Job Description

TO APPLY: apply directly on LinkedIn and send your resume and cover letter to hkamal@tarbiyahacademy.org

Tarbiyah Academy is seeking a visionary, relational, and systems-oriented Head of Lower School to lead PK-5th Grade. As a mission-driven Islamic school grounded in the International Baccalaureate framework, we are committed to developing confident, principled young people during one of the most formative stages of their lives.

About the Role

The Head of Lower School is responsible for academic excellence, faculty leadership, student culture, and family partnership within the division. This role requires a leader who understands the developmental needs of young children and can build a culture that is structured, joyful, spiritually nurturing, and intellectually strong.

The Head of Lower School must be a leader of people, not only programs. This role requires high emotional intelligence, patience, and steadiness. The ideal candidate demonstrates strong self-awareness and emotional regulation, navigates conflict among children and adults with wisdom and composure, sets clear expectations while maintaining empathy and fairness, and builds a culture of trust, accountability, and belonging.

As a leader in an Islamic institution, the Head of Lower School embodies and cultivates a spiritually grounded culture with a commitment to ongoing tazkiyah—intentional self-reflection and spiritual growth. The Head of Lower School understands that effective leadership requires continuous inward work to sustain clarity, humility, humility, and resilience.

This leader must be deeply committed to a holistic Islamic education, one that integrates academic rigor, character formation, spiritual development, and identity-building within a coherent Islamic worldview.

The Head of Lower School reports directly to the CEO and serves as a member of the Pedagogical Leadership Team (PLT). This role works in close collaboration with the IB Coordinator, Learning Specialist, School Counselor, AQI Coordinator, Business Manager, and other school leaders to ensure coherence, alignment, and excellence.

Responsibilities

Preschool Launch & Early Years Program Leadership

A central responsibility of this role is to oversee Tarbiyah Academy’s Preschool program (ages 3–4). The Head of Lower School will:

• Lead the strategic development and implementation of the Preschool program
• Design the Preschool structure, schedule, and program framework aligned with IB Early Years philosophy and the school’s Islamic worldview
• Hire, onboard, supervise, and evaluate Preschool faculty and staff
• Develop admissions processes for Preschool students in collaboration with the Admissions team
• Support marketing and community outreach efforts related to Preschool enrollment
• Ensure developmentally appropriate, play-based, inquiry-driven learning experiences
• Establish strong systems for communication, parent partnership, and transition into Kindergarten
• Ensure compliance with licensing and regulatory requirements in partnership with school leadership

This role requires a builder’s mindset—someone excited to establish strong foundations that will support long-term growth.

Instructional Leadership & Academic Excellence (Early Years–Grade 5)

• Lead implementation of a high-quality, inquiry-based academic program aligned with the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the school’s Islamic worldview
• Ensure developmentally appropriate, play-based, and concept-driven learning in the Early Years
• Support grade-level teams in strong unit planning, formative assessment, and inquiry cycles
• Conduct classroom observations and provide instructional coaching
• Monitor student learning and guide faculty in responsive instructional planning
• Establish and track Lower School academic goals aligned with school priorities

The Head of Lower School collaborates closely with the IB Coordinator on curriculum alignment, faculty evaluation processes, school calendar planning, and development of the master schedule to ensure coherence across divisions.

Faculty Leadership & Team Development

• Hire, onboard, and support lower and preschool school faculty
• Lead faculty evaluation, growth conversations, and professional development planning in collaboration with school leadership
• Foster a collaborative, high-accountability adult culture
• Facilitate divisional meetings focused on instruction, student support, and alignment
• Support leadership development within the lower school team

Student Culture & Community Life

• Design and lead a Lower School culture grounded in joy, safety, structure, and belonging
• Ensure behavior systems are developmentally appropriate and restorative
• Support students in social-emotional development and early character formation
• Partner closely with the School Counselor and Learning Specialist to design academic and behavioral intervention strategies
• Ensure Islamic character education and AQI integration are visible and meaningful in daily Lower School life

Family Partnership & Communication

• Serve as the primary leader for Lower School and Preschool parent communication
• Address parent concerns with professionalism and care
• Support families in understanding child development, PYP expectations, and the school’s holistic Islamic approach
• Host parent education sessions and community forums as needed

Collaboration & Schoolwide Alignment

• Serve as an active member of the Pedagogical Leadership Team
• Collaborate with the IB Coordinator on instructional systems, evaluation alignment, master scheduling, and school calendar development
• Work closely with the AQI Coordinator to ensure Islamic worldview integration across grade levels
• Partner with the Events Coordinator to plan Lower School–specific events and whole-school events
• Support cross-divisional alignment and transitions, especially Preschool to Kindergarten and Grade 5 to Middle School

Who You Are

• You are deeply aligned with the mission of an Islamic educational institution
• You believe in a holistic vision of Islamic education that begins in early childhood
• You are excited to build and launch new programs with clarity and intentionality
• You understand developmental milestones from ages 3 through 11
• You are a visible, classroom-centered instructional leader
• You are organized, steady, and systems-oriented
• You are warm, firm, and consistent in your leadership
• You thrive in relational, mission-driven environments

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelors degree in Education, Educational Leadership, or related field
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience

Preferred

• Master’s degree in Education, Educational Leadership, or related field
• Experience in IB Primary Years Programme (PYP)
• Experience in independent Islamic schools
• Experience working with elementary school students

TO APPLY: apply directly on LinkedIn and send your resume and cover letter to hkamal@tarbiyahacademy.org

Why Tarbiyah Academy

Tarbiyah Academy is a growing Islamic school committed to academic rigor, spiritual development, and whole-child education. We are an incredibly relational and collaborative community. Our leadership culture emphasizes continuous reflection and a commitment to purifying our niyyah (intention) as we carry forward this work together.

We believe that excellence is not only measured in outcomes, but in integrity, humility, and the sincerity with which we serve our students and families. The Head of Lower School plays a pivotal role in shaping shaping the foundation of our students’ academic confidence, faith identity, and character—beginning in Preschool and extending through the elementary years.

Job Tags

Similar Jobs