Innovative Schools Fellow

Innovative Schools Fellowship (ISF)

Founding a new high-performing public school in St. Louis, Missouri

Organization: The Opportunity Trust

Position: Innovative Schools Fellow

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Who You Are

You are an accomplished instructional leader with a demonstrated record of improving student outcomes and developing strong teachers and school teams.

You may be a:

• Current or former Principal or Principal Supervisor
• Chief academic officer
• An experienced instructional leader from an established CMO or LEA ready to lead school improvement and design a new school in St. Louis
• An emerging school leader with exceptional instructional skills, demonstrated results, and strong leadership potential

You have experience building systems, coaching adults, and leading meaningful improvement. You understand that creating an excellent school requires more than a compelling vision. It requires the ability to translate that vision into consistent instructional practices, strong school culture, and measurable student outcomes.

You are comfortable leading in challenging environments, navigating ambiguity, owning your own development, and doing the difficult day-to-day work required to build an excellent school.

The Innovative Schools Fellowship (ISF) offers a rare opportunity: to design, build, and launch a breakthrough public school in St. Louis that redefines what’s possible for children in St. Louis.

Background

Founded in 2018, The Opportunity Trust (OT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that every child in St. Louis is prepared to thrive by having access to a quality public school education. Since 2019, The Opportunity Trust has attracted and invested over $125 million to transform public education in Missouri, launching new schools, strengthening educator and leadership pipelines, and expanding access to quality public schools (both traditional district and public charter schools). In 2023, the organization secured Missouri’s first-ever $35 million U.S. Department of Education Charter School Program award, a landmark investment to expand access to high-quality charter schools across the state.

By 2027, OT is working to ensure that at least 30% of St. Louis’ children attend a quality public school, up from 12% when the organization launched. Through its Innovative Schools Fellowship (ISF), The Opportunity Trust has incubated and launched 9 schools and helped to expand 6 existing public schools in St. Louis.

Why St. Louis, Why Now

Innovation, collaboration, and significant investment are creating opportunities to improve public education in St. Louis. Fellows will work alongside school teams and communities with distinct histories, strengths, and challenges. Some placements will require significant instructional improvement and the development of stronger systems. This work calls for curiosity, humility, and a commitment to delivering excellent outcomes for students.

What You’ll Do as a Fellow

As a Fellow, you’ll step into a once in a career opportunity to design and launch a world-class public school in St. Louis with the full strategic, financial, and operational backing of The Opportunity Trust. This is a role for leaders who are ready to turn their biggest, boldest ideas into a living, breathing school launch plan that serves children for generations. Throughout the fellowship, you’ll bring your leadership vision to life while receiving high caliber executive development, an immersive, school-based residency in a St. Louis school that may face significant academic and operational challenges, and curated national excellent school visits to engage with innovative school models across the country.

Year 1 centers on an immersive, school-based leadership residency. Fellows may coach teachers, strengthen instruction and culture, build essential systems, and help lead school improvement. Assignments vary by placement and may change as school needs evolve. The first trimester emphasizes instructional leadership and results through adults; school-design work is introduced as fellows progress. In essence, the first year will focus on ensuring that you are equipped to fully lead a school toward instructional outcomes first.

As one of the first leaders for the school you’ll launch, you’ll bring a high level of self responsibility and follow through to ensure that you’re setting up strong systems and structures. Your school leadership responsibilities may include instruction, culture, enrollment, and family engagement, supported by the program and its partners.

Over the fellowship, you’ll partner closely with OT as you push toward an ambitious launch, bringing initiative, strategic thinking, and executive presence to one of the most consequential education opportunities in the region.

What You Bring

• Initiative: We’re looking for visionary, equity-driven leaders who combine ambition for a more just world with humility needed to roll up sleeves and build it with others, and who thrive in environments where innovation meets accountability. You are coachable: you seek feedback, act on it quickly, and keep learning in public.
• Results: You’ve led teams to achieve student outcomes above state averages (~44% proficiency in ELA/Math), demonstrated significant student growth, or led organizations that have achieved outstanding operational or financial success. Evidence may come from lower-performing settings: what matters is demonstrated improvement — growth, trajectory, and results achieved through others — not starting proficiency alone.
• School improvement: You have built systems that improved instructional performance, and you can point to measurable impact. Experience leading in a turnaround setting is welcome but not required; the ability to improve a struggling school is.
• Leadership: You have experience building, managing, and motivating diverse teams toward ambitious goals. You coach adults — including adults who are resistant to coaching — without lowering the bar.
• Adaptive leadership: You build trusting relationships with teachers, families, peer leaders, and direct reports; you repair breakdowns when partnership strains; and you stay steady, focused, and even-keeled under pressure.
• Drive: You learn quickly, embrace feedback, and translate insight into action.
• Relationship builder: You build strong relationships and a desire to get to know and work with St. Louis communities. You listen first, learn the context, and earn trust — including as an outsider in a close-knit community, and with families whose engagement with school has been limited. You have adaptive leadership skills to navigate a variety of contexts.
• Commitment to equity: You reflect on identity and power, leading inclusively to ensure every child has access to an excellent school.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s or advanced degree preferred.
• Professional experience sufficient to demonstrate the results above, including at least 3 years managing adults in a PreK–12 environment. Most fellows will bring substantial school leadership experience; exceptional emerging leaders with strong instructional results will also be considered.
• Demonstrated record of leading teams to ambitious outcomes, including improvement in challenging, low-performing settings.

Fellowship Experience & Benefits

ISF Fellows receive a competitive salary, healthcare, and benefits, along with comprehensive support designed to set you up for success:

• Salary: $115,000–$185,000+ annually during the fellowship depending on the scale and type of school/network envisioned
• Reimbursement for up to $15,000 in moving expenses.
• Access to startup funding through The Opportunity Trust's exclusive partnerships and federal Charter School Program grant.
• Coaching and mentorship from education and executive leaders, with regular check-ins and school-based feedback.
• An immersive, school-based residency in St. Louis, potentially including instructional coaching, school improvement, systems building, and day-to-day school leadership in a variety of settings that may include schools that are currently underperforming.
• National learning visits and exposure to innovative school models
• A sequenced path from school-based leadership development to school design and launch preparation.
• Collaboration with a cohort of leaders committed to innovation, instructional excellence, and community-centered school design.
• Opportunities during the selection process to learn about St. Louis, visit a school, and speak candidly with program leaders and current fellows, subject to scheduling.
• Ongoing post-fellowship coaching and professional development.

Your Legacy

As a Fellow, you’ll build a school that proves excellence and equity can thrive together—expanding opportunity and transforming lives for generations. Your graduates will leave confident, curious, and prepared to lead lives of purpose and choice. Your work will help redefine what’s possible for public education in St. Louis and beyond.

To Apply

Application Deadline: January 29, 2027

Ready to build something that lasts? The Opportunity Trust has engaged DGW Group to lead the search for our Fellows. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and early submissions are encouraged.

The selection process includes an application, a screening interview, a team interview, a performance exercise, an in-person final in St. Louis (including a school visit), and an in-school observation for finalists. Every finalist completes the full process. The fellowship begins July 2027.