the current situation and is comfortable with dissent.
Inspiring and leading new and challenging innovations.
Ensure the safety and security of all students, staff, visitors, and public and property.
Lead the budget development process aligning the learning priorities to financial needs while managing the funds flexibly and responsibly.
Oversee routine facilities maintenance.
Oversee management of school records and resources as necessary.
Ensure compliance of local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
Actively participating in the design and implementation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices.
Effectively communicating with teachers, parents/guardians and students using multiple avenues.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
As assigned in accordance with the district’s policies and applicable laws.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to eligible individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:
5 Years of High School Administrative Experience Preferred
3 Years of experience in teaching at the high school level
Master' s Degree in Educational Administration

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES:
Possess and maintain a current Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) license for Principal (51). Additional licensure as Director of Instruction (10) or
Director of Student Services (80) are highly valued.
Certified in Teachscape Evaluation
Must possess and maintain or be eligible to obtain a current Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction license to teach.
Valid Driver’s License.

SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND COMPETENCIES:
Ability to apply knowledge of current research and theory in specific field. Working knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, database, student software system and presentation software applications. Ability to perform duties with awareness of all district and school board policies.
Demonstrated alignment to District vision and core values
Demonstrated leadership experience that drives school improvement
Demonstrated commitment to anti-racist practices a sense of urgency towards closing the achievement gap
Training, experience, and expertise in the following areas of education: working within an instructional team, standards-based instruction and assessment, culturally relevant and differentiated instruction, and technology skills to enhance professional learning and instruction.
Demonstrated ability in the use of data to improve student learning and in the design and implementation of professional learning experiences to enhance adult use of student data to improve practices and drive school improvement.
Demonstrated ability to establish relationships with students, staff, parents and the community.

COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret school and student achievement data, professional journals, technical procedures, or government regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedures. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from students, staff, parents/guardians, administrators, school board and community in a variety of ways (i.e. email, newsletters, social media, etc.).

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:
Ability to understand and calculate student data, figures and amounts. Ability to apply basic concepts of algebra and geometry. Ability to work with mathematical statistics and operations.

ANALYTICAL AND REASONING ABILITY:
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical and diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

TEMPERAMENTS:
Ability to direct others, collaborate with all stakeholders, and understand the differing opinions, attitudes, and perspectives of all stakeholders. Ability to perform a variety of duties. Ability to work with people who express conflicting opinions. Ability to solve problems, make judgments, and reach conclusions.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES: 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 the essential functions.  While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, talk, and hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and
stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close visions, distance vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.

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 the essential functions.  The noise environment is quiet to loud depending upon the activity in the particular part of the day and the location.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Shall complete a physical examination as required by Wisconsin Statute 118.25.