Siena Catholic Schools of Racine is seeking a dynamic and energetic leader who can inspire and serve as Principal at St. Catherine’s High School, an urban 9th-12th grade school in Racine, WI. This position will begin on July 1, 2026 for the 26/27 school year.

Siena Catholic Schools of Racine (SCS) unites the area’s six Catholic elementary schools (John Paul II Academy, Our Lady of Grace Academy, St. Joseph School, St. Lucy Catholic School, St. Rita School, and St. Sebastian STEM Academy) in a regional model of Catholic education intended to preserve the individual identity, history and uniqueness of each school while maximizing the impact of collective strength.

Position Overview

The High School Principal serves as the academic, operational, and spiritual leader of the high school, responsible for ensuring exceptional outcomes in college and career readiness, student achievement, and faith formation. This leader will cultivate a high performing staff, champion innovative and rigorous instructional practices, and ensure that all students graduate prepared for postsecondary success and equipped to lead lives grounded in Gospel values. As a member of the Siena Catholic Schools (SCS) leadership team, the Principal collaborates to advance a unified vision for Catholic education across the system.

Catholic Identity & Student Formation:

• Serves as a visible witness to Catholic faith and Gospel values, inspiring leaders and staff.
• Leads a high school culture that fully integrates faith, scholarship, and service.
• Promotes active participation in Mass, sacraments, retreats, and service-learning experiences.
• Ensures theology curriculum reflects Archdiocesan standards and support spiritual growth.
• Fosters student leadership grounded in faith, ethics, and social responsibility.
• Partners with pastors and communities to strengthen Catholic identity.

College-Preparatory Academic Leadership:

• Leads the development and execution of a rigorous, college-preparatory academic program aligned with the best practices.
• Ensures all students are prepared for college admission, persistence, and success.
• Promotes access to advanced coursework (e.g., AP, dual enrolment, career and STEM pathways, Project Lead The Way).
• Uses data-driven strategies to improve career success, graduation rates, college acceptance rates, and academic performance.
• Oversees curriculum alignment, instructional quality, and assessment practices.
• Supports programs that strengthen college counseling, career exploration, and postsecondary planning.
• Builds a culture of high expectations, academic accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Works directly with Gateway and surrounding colleges and universities to develop partnerships for student success.

Staff Excellence & Instructional Leadership:

• Recruits, develops, and retains highly effective, mission-aligned staff.
• Conducts regular classroom observations and provides meaningful coaching and feedback.
• Leads professional learning that is focused on the needs of the school staff and in alignment with school goals.
• Establishes clear performance goals and ensures accountability through staff effectiveness systems.
• Empowers staff leadership and fosters a collaborative professional culture.

Student Experience & School Culture:

• Creates a safe, inclusive, and engaging high school environment.
• Promotes student involvement in athletics, arts, extracurriculars, and leadership opportunities.
• Provides implementation of student positive behavior programs to reduce student discipline and attendance policies.
• Supports programs that address adolescents' social, emotional, and developmental needs.
• Celebrates student achievements in academics, service, leadership, and extracurriculars.

Strategic & Operational Leadership:

• Manages school resources to support academic priorities and long-term sustainability.
• Oversees budgeting, staffing, scheduling, and daily operations.
• Ensures compliance with Archdiocesan, state, and accreditation standards.
• Leads safety planning, emergency preparedness, and operational excellence.
• Collaborates with system leadership on strategic growth and innovation initiatives.

Enrollment, Marketing & Community Engagement:

• Serves as a visible ambassador for the high school, promoting its mission and values.
• Partners with advancement and admission teams to attract, enroll, and retain students.
• Articulates a compelling vision of the school as a premier Catholic, college and career readiness school of excellence.
• Builds strong relationships with families, alumni, donors, and community partners.
• Develops marketing efforts that highlight student success, college and career readiness outcomes, and faith formation.
• Engages prospective families through events, outreach, and personal connection.

Communication & Leadership Presence:

• Maintains clear, consistent, and transparent communication with all internal and external community members.
• Fosters a culture of trust, collaboration, and shared leadership.
• Leads with integrity, humility, and a commitment to excellence.
• Participates in system-wide leadership and strategic initiatives.
• Attends and supervises after-school events and fine arts programming.

Professional and Personal Qualifications

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• A practicing Catholic committed to the mission of Catholic education.
• Master’s degree in Educational Leadership or related field (required).
• Valid Wisconsin Administrator License (Principal [5051] or Director of Instruction [5010]).
• Minimum of 5 years as a successful principal, with high school leadership preferred.
• Demonstrated success in college-preparatory academic leadership. Strong understanding of college readiness standards, admissions processes, and academic pathways.
• Proven ability to use data to drive academic culture and faith to excel.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience in enrollment growth, school marketing, or community engagement preferred.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Respect for the unique heritage of Catholic education in Racine and a desire and motivation to work with Siena leaders and parishes to preserve and further enhance the legacy of the school.
• Desire to build leadership capacity among all staff, demonstrating a willingness to work in collaboration with staff to create a learning community that supports the overall social, emotional, physical and academic development of students and staff.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and work in an environment with constant changes, interruptions and minimal supervision.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, grant writing, fundraising and financial statements.

Basic Staff Expectations

All Siena Catholic Schools of Racine employees and volunteers are expected to comply with the Staff Handbook and the Parent/Student Handbook. All SCS employees are expected to work positively in collaboration with others in addition to completing other tasks as assigned from time to time by their supervisor/administration.

Work Relationships & Scope Frequent contact with school staff, students and school families. Frequent contact with SCS President, SCS Chief Academic Officer, SCS Leadership Team, Finance Department, Human Resources. Occasional interaction with other Siena colleagues, assigned priests, other SCS or Archdiocese Staff. Secures the approval of the Chief Academic Officer in making decisions when answers are not clear and further guidance or input is needed.

Physical Demands While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; talk or hear; and use hands to finger, handle, or touch objects or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk. On occasion, the employee may be required to stoop, bend, or reach above the shoulders. The employee must occasionally lift up to 25- 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment The work takes place primarily in an office/school environment; However, there is some travel and limited exposure to outside elements. This job description outlines the general nature and level of work required of any employee assigned to this position. It does not intend to imply that these are the only duties and responsibilities assigned to the job. The employee may be required to perform other job-related duties, as requested by the position’s manager(s), the President and/or Board of Directors. All is subject to change and possible modification to address changing business conditions and reasonably accommodate individuals with a disability.