Dean of Students- Middle School

Dean of Students Middle School

The Middle School Dean of Students supports the principal in creating and maintaining a safe, orderly, respectful, and engaging learning environment where every student can succeed academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. The Dean serves as a visible leader who builds positive relationships with students, families, and staff while leading schoolwide systems that promote positive behavior, attendance, restorative practices, student accountability, and school culture. The Dean works collaboratively with administrators, counselors, teachers, MTSS teams, EC staff, and community partners to proactively address student needs while ensuring consistency in school expectations and behavioral supports. This position does not conduct formal teacher or staff evaluations but provides input to the principal regarding classroom climate, student needs, and school culture.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

School Culture

• Serve as a highly visible presence throughout the school each day.
• Adhere to all state, federal, and local laws, policies, and procedures.
• Build positive relationships with students through daily interactions.
• Promote a culture of belonging, respect, responsibility, and high expectations.
• Coordinate schoolwide positive behavior supports.
• Assist with implementing school culture initiatives.
• Support student recognition and incentive programs.
• Monitor hallways, cafeterias, arrival, dismissal, transitions, and extracurricular activities.

Student Discipline

• Coordinate schoolwide student discipline systems aligned with district policies.
• Conduct behavior investigations.
• Facilitate restorative conferences and conflict resolution.
• Maintain accurate discipline documentation.
• Communicate discipline outcomes with parents.
• Analyze discipline data in Educators Handbook and other student information systems to identify trends, patterns, disproportionality, and students in need of support.
• Review discipline data through a restorative lens to reduce exclusionary discipline, strengthen relationships, and promote accountability, reflection, and repair.
• Use behavior data to guide interventions, monitor progress, and implement targeted supports.
• Develop behavior contracts and intervention plans.
• Support teachers with classroom management strategies and restorative practices.
• Assist teachers in developing classroom behavior intervention plans.
• Collaborate with beginning teachers on classroom management.
• Work collaboratively with administrators regarding suspension alternatives whenever appropriate.

IEP and Section 504 Coordination

• Collaborate with EC staff, counselors, psychologists, and administrators to support students with disabilities.
• Support implementation of behavior plans connected to IEPs and Section 504 plans.
• Participate in meetings related to student supports, accommodations, and behavior interventions as appropriate.
• Assist with re-entry planning following disciplinary removals when applicable.
• Ensure behavior supports are implemented consistently in alignment with student service plans.

Attendance and Student Support

• Monitor student attendance data.
• Develop attendance intervention plans.
• Conduct attendance conferences with families.
• Coordinate attendance improvement initiatives.
• Work with social workers regarding chronic absenteeism.
• Serve as an active member of the school's MTSS team.
• Coordinate Tier II behavioral interventions.
• Monitor student progress for behavioral and attendance interventions.
• Help identify students needing additional behavioral or social-emotional supports.
• Assist with student re-entry meetings following suspensions.

Student Leadership

• Coordinate student leadership opportunities.

Family and Community Engagement

• Build strong relationships with families.
• Conduct parent conferences.
• Communicate behavioral expectations and supports.
• Connect families with school and community resources.
• Participate in family engagement events.
• Develop partnerships with community organizations.
• Coordinate mentoring programs.
• Support after-school enrichment opportunities.

Safety and Operations

• Assist with supervision during arrival, dismissal, lunch, and transitions.
• Support emergency preparedness and school safety procedures.
• Assist with crisis response as needed.
• Coordinate student supervision during assemblies and special events.

Administrative Support

• Support the principal in maintaining a safe, orderly, respectful, and engaging school environment.
• Collaborate with administrators, counselors, teachers, MTSS teams, and community partners.
• Prepare reports for school leadership.
• Use data to guide interventions and continuous improvement.
• Support teachers with classroom management strategies and restorative practices.
• Assist teachers in developing classroom behavior intervention plans.
• Collaborate with beginning teachers on classroom management.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Principal or designee

Qualifications

Required

• North Carolina Administrator's License.
• Master's degree.
• Minimum of three years of successful teaching experience.
• Demonstrated success working with middle school students.
• Strong knowledge of restorative practices.

Developed: June 2026 Durham Public Schools

• Knowledge of MTSS.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with students and families.

Preferred

• Previous administrative or teacher leadership experience.
• Experience leading PBIS or MTSS initiatives.
• Experience with student behavior systems.
• Experience facilitating professional learning.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities The successful candidate demonstrates:

• Thorough knowledge of middle school student development, school culture, behavior management, restorative practices, and MTSS.
• Working knowledge of attendance intervention systems, school discipline procedures, and student support services.
• Working knowledge of district policy on discipline, student code of conduct, discipline matrix, and the school's SEL curriculum
• Ability to build positive relationships with students, families, staff, and community partners.
• Ability to de-escalate conflict and respond effectively to difficult behavioral situations.
• Ability to analyze behavior, attendance, and discipline data to guide interventions and improvement efforts.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with administrators, counselors, teachers, EC staff, social workers, and community agencies.
• Ability to exercise sound professional judgment and maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to lead, support, and model culturally responsive and student-centered practices.
• Ability to prepare reports, maintain records, and manage multiple priorities effectively.

Working Conditions The work is performed in a busy middle school environment with frequent interruptions and constant interaction with students, staff, families, and visitors. The position requires regular supervision of students in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, arrival and dismissal areas, outdoor spaces, and school events. The role may require extended hours, evening events, crisis response, and occasional travel to meetings or district locations.

Physical Environment The physical environment includes both indoor and outdoor school settings and may involve exposure to noise, crowds, student behavior incidents, and active supervision duties. The employee must be able to walk frequently throughout the campus, stand for extended periods, respond quickly to emergencies, and occasionally lift or

Developed: June 2026 Durham Public Schools move up to 25 pounds. The position may also require bending, stooping, and moving between multiple areas of the school throughout the day.

Performance Responsibilities The Dean of Students will:

• Foster a positive school climate.
• Reduce behavioral incidents through proactive interventions.
• Improve student attendance.
• Increase student engagement.
• Support implementation of restorative practices.
• Build positive