ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL - $140,010 to $142,823/year

This job vacancy announcement will remain open until filled.  Initial application screening to begin February 1, 2026.

Hood River County School District is seeking to fill an Elementary Principal position.  This is a Regular position, budgeted at 220 days per school year, and will begin August 1, 2026.  

Application Process:

Complete and submit your TalentEd/Applicant Tracking electronic application (https://hoodriver.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx) or link available on HRCSD website at www.hoodriver.k12.or.us.  Required supplemental documents to be included in your online application:

•  Letter of interest addressed to Bill Newton, Hood River County School District Superintendent.
•  Resume.
•  Three (3) recent letters of recommendation.
•  Copy of your Oregon Administrative License or proof of licensure.

General Position Overview: 

The school Principal serves as the educational leader responsible for development, implementation, supervision, and evaluation of a comprehensive program of educational and student services.  Administers the program in accordance with board policies, statutory requirements, administrative rules and regulations, District leadership direction, and consistent with collective bargaining agreements. The school Principal will work to ensure that all students are supervised in a safe learning environment that meets the approved curricula and mission of the school and Hood River County School District - promoting the educational development of all students to reach their fullest potential.

Achieving academic excellence requires that the school Principal work collaboratively to direct and nurture all members of the school staff hired by the Board of Directors and to communicate effectively with parents and the community. Inherent in the position are the responsibilities for scheduling, curriculum development, extracurricular activities, personnel management, emergency procedures, and facility operations. Use of independent judgment and decision-making is required in matters not having established rules, regulations, or policies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership:

• Create and implement school improvement goals and strategies via distributed leadership within the framework of the district strategic plan.
• Foster a shared vision and purpose among all stakeholders reflective of the overall community demographic in order to build school community.
• Facilitate open and ongoing transparent communication.
• Collaborate with teachers to collect and use external and internal data for the purposes of student growth.
• Continually and skillfully use data to drive measurable academic and behavior improvements.
• Provide meaningful feedback to teachers and classified staff.
• Support teaming structures (MTSS, Professional Learning Communities, Student Services Team, etc.) in developing and using data to guide instruction.
• Think and act strategically to improve all outcomes and eliminate the opportunity gap.
• Build, maintain and supervise extended learning programs to provide a variety of rigorous and engaging opportunities for students.
• Develop, modify, and improve practices based on feedback obtained through diverse stakeholder surveys.
• Model and encourage creativity.
• Provide sustained professional development opportunities for all staff.
• Provide timely and effective evaluation of staff.

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment:

• Facilitate curriculum- and lesson-planning, implementation, and evaluation grounded in Common Core and Oregon State Standards.
• Ensure curriculum is relevant and differentiated to effectively meet the needs of each and every student.
• Understand recent research about curriculum models and their effectiveness.
• Understand the benefits of sheltered instructional strategies designed to provide effective attainment of student learning targets.
• Focus on instruction, provide meaningful feedback, and understand effective instructional strategies.
• Conduct goal setting and evaluation according to the Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument and include specific feedback focused on staff improvement.
• Continually learn and disseminate knowledge of educational research and best practices.
• Use data to determine student instructional needs and work with staff to monitor progress and improvement.
• Implement guidelines for assessment and accountability.
• Keep staff focused on eliminating the opportunity gap.
• Maximize student learning time by supporting staff to improve their teaching and learning.
• Ensure student growth goals adopted by licensed teaching staff are rigorous, attainable, and measurable.
• Provide support to teachers to maximize student engagement.

  Building Management:

• Treat all members of staff with high levels of respect, integrity, and confidentiality.
• Model professionalism and follow all contracts, legal obligations, district policies/procedures, and keep professional obligations.
• Commit to district vision, values, and initiatives.
• Actively seek professional growth opportunities.
• Focus on the best interests of students and the district.
• Demonstrate effective facilitation skills.
• Manage the school facility effectively.
• Maximize human resources efficiently.
• Apply principles of financial management and creative resource utilization.
• Use data systematically to improve the effectiveness of all services and student outcomes.
• Foster effective transition/articulation between different grade levels/schools.
• Create systems that ensure effective communication.
• Effectively plan, implement, and lead change while understanding the complexities of balancing competing priorities.
• Demonstrate a willingness to learn and accept feedback.
• Demonstrate a willingness to provide feedback.
• Think creatively and explore options to overcome obstacles.
• Collaborate with community partners, ensuring their work aligns with and supports the district strategic plan.
• Effective development of building master schedule to maximize building resources and respond to student interest.

School Culture:

• Develop and support a safe, welcoming, caring and inclusive school environment.
• Engage parents and community to facilitate student success.
• Communicate effectively and provide reliable information to all stakeholders.
• Develop positive relationships with students and staff.
• Develop positive relationships with parents and community reflective of the overall community demographic.
• Integrate the school with the community at large.
• Solicit and utilize community resources.
• Foster pride and community within the school.
• Promote understanding and value of diversity within and between cultures.
• Demonstrate the ability to understand other points of view and work toward becoming culturally competent.
• Maintains an emotionally healthy and physically safe environment conducive to the total educational development of the students.  Promotes and maintains effective student discipline.  Develops and implements plans for emergency situations.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

The Elementary Principal supervises and manages all employees assigned to the school, independent contractors, substitute employees, and volunteers.  All school employees have some responsibility for supervising students and assisting in maintaining a safe environment.

Required Testing:

Any offer of employment made by Hood River County School District to an external candidate is contingent upon satisfactory results of: 

• Drug screening tests for any illegal drug or substance classified in Schedules I through V under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 811 to 812. This includes, but is not limited to, marijuana, mind-altering substances or narcotic drugs such as hallucinogens, amphetamines, barbiturates, or any other illegal drug or controlled substance, except those federally recognized as legally prescribed by a physician and used as directed.
• Nationwide criminal history verification - a background check for any convictions directly related to the duties and responsibilities of the position. Unless otherwise required by law, only job-related convictions will be considered and will not automatically disqualify the applicant from employment.

This is a 220-day/year position.   The salary range for the 2026/27 school year is $140,010 to $142,823.   

HOOD RIVER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. Reasonable accommodations for the application and interview process will be provided upon request and as required in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  Disabled persons may contact Hood River County School District at 541/387-5016 for additional information or assistance.  Speech or hearing-impaired persons may contact Hood River County School District for assistance through the Oregon Telecommunications Relay Service by dialing 1-800-735-2900.  

Qualifications:

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 enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Oregon Administrative Licensure.
• Criminal Justice Fingerprint Clearance (through Teacher Standards and Practices Commission), Valid Driver’s License, and evidence of insurability and District pre-employment drug screen.
• Masters or Doctorate Degree in either Education or Administration.
• Administrative experience at the building level preferred.
• Successful classroom teaching experience preferred.
• Must have demonstrated experience working independently; organizing and assigning tasks; enforcing safety procedures and awareness; making judgment decisions and meeting timelines and deadlines.
• Works well with others from diverse backgrounds.  Must have ability to understand and follow oral and written directions.  Able to establish and maintain effective relationships with those encountered in the course of the work.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing in English (and in Spanish, preferred).   Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from patrons or staff.  Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions and procedure manuals.  Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.  
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals.  Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as proportions and percentages.  
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.  Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Ability to learn and apply new information or new skills.
• Ability to proficiently use the following programs: MS Word, Excel, email internet applications, social media, and website(s).  
• Ability to appropriately communicate with diverse staff and others including vendors and other agencies.  Ability to exercise good judgment and work in an environment with frequent interruptions and deadlines.  Ability to juggle multiple tasks and possess excellent organizational and time management skills. 
• Valid driver’s license, reliable personal transportation and the ability to maintain insurability under the District’s vehicle insurance policy. 
• Possession of CPR/First Aid certificate desirable.
• Ability to communicate in English and Spanish preferred