Principal and Vice-Principal Promotion Process

Committed to our Strategic Directions, an applicant for this opportunity maintains the following competencies:

• Combine excellence in school operations, building relationships and developing people by supporting positive learning and workplace environments;
• Prevent discrimination and harassment through their knowledge of Ontario’s Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and other relevant human rights legislation;
• Commit to Indigenous Education and Indigenous Educational Wellness by supporting the implementation of Indigenous Education Circle Strategic Action Plan (IECSAP) 2021-2025;
• Demonstrate expertise in implementing high-impact instructional strategies that support student learning, achievement and well-being in schools informed by and based on HWDSB Board Annual Plan and Equity Action Plan;
• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development to develop their leadership competencies guided by an anti-racist anti-oppressive (ARAO), anti-colonial and human rights framework and approach;
• Lead school teams to build an understanding of ARAO, Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy (CRRP), Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the ongoing impact of colonization on students;
• Demonstrate a commitment to Human Rights and Equity through identifying, discussing, and actively disrupting current barriers for students, staff, parents/guardians/caregivers, and community in their current practice;
• Exhibit a commitment to quality public education and a dedication to improving instructional program through precise, intentional, and strategic implementation and execution.

Applications must be submitted to Apply to Education (ATE). Click here to apply.

Applications must include:

1. Cover letter (one-page maximum)
2. Resume (three-page maximum)
3. Leadership Reflection Document (two-page maximum)
4. References – contact information of three professional references, of which one may be a community reference. We encourage you to include your current supervisor.
5. Permission to contact these references as part of the application process.

Application Deadline:

This is an open promotion process for all four leadership positions. Applicants are encouraged to apply throughout the 2024 calendar year.

Returning Applicants:

Candidates who applied in the Fall Promotion Process (or previous promotion process) are welcome to resubmit their application package at any point this calendar year. Within their application package, candidates should articulate the professional development that demonstrates growth and/or addresses feedback received from previous application cycles.

Additional Details:

We invite innovative, collaborative, and change-focused applications from teachers and system leaders. We strive to hire staff with a demonstrated practice of human rights, anti-racist anti-oppressive (ARAO) approaches to leadership. We encourage applications from leaders who maintain the competency to confront and dismantle all forms of oppression to ensure students who are currently and historically underserved in our system excel.

All interested internal and external candidates are encouraged to attend the initial prep session to learn more about HWDSB, our Strategic Plan, our Equity Action Plan and our promotion process. We look forward to welcoming you. Further sessions will be planned throughout the year as the application process is open all year for all four positions.

HWDSB is committed to learning, equity, engagement, and innovation. HWDSB is guided by a mission to empower students to learn and grow to their full potential in a diverse world. The Board proudly serves a community of approximately 50,000 students in the City of Hamilton and the surrounding area Students engage in learning across 84 elementary schools, 13 secondary schools and 1 Adult Learning Centre. Our learners are supported by approximately 8,100 staff members.

Employment Equity Statement

HWDSB is committed to equity in employment. We are committed to fair and equitable hiring practices that allow us to hire qualified staff who reflect the diversity of the community we serve, who will foster the success and well-being of our students, who are lifelong learners who demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion in the classroom.

HWDSB seeks candidates who share our commitment to equity and inclusion, and who will contribute to the vision of co-creating inclusive and equitable outcomes for all students. HWDSB especially invites and welcomes applications from underrepresented communities including:

• Indigenous Peoples (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples)
• Members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin; (e.g. Black and racialized communities, immigrant communities, etc.)
• Persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities;
• Persons who identify as women; and
• Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender (e.g. Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+)

As part of HWDSB’s commitment to employment equity and removing barriers to groups that have faced and continue to face barriers in employment, we invite all applicants to complete an Applicant Self-Identification Questions that collects identity-based information. The information collected on this form is used to monitor HWDSB’s progress toward our equity goals including our commitment to diversity in HWDSB recruitment and hiring practices. The voluntary question(s) is on the Apply to Education application page for this position.

We are committed to the security and confidentiality of information under our control, and to the protection of privacy with respect to personal and confidential information that is collected, used, disclosed and retained in the system (Policy 1.6 – Privacy). Information on this form is collected pursuant to Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan (Ministry of Education) and in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Access to this form is restricted to specific individuals in Human Resources. The Research and Analytics with general records retention principles.

If you prefer not to answer any of the questions, you can select “prefer not to answer”. This in no way affects your application or the applicant selection process. If you have questions or concerns about this form, please Department will use aggregate data from all the forms (not individual data) for internal reporting. Their access and use of the data is governed by MFIPPA and ethical research practices. Applicant Self-Identification Forms will be maintained in the Human Resources job competition file and securely destroyed 1 year after the job posting for candidates not selected for an interview and 6 years after the job posting for candidates interviewed

HWDSB is committed to providing accommodation throughout the recruitment and selection process, based on any human rights protected grounds. If you require accommodation, please notify us in advance and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Land Acknowledgement

HWDSB is located on ancestral Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Confederacy land as determined by the Dish with One Spoon treaty. The Dish with One Spoon wampum belt represents the treaty relationship between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Anishinaabe with respect to sharing the land and resources thereon. The intent of this agreement is for all nations sharing this territory to do so responsibly, respectfully and sustainably in perpetuity. We respect the longstanding relationships with the local Indigenous communities, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River.

Do you have a question about the promotion process? Submit one using the form below.