Position starting July 1, 2023

Garden School is eager to identify its new Director of Admissions to help build upon the exciting growth we have experienced in the last few years. This is a unique opportunity for an ambitious leader to join our exciting school at a truly exciting time as we enter our Centennial year.

We are a school on the move. Garden is mid-way through an inspiring strategic plan, with multiple capital projects and program developments under way. Enrollment is up 20% in three years with the plan to grow further in the next three and we are building dynamic community partnerships each day. There is a lot to market in our school and this is a great opportunity for a dedicated leader to secure an exceptional legacy while innovating as we look to our future.

Garden is a Nursery-12, co-ed independent day school priced for middle class families in Queens, NY. We enroll 260 students in the most diverse zip code on earth and welcome domestic and international students. We offer a child-centered education balancing outstanding academics within a warm and nurturing community through a full complement of dynamic programs delivered by a seasoned staff. In addition, through an unique partnership with the DOE, we also host 200 three and four year-olds in an affiliated PreK.  

The mix of partnerships, modest tuition, and creative funding models mean we are a different kind of independent school – down to earth, with deep ties to the community, and a real sense of purpose for the greater good. For this position, we are seeking an innovative individual with a growth-mindset and demonstrated skills in leadership, advancement, and strategic thinking.

The Director of Admissions and Financial Aid serves as a strategic thought partner and will report to the Assistant Head of School for Advancement. The Dir. of Admissions & Financial Aid is the chief strategist on enrollment management and financial aid, will serve on the Broad Leadership Team, and will closely collaborate with the Senior Leadership. 

Working with division heads, key academic leaders, and Director of Finance, the Director of Admissions is charged with attracting, enrolling, and retaining bright, motivated students who also reflect cultural, religious, racial, and socioeconomic diversity and have the potential to thrive in a challenging, balanced curriculum within a warm, welcoming community.

This position is open because the current Admissions Director has been promoted to Assistant Head of School for Advancement. This is because we are the kind of environment that believes in meeting professional goals with new opportunities. As a result, this is a special chance to have the former Admissions Director on hand for support and mentorship and to collaborate with someone who understands the distinct challenges and opportunities that come with enrollment management here. 

In addition to overseeing the admissions and assessment processes for applicants to all the divisions, the Director cultivates important partnerships with nursery school directors, feeder programs, and access organizations. The Director reports regularly to the Board of Trustees and the Head of School, manages parent volunteers and student ambassadors, and is responsible for timely communication and marketing to families and key partners.

The person best suited for this job is someone looking to roll up their sleeves, have big ideas and build a department focused on recruiting and retaining excellent students from the five boroughs, near suburbs and countries around the world. The heart of the position is a passion for relationships, data, and collaboration. Garden seeks someone who wants to be more than just an administrator, but rather someone who wants to become invested and involved in the lives of the students and families they recruit and retain.

This is a 12-month, full time position with excellent benefits.  

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as chief strategist on enrollment management and financial aid
• Work with division heads, key academic leaders, and Director of Finance, to attract and enroll bright, motivated students who reflect cultural, religious, racial, and socioeconomic diversity and have the potential to thrive in our community.
• Oversee admissions and assessment for applicants to all divisions.
• Manage Admissions and Financial Aid budgets
• Develop and cultivate partnerships with nursery school directors, feeder schools, and access organizations to ensure they are cognizant of current program developments and of the status of applicants from their schools
• Gather, compile, and share data relevant to admissions and enrollment management  
• Collaborate with Head of School, Assistant Head for Advancement, and the Board. 
• Manage student, parent, and alumni volunteers
• Manage communication and marketing to families and key partners
• Identify and analyze the overall enrollment goals annually
• Interview applicants and parents to evaluate applicant and parental fit for mission
• Evaluate applications having sufficient documentation to permit the Admissions committee to make an informed and timely decision
• Organize and Guide tours of the Upper and Lower Division ensuring that all volunteer tour guides are properly trained
• Notify parents of applicants of admissions decisions within ISAAGNY deadlines 
• Work with the development and communications team to design and update marketing materials, advertising, merchandise and website information as needed.
• Represent the School in local organizations designed to assist prospective parents and students in the admissions process
• Work with the Registrar and the Director of Technology to ensure Blackbaud databases are updated annually so the school has all necessary information on enrollment
• Maintain records and provide statistics on applicants and on new and returning students in terms of class, gender, affiliation, citizenship, region, native language, zip code, etc. so new student numbers and attrition can be predicted with reasonable accuracy
• Perform additional duties as assigned by the Assistant Head for Advancement 

Specific Qualifications and Skills

• Successful history leading an admissions team through an admission season year over year achieving annual enrollment goals
• Capacity to organize and implement multiple projects with overlapping deadlines
• Statistical background with budgeting knowledge
• Demonstrated history of responsiveness with families
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Knowledge of NYC Independent, Public and Parochial Schools, especially in Queens
• Ability to work with leadership across the board, employees, and the larger community
• Knowledge of independent school culture
• Must have a strong work ethic, sense of humor, and capacity to work well with others
• Must have excellent interpersonal, managerial, and organizational abilities
• Must have experience mentoring and managing staff
• Experience with Blackbaud a major plus
• Second language is a plus

Education and Experience

• Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree
• Background in N-12 education and admissions 
• International recruitment experience preferred

Salary Range: $80,000 – $95,000

How to Apply

• Resume and cover letter and list of 3-5 references with contact information: Email in that order as one PDF to the attention of Mr. Chris Herman, Head of School, via Mary Petruso at mpetruso@gardenschool.org
• Initial phone discussion, Zoom interview with Hiring Committee followed by on-campus interview with various Garden constituents
• Fully confidential process until the finalist phase

Full Time

Starting September 2023

Garden School is excited to announce the opening of an Instrumental & Vocal Music position for the fall of 2023. The position is focused on instrumental and vocal courses taught to very small groups in grades 4 – 12. Therefore, experience and expertise working with these age groups as well as comfort with a range of introductory and advanced topics is desired

Garden School is an innovative and collaborative environment where teachers have smaller than usual rosters so they may focus on the interests and needs of bright and sophisticated individuals all of whom are college bound. Teaching faculty at Garden enjoy a great deal of autonomy in the material they cover in tandem with well-developed support structures to employ best practices in their discipline.

The Visual & Performing Arts Department is housed under one umbrella to enhance the quality of collaboration and the team consists of an Early Childhood through Intermediate Music Teacher, a grades 1-12 Visual Arts Teacher, an Upper Division Theater and Performing Arts Teacher, and a number of visiting artists who teach Photography, 2D digital Design, and Advanced Drawing & Painting. Garden School’s philosophy is such that the value of the Arts is recognized across our entire program and permeates different aspects of our curriculum throughout the school.

Garden’s recently adopted new strategic plan calls for growth and expansion of the Visual & Performing Arts programs, and we are investing heavily in our facilities and resources. This includes recent acquisitions of a piano lab, along with class sets of guitars, bucket drums, and ukuleles. We also are opening several new spaces dedicated to the arts in the fall of 2023. This is an exciting time to join Garden School to be at the ground level of building new and innovative programs that cross disciplines and challenge the notion of how students engage with learning.

The position involves teaching small group strings to students in grades 4, 5 and 6. It includes small group piano and strings classes for students in middle school and separate groups in high school. Finally, the position involves three separate small vocal groups – one for intermediate, one for middle, and one for upper grades. Naturally, several performances and student showcases will also be part of this role. In the second year of the position, we plan to add a small ensemble that also includes at least one wind and one brass instrument.

An ideal candidate will have experience teaching Vocal, Piano, and Introductory Strings to students in intermediate, middle, and upper grades. They also will have skills appropriate for launching a small concert ensemble of brass, wind, and strings over time. They should demonstrate a passion for music and a commitment to addressing the individual child through novel and innovative experiences in the classroom and on the stage. Most importantly, this position is for someone joyful who finds inspiration bringing music to young people and bringing young people to music.

If you enjoy working with an innovative team, employing best-practice in the classroom, helping bright students achieve their potential, and seeing every child as an individual, then please forward your cover letter and resume to the attention of Mary Petruso at mpetruso@gardenschool.org 

Salary Range: $44,000-$55,000 with ample opportunities for additional stipends

Part Time 

Starting September 2023

Garden School is excited to announce the opening of a Part Time Upper Division Visual Arts position for the fall of 2023. The position is focused on Visual Arts in all forms in grades 7 – 12. Therefore, experience and expertise working with this age group as well as comfort with a range of media (paint, clay, digital photography, media arts, etc.) and a range of introductory and advanced topics is desired.  

Garden School is an innovative and collaborative environment where teachers have smaller than usual rosters so they may focus on the interests and needs of bright and sophisticated individuals all of whom are college bound. Teaching faculty at Garden enjoy a great deal of autonomy in the material they cover in tandem with well-developed support structures to employ best practices in their discipline.

The Visual & Performing Arts Department is housed under one umbrella to enhance the quality of collaboration throughout the school, and the team consists of an Early Childhood to Intermediate Music Teacher, a 1-12 Visual Arts Teacher, an Upper Division Theater & Performing Arts Teacher, an Upper Division Vocal & Ensemble Teacher, and a number of visiting artists. Garden School’s philosophy is such that the value of the Arts is recognized across our entire program and permeates different aspects of curriculum throughout the school. 

Garden’s recently adopted new strategic plan calls for growth and expansion of the Visual & Performing Arts programs, and we are investing heavily in our facilities and resources. This includes the opening of several new spaces dedicated to the arts opening fall of 2023. This is an exciting time to join Garden School to be at the ground level of building new and innovative programs that cross disciplines and challenge the notion of how students engage with learning.

An ideal candidate will have experience teaching Photography, Media Arts, Drawing, and Painting to students in intermediate, middle, and upper grades. They also will have skills appropriate for exploring 3D art projects as well as cross-disciplinary programs with colleagues. They should demonstrate a passion for the Arts, a desire to explore with students creatively, and have an enthusiastic commitment for addressing the individual child through novel and innovative experiences in the classroom and in the community.

If you enjoy working with an innovative team, employing best-practice in the classroom, helping bright students achieve their potential, and seeing every child as an individual, then please forward your cover letter and resume to the attention of Mary Petruso at mpetruso@gardenschool.org 

Part Time: This position meets 5 days a week from 11:30 – 3:30 in person

Salary Range: $20,000- $25,000 with ample opportunities for additional stipends

Garden School is an independent school committed to the success of every one of its students. In an effort to connect families with the best possible services available, we seek a part time Independent approved SETSS provider to support children entitled to special services. Garden endeavors to bolster the effectiveness of services by interviewing, endorsing, and coordinating with a single provider for all of our qualifying students.

The current position is for approximately 15 hours weekly working in conjunction with faculty in our lower grades to provide 1:1 pull-out or after-school tutoring for a small handful of children. There is also the possibility of additional hours for someone looking to grow within our organization. An ideal candidate will have special education and elementary experience and embody a deep belief in the potential for all children to achieve.

If you are a qualified special educator, are among the list of approved independent providers for NYC schools, and interested in working with a dynamic and compassionate team of educators to support truly bright students who simply require some extra support, please contact Mary Maisano, Director of Finance, at mmaisano@gardenschool.org.

• Compensation for this position is through the DOE and follows their hourly rate for Independent SETSS providers.