Founding Headmaster

Headmaster
The Loretto School
Kansas City, MO

The Loretto School, set to open in the Fall of 2027, is seeking a founding headmaster to step
into this role in summer 2026.

The Loretto School: Background
The Loretto School is a new, independent classical, liberal arts K-8 school located in Kansas
City, MO. Guided by the teachings of the Catholic Church, we were founded to assist parents in
their sacred duty as primary educators. As such, the school will always bear in mind that its
primary work is to support and assist parents.

Second to parents, the school will turn its attention to teachers. We plan to assemble a truly
remarkable faculty, men and women possessed of virtue, and who are not only masters of the
teaching craft, but also fully capable of forming and mentoring a child on the individual level,
something which will be an essential pillar of the school’s educational structure.

In the third place, the school will focus directly on the child, adopting a person-oriented approach
to education, structuring our school in unique ways to accomplish this end. We will, for example,
always hold before our eyes the wonderful and complementary differences they have as boys and
girls. From grades 3 and up, the children will be divided into different classes according to
gender, and the school will seek to prioritize same-gender teachers as the students (men teaching
boys’ classes, women teaching girls’ classes), as children learn first by example. The school will
also encourage an environment of freedom, where children learn to choose the good of their own
accord, thus coming to love the good. The school enjoys a deeply committed and united Board of
Directors and a large and enthusiastic cohort of interested families, even at this early stage.

Position Overview
The Loretto School seeks an experienced Headmaster to serve as the school’s chief steward,
bringing clarity, order, and joyful conviction to every aspect of school life. The founding
The headmaster will be responsible for getting the school launched, hiring the initial faculty, and
staff, and building a culture marked by excellence and charity, ensuring curricular consistency
and fidelity, communicating the mission effectively, and stewarding the school’s day-to-day
operations with foresight.

Key Responsibilities in Year 0 (Pre-Launch/Founding Phase) and beyond:
1. Vision & Culture:
• Public Face: Be the public face of the school to all constituencies (students, parents,
alumni, donors, etc.)
• Articulate Vision: Articulate vision and mission in speaking and writing
• Shape Culture: Define and instill core values, ethos, and a positive school culture from
day one. Cultivate and support a strong moral atmosphere, primarily by personal
example.
• Community Building: Recruit founding families, staff, and foster a “faculty of friends”
and community spirit.

2. Operations & Finance:
• Strategic Planning: Design the overall school structure, academic programs, and daily
operations. Oversee general operations of the school.
• Resource Management: Oversee budget, financial stability, and necessary infrastructure
setup.
• Compliance: Handle applications, legal documents, and other requirements.

3. Staff & Academics:
• Recruitment: Attract and hire excellent teachers and staff. Hire, terminate, and manage
all faculty/staff. Lead regular meetings of faculty/staff.
• Curriculum Design: Establish academic standards and curriculum frameworks with a
robust academic committee.
• Professional Development: Plan initial staff training and development. Teach the faculty/
staff both formally and informally. Foster intellectual interests and ongoing personal
growth. Supervise effective academic progress.

4. External Relations:
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build relationships with the board, parents, community, and
donors. Communicate effectively with the school board chair. Network with donors and
aid boards in fundraising efforts. Listen to the needs of parents, faculty, staff, and
students.
• Marketing/Outreach: Promote the new school to attract students and build awareness.

Qualities
1. Faithful:
• Practicing Catholic with deep love for Jesus Christ and His Church, who aspires to pray
regularly and possess a noble ideal for their life.

2. Professional:
• Articulate, both in speech and in writing, as well as an excellent listener.
• Capable of leading through systems and structures as well as personality.
• Able to confront difficult situations and conversations.

3. Well-rounded:
• Balanced personality; is able to encounter the vicissitudes of life with a sense of humorand a sporting spirit.

• Interested in the life of the mind and shows evidence of an intellectual accomplishment.
• Values and participates in physical activity as part of the integration of the whole person
(ie, plays a sport; isn’t merely a disembodied intellect).

Qualifications
• Minimum of three years’ experience in school leadership
• Experience in leading or mentoring teachers
• Master’s Degree or above
In essence, Year 0 is about laying the entire groundwork—building the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the
school before the ‘who’ (students) arrive, requiring a high entrepreneurial spirit, management, and
leadership.

Salary Range: Salary anticipated in the range of $100,000-130,000 annually during the
founding phase, with planned increases tied to enrollment growth and institutional development.
Benefits included.

Application
If interested in applying, please submit a cover letter, resumé or CV, and two character/
professional references to: contact@thelorettoschool.org