Position: ESL Teacher, Grades 3-8

One Year Appointment (School Year 2024/2025)

Multilingual Learner Education Department/Peabody & Rindge Avenue Upper Schools

Overview of Cambridge Public Schools

The Cambridge Public Schools (CPS), in partnership with our families and community, provides all students with rigorous, joyful, and culturally responsive learning as well as the social, emotional, and academic supports each student needs to achieve their goals and post-secondary success as engaged community members. CPS students and staff, as members of a learning organization engaged in continuous improvement, will demonstrate a growth mindset and embrace risk taking and innovation.

About 7,000 students choose CPS each year, and our diverse student enrollment continues to rise. Over 30% of CPS students speak a language other than English at home, and over 70 languages are spoken by our families. Among the most common are Spanish, Haitian Creole, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, and Portuguese. Our schools proudly embrace this diversity.

The Role:

The teacher will be responsible for teaching ESL to Grades 3-8 English Learners (ELs) at the Peabody and Rindge Ave Upper School. The candidate will work collaboratively with their colleagues in general education to provide English language development to small groups of multilingual learners. The ideal candidate will set high expectations for all students, as well as utilize the SIOP framework to plan instruction that includes scaffolding and differentiation to support diverse learning needs. The candidate will also demonstrate a commitment to partnering with diverse families and creating a classroom environment that fosters mutual respect and cultural sensitivity.

In addition, the candidate will: 

• Plan units and lessons and deliver instruction aligned to WIDA ELD 2020 standard, MA State Frameworks, and the district English Language Development (ELD) curriculum
• Provide ongoing formative and summative assessments and analyze assessment data in order to determine learning needs of students and next instructional steps
• Adapt curriculum and instruction to teach the diverse learners in the class
• Maintain a safe, welcoming, culturally affirming, and equitable learning environment
• Participate in professional growth opportunities, reflect on current practices, and incorporate best practices into daily lessons
• Additional duties as assigned by the Director of Multilingual Learner Education and/or Principal

Your Skill Set:

As the incoming ESL Teacher, you will possess many, though perhaps not all, of the following characteristics and qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree in Education from an accredited college or university required, with courses in second language acquisition and/or applied linguistics 
• Massachusetts teacher licensure in ESL PreK-6 or 5-12 required
• At least 1 year of experience working in a linguistically diverse or urban setting preferred 
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills 
• Familiarity with or willingness to learn to access data in educational systems such as Google Suite for Education, Aspen, and ELLevation
• A willingness to engage in further training and coursework to build instructional capacity to meet the needs of all learners
• Culturally responsive and attentive the needs of diverse families and educators
• Proficiency in English and fluency in a language other than English (Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, Somali, Arabic, or other language) preferred, but not required.

Cambridge Public Schools is committed to slowing and/or stopping the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, as a condition of employment with Cambridge Public Schools, all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 no later than their first day of work. Written requests for either a religious exemption from this requirement based on sincerely held religious beliefs, or for a medical exemption based upon clear documentation from a medical provider should be submitted to the attention of the Chief Talent Officer.

How to Join Our Team:

Please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills, experience, and commitment to equity in education meet the qualifications of the position as well as stating how you heard about this opportunity.

At the Cambridge Public Schools, we are committed to cultivating an environment where diverse perspectives and backgrounds are embraced, acknowledging that a team reflecting diversity of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, and veteran status allows us to serve our communities better. To that end, we welcome and encourage applicants to bring their authentic selves when considering employment opportunities within our school district.