Executive Director

Michel R. Frendian Private PK-12 School Practice Leader and Senior Consultant

The Sharon Cooperative School seeks an experienced, collaborative, and creative early childhood leader to serve as its next executive director. The executive director is a full-time, in-person role; the target start date is November/December 2024.

Responsibilities of the Position

The executive director (ED) will oversee the Sharon Cooperative Learning Community (CLC)—which comprises the Sharon Cooperative School and the Cooperative Nature School—by supporting its mission, goals, and objectives and collaborating with staff and the Board of Directors. The ED oversees the two school sites and provides operational leadership, staff management, and continuous improvement of processes, approaches, and systems. They maintain a visible presence in the CLC, engage consistently and productively with families, and foster a culture that is in keeping with the CLC’s values.

Key duties of the executive director include:

School Governance

• Work with the volunteer Board of Directors to define strategic goals, plan budgets and finances, and track priority initiatives for the schools.
• Support the planning of all board meetings and agendas, and prepare regular reports and materials for the board, including monthly budget reports and analyses.
• Actively communicate with the board, including relevant subcommittees, about vital school matters.
• Keep the board apprised on recruitment, enrollment, and retention matters.
• Receive, present, and recommend all tuition assistance requests to the board for approval.
• Collaborate with the board’s marketing committee to create an annual marketing plan based on enrollment needs.

Employee Management and Leadership

• Support site coordinators with the execution of daily operations for all classrooms.
• Encourage and promote teamwork between educators, specialists, and families to meet every child’s needs.
• Support site coordinators and educators in their professional development, training, and achievement of personal goals.
• In collaboration with the site coordinators, provide performance oversight of the educators through educators’ meetings and evaluations per Department of Early Education and Care (DEEC) standards.
• Review and approve lesson plans to ensure they are developmentally appropriate and aligned with the school’s philosophy.
• Support the site coordinators in reviewing and approving student evaluations and work with educators to identify, evaluate, refer, and accommodate children’s individual needs.
• Recruit, interview, and hire new employees and work with staff to support and train new educators.
• Maintain employee files, track time off, and record and file time sheets.

Enrollment and Registration

• Actively work to maximize enrollment in all programs at all times.
• Maintain open communication with prospective and enrolled families.
• Work with site coordinators to ensure high-quality tours and interviews with prospective families.
• Create and distribute application and enrollment packets.
• Ensure the database of current applicants and prospective students is updated.
• Develop and conduct student and family orientation programs.
• Maintain student database and files, per DEEC and other regulatory agency requirements.
• Develop marketing media and communication materials (e.g., calendars, family handbooks, ads, and brochures).

Administration and Regulatory Compliance

• Administer the program to comply with established rules and standards of regulatory, accrediting, and partner agencies, including DEEC, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Massachusetts Home Health and Child Care Services (HHCC), and Self-Help, Inc.
• Maintain certification, licensing, and accreditation from appropriate agencies.
• Maintain the highest safety standards.
• Maintain all files, evaluations, and records on students, adult volunteers, and educators per DEEC and other regulatory and certifying agencies.
• Keep current on all federal, state, and local statutes regarding employees, benefits, and all other financial matters.
• Create and maintain redundant systems to avoid single points of failure for critical administrative processes.
• Oversee budgets, the annual budget process, and financial and business accounts for the organization in collaboration with the school’s bookkeeper and accounting firm.
• Enter into contracts with outside vendors, agencies, payroll, and accounting services on behalf of the school and employees, with board supervision and approval.
• Keep all financial files in compliance with federal, state, and other regulatory agencies.
• Manage all billing and receipt of tuition and fees and manage expenditures, collections, and past-due accounts.
• Prepare and distribute tax statements, receipts, and dependent care statements for families.
• Support site coordinators in monitoring and approving each site’s classroom supplies and curriculum expenses.
• Review and recommend health insurance for enrollment or renewal.

Facilities Management

• Ensure facilities are maintained and up to code.
• Maintain classroom and curriculum inventory, equipment, and supplies as required.
• Serve as liaison to the First Congregational Church of Sharon and the Trustees of Reservations at Moose Hill Farm.
• Oversee all the following policies: worker’s compensation, disability, liability, property, directors and officers, and indemnity.
• Manage insurance coverage, renewal, claims, and filings.

Qualifications and Characteristics of the Successful Candidate

An associate’s degree and five years of experience in childcare leadership, including the management of employees, as well as previous teaching and childcare experience, are required; a bachelor’s degree is preferred. Candidates must be DEEC Director II certified; out-of-state candidates must be eligible for certification at the time of application.

In addition to the qualifications stated above, the search committee and staff identified the following capabilities and attributes of a successful candidate:

• Ability to foster relationships with staff, families, and children, including demonstrated competency in community and network building.
• A history of success working with senior leadership and governance bodies, such as a board of directors.
• Strong people management skills, including mentoring and developing employees, providing constructive feedback, and delegating effectively.
• Strong oral, written, and presentation skills.
• Diplomacy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to negotiate for mutually beneficial outcomes in challenging situations.
• Organizational and planning skills, including demonstrated success in managing complex projects effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to manage productive vendor relationships.

Opportunities and Challenges of the Role

The new executive director will need to conduct an initial period of assessment focused on building relationships with the Board of Directors, current staff, and internal and external partners, as well as gaining a thorough understanding of the current operations and capacity of the schools.

Additionally, the executive director will provide leadership, vision, and influence in addressing the following opportunities and challenges that await at the CLC.

• Demonstrate a passion for early childhood and nature-based education, as well as the expertise and innovative spirit needed to support the mission and priorities of the CLC.
• Forge a strong relationship with the Board of Directors and ensure they have the information and resources to optimally execute their fiduciary, advisory, and strategic planning duties.
• Devote time and energy to being a consistent presence at both schools and become familiar with their history, evolution, and current dynamics, with an appreciation for each site’s distinct and highly connected culture.
• Review all administrative processes, policies, and practices and implement the necessary changes to ensure consistent operational excellence and communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Cultivate and support an atmosphere that supports the staff’s strong individual and team performance, promote continuous improvement and creativity in teaching and learning, and strengthen staff engagement and retention.
• Exemplify a culture of engaged collaboration and partnership, with the ability to support all CLC members and external partners.
• Develop a comprehensive strategy for engaging school alums in programming, mentoring, and community engagement initiatives that support and advance the mission and vision of the CLC.

Measures of Success

At an appropriate interval after joining the Sharon Cooperative Learning Community and in collaboration with the Board of Directors, the following will initially define success for the new executive director.

• The ED is highly visible, respected, and integrated into the CLC.
• The ED and site coordinators’ roles and duties are clearly defined and broadly understood among community members.
• School staff are working together cohesively as a team, morale is high and rising, and staff vacancies have been filled.
• Relationships with the board, individually and as a group, are strong and characterized by trust, respect, and regular communication and collaboration.
• Communication with staff, families, students, and external partners is timely, transparent, and robust.
• Enrollment for both schools is stable, and tuition revenue goals are being met.

Overview of The Sharon Cooperative School

Founded in 1976, The Sharon Cooperative School, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit school licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. It has been accredited by NAEYC since 2004 and received reaccreditation for the fourth time in 2019. It comprises two schools: Sharon Cooperative School and the Cooperative Nature School. Serving children 2.9 to 5 years old, the school believes in the benefits of an emergent curriculum that is child-driven and play-based. The curriculum brings together the ideas, skills, and experiences of children, educators, and families when designing activities and creating programming. It is a fluid, dynamic curriculum that builds on children’s passions, skills, and needs.

Since its founding in 1976, the school has viewed families as partners who play a critical role in their child’s and the program’s success. At that time, it was a “cooperative” in all senses of the word, with parents serving on staff as classroom assistants and playing other vital roles in the school’s operations. While it no longer depends on parent volunteers to staff its classrooms, it remains steeped in the cooperative tradition and provides many opportunities for substantive family engagement.

Mission

“We are a non-profit, early childhood organization that serves preschool children and families in two locations: the Sharon Cooperative School and the Cooperative Nature School; together, these schools form the Cooperative Learning Community. We offer full-time programming in unique environments that encourage child-driven experiences, growth, and love of learning and community.”

Vision

The Cooperative Learning Community aims for its children to become curious, thoughtful, and active learners who think about the needs of others. By partnering with families, the school creates a strong community that transcends the preschool years and follows students and their families throughout the course of their lives.

The Sharon Cooperative Nursery School was founded in 1976 for children 2.9 to 5 years old. They envisioned a place where parents could create a nurturing community of mutual learning for their preschool children and themselves. The community’s shared vision was primarily bound together by the children. It also created a common bond among its families, enabling them to transcend the preschool years and follow families throughout their lives.

Staff: One site coordinator, eight lead educators, and two support staff

The Cooperative Nature School was founded in 2018 and is a vision of an outdoor learning environment in which children 3.9 to 5 years old develop deep connections to—and knowledge of the natural world to foster the next generation of environmental stewards. Working in partnership with the Trustees of Reservation s, the historic main house of the Moose Hill Farm was transformed into classrooms that mirror the richness of its natural surroundings.

Since its founding, the nature school has continued to build on its original goal: to teach children to become curious, thoughtful, active learners who love the outdoors and believe in celebrating and protecting it.

Staff: One site coordinator, four lead educators, and two support staff

Leadership

Sarah Rothenberg

Sara Rothenberg is the billing and collections manager at Riverside Community Care, a non-profit organization that provides behavioral health services with respect and compassion. She is particularly knowledgeable about and devoted to Riverside’s two early intervention programs, which serve children from birth until age three. Sara moved to Sharon in 2011 and is the proud parent of two Coop graduates. As a board member, she wants to contribute so that future Coop families have the same wonderful preschool experience that her family has enjoyed. She serves on the executive leadership, events, finance, policy and governance, and strategic planning committees.

Jason Worrall has a distinguished career in accounting and currently leads the US general ledger team for Akamai Technologies in Cambridge. He is the father of a current Coop student, a Coop & Nature School 2021 graduate, and a future Coop student. Jason joined the board because he believes in the schools’ mission and wants to engage more deeply in the Sharon community while supporting the CLC in furthering its mission to teach children in a community setting. He serves on the executive leadership, finance, and policy and governance committees.

The Board of Directors

Current parents can be nominated to the school’s Board of Directors, which is pivotal in establishing school policies, managing its finances, and fulfilling the founders’ vision to encourage parents to participate actively in their children’s preschool years.

Board members serve three-year terms, with the option of extending in one-year increments with the board’s approval. The board has vacancies almost yearly and welcomes professionals from diverse professional backgrounds—finance, marketing, education, non-profits, human resources, and more. The board meets monthly and communicates through email as needed. Each member serves on at least two subcommittees: finance, strategic planning, governance, fundraising, marketing, events, The Nature School, and director services.

Read more about the Board of Directors here .

Diversity Statement

The Sharon Cooperative School dedicates itself to diversity, equity, and inclusion, not just through acceptance and tolerance but by building a culture where every person feels a deep, real, and abiding sense of belonging and value.The school’s community is steadfastly committed to embracing diversity in all its many forms.

Benefits Overview

The Sharon Cooperative School offers an extensive benefits package to its employees, including generous vacation and holiday time for full-time employees.