Director of Parent Relations and Communications

The Opportunity
Blue Ridge School is an all-boys, all-boarding college-preparatory school serving approximately 180 students on a beautiful 751-acre campus along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just 20 miles from Charlottesville, Virginia. Blue Ridge takes an innovative, highly personalized approach to educating young men, grounded in passionate teaching, small classes, strong relationships, and abundant opportunities to engage in athletics and co-curricular activities. A rigorous yet supportive college-preparatory curriculum empowers Blue Ridge students to grow with confidence, discover their strengths, and thrive in college and beyond.
With an average class size of just 11 students, Blue Ridge faculty have the opportunity to know their students well and tailor their teaching to meet individual needs. Faculty autonomy and a culture of collaboration allow teachers to help each student find the most effective ways to master course material while encouraging him to push beyond self-imposed limitations and realize his full, often untapped, potential.
For the 2026–2027 academic year, Blue Ridge School seeks a Director of Parent Relations and Communications. This is a full-time, 12-month position with an abbreviated summer schedule: 10 months of full-time employment (August–May) and two months of part-time employment (June–July).
The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a committed educator who is at their core, student oriented, collaborative in nature, willing to work with and support the larger Blue Ridge School community, and has the ability to balance leadership and directives with autonomy. Candidates should have:

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s in communication related field a plus

Enthusiasm for working with high school-aged boys and their parents and guardians

Excellent organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.

A creative storyteller

A savvy user of social media and video

A desire to build positive working relationships with the parents and guardians of Blue Ridge School students. 

A good listener who possess empathy for the challenges faced by boarding school parents

Flexibility, a sense of humor, and a willingness to try new approaches when it comes to solving problems and addressing challenges. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Own the Parent Experience from enrollment through graduation, ensuring that families feel informed, welcomed, connected, and supported at every stage of their son’s Blue Ridge experience. Regularly evaluate major points of interaction with families and identify opportunities to make the experience more welcoming, transparent, responsive, and connected.

Lead student retention and re-enrollment efforts by championing the BRS Retention Plan, monitoring parent and student feedback and engagement indicators, identifying families who may be disconnected from the community, and developing proactive strategies to strengthen connection, belonging, and re-enrollment.

Develop and oversee a Comprehensive Parent Communications Plan that establishes clear expectations for the frequency, tone, responsiveness, and appropriate methods of communication with parents. Monitor the quality and consistency of parent-facing communication across faculty, coaches, advisors, dorm parents, and administrators to ensure families receive timely, accurate, and coordinated information.

Serve as a primary resource and point of contact for parents, helping families navigate questions, concerns, and school resources and connecting them with the appropriate faculty, staff, or administrator when needed.

Establish proactive systems for parent outreach and engagement, with particular attention to key transition points including enrollment, new-family onboarding, move-in, the first weeks of school, mid-year, re-enrollment, and graduation. Develop and maintain a comprehensive new-family onboarding experience that includes welcome communications, parent resources, orientation programming, and proactive first-semester outreach.

Create and maintain parent-facing resources and communications, including the Blue Ridge School Parent Guide and a weekly parent newsletter that highlights classroom experiences, student accomplishments, school events, and other information relevant to families. Maintain a strong presence at chapels, assemblies, and special events to stay informed about the student experience and effectively communicate it to parents.

Develop and coordinate parent education and engagement programming around topics relevant to boarding-school families, including adolescent development, academic support, healthy technology use, college preparation, student independence, mental health and wellness, and navigating the boarding-school experience. Coordinate and enhance the annual calendar of parent engagement opportunities, including Parent Weekend, Family Weekend, orientation programs, virtual gatherings, and other family events.

Establish meaningful systems for parent listening and feedback, including surveys, listening sessions, focus groups, and other feedback mechanisms. Monitor parent questions, concerns, and engagement data to identify recurring themes, communication gaps, and opportunities for improvement; regularly share trends and recommendations with school leadership and establish a process for closing the feedback loop with families.

Represent the parent perspective in school decision-making and strategic planning, including utilizing the National Association of Independent Schools’ “Jobs to be Done” framework to facilitate ongoing conversations between parents and school leadership about what families need, want, and expect from a Blue Ridge education.

Build strong partnerships with parent and alumni organizations, including the Parent Association President and Alumni Parent Council. Support grade-level parent representatives, regular parent meetings, Family Weekend and related initiatives, budget oversight, and other programs that strengthen family engagement.

Collaborate across the school to strengthen the family experience, partnering with Admission and Advancement to ensure continuity from prospective family through enrolled student, current parent, alumni parent, and donor, and with Counseling, Learning Center, Academic, Athletics, and Student Life teams to help families understand and access resources available to support their sons.

Meet regularly with the Marketing and Communications team to ensure consistency in external communications, parent messaging, and social media content.

Student Life & Community Responsibilities:

Coach or assist with one athletic or co-curricular program.

Serve as a co-advisor to approximately 7–9 students.

Participate in weekday and weekend duty teams (½ time).

Participate in extracurricular activities, including social activities, sporting events, clubs, and student organizations.

Attend on-campus special events, including Registration, Parent Weekend, Alumni Weekend, Graduation, and other major school events.

Demonstrate continued professional curiosity, learning, and growth.

Why Work at Blue Ridge School? 
Whether you’re an educator, administrator, or support person, a career at Blue Ridge School can bring the meaning you seek in your work. You’ll work in an incredibly beautiful campus setting helping to shape the lives of diverse young men from many cultures and communities. You’ll enjoy a work environment that stresses collaboration and innovation. And you’ll be immersed in the Blue Ridge culture—one that is focused on family, community, and mutual support.
Eighty percent of our faculty live on campus; and on-campus housing is provided for many positions. All employees have access to many other unique benefits, including:

Access to BRS fitness facilities and wilderness trails

Meals in the dining hall for you, your family, and your guests

A comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package with generous support for professional development and continuing education

Structured mentorship, collaborative professional development, and support for educators at every career stage; Blue Ridge fosters a culture of innovation and collegiality.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:
Teaching credential or certification preferred; not required
Physical Demands and Working Conditions:
The usual and customary methods of performing the job’s functions require the following physical demands: occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling; some climbing and balancing; frequent stooping, kneeling, crouching, and/or crawling; and significant fine finger dexterity. Generally the job requires 25% sitting, 25% walking, and 50% standing.  The job is performed under minimal temperature variations and under conditions with some exposure to risk of injury and/or illness.