Job Description: Humanities and ELA Teacher

Overview:

The mission of is to empower students to transform the world. Students at Truth will graduate ready for success in college, career, and life. They will serve as active agents in the construction of peace. They will know who they are, what they want, and where they are going. They can walk into any space, find their place, and make a powerful contribution. Truth achieves this vision through a Montessori education built upon student-led classrooms with a learning environment deliberately designed to enable student engagement in meaningful, authentic work and to foster a close-knit community where students pursue justice and practice stewardship.

During SY2024-25, Truth will serve a diverse population of 6th-11th grade students in Washington, DC. Over the next year, Truth will grow to serve students across 6th-12th grades.

Position:

Sojourner Truth PCS is seeking a motivated and innovative middle school teacher proficient in ELA instruction that is prepared to support acquisition of both ELA and Social Studies content (in mixed-age classrooms) but also to mentor and coach learning in an environment fostering student self-direction. Applicants should be inspired by and aligned to Truth’s mission, and excited by the opportunity to expand their influence and the role of the teacher by guiding students through goal-setting, the creation of learning plans, and reflection. Truth strongly believes in the expertise and abilities of its teachers, and also that a culturally responsive and culturally sustaining curriculum should be created by those who work in the community and understand the interests and needs of the students therein. To this end, teachers at Truth contribute significantly to the curriculum design process.

Truth also has a co-teaching model where teachers work in close collaboration to manage tasks and instruction, and the flow of students from one lesson to another.

Teachers, like all other staff, should be fully invested in Truth’s two Design Principles:

• Students need to be prepared for life, not just for school.
• Each student’s identity, voice, perspectives, and choices matter.

Responsibilities:

Learning Coach

• Serve as the mentor for 13 students;
• Facilitate a self-directed learning block on a daily basis for their mentees;
• Create a personalized, competency-based, and student-centered environment that believes in the possibility, promise, and potential in every student;
• Support students through goal-setting, the creation of their own learning plans, the implementation of their plans, and ongoing reflection;
• Build positive and strong relationships with students’ families

Content Expert with Curriculum Design Skills

• Create a classroom environment that makes every single student feel welcome and appreciated;
• Collaborate with both Humanities and STEM colleagues to plan and implement a thematic, interdisciplinary curriculum that prioritizes the development of key skills and habits of learning rather than just breadth of content;
• Teaching content sessions;
• Co-planning and co-teaching as appropriate with an ESL teacher and/or a Special Education teacher;
• Differentiate lessons and tasks to support and challenge a diverse range of skills

Reflective Practitioner

• Actively engage in ongoing professional development
• Continually reflect on the effect that our biases may be having on students and their experience in and out of Truth;
• Regularly analyze and adjust curriculum based on student products and colleague feedback;
• Demonstrate a growth mindset with respect to new strategies and the consideration of feedback

Qualifications:

• Montessori experience or expertise is not required, but applicants should be motivated by the mission to set a national model for a high-quality, urban public Montessori secondary school;
• Demonstrated support of the philosophy behind competency-based learning;
• Desire to collaborate, co-plan, and co-teach;
• Ability to respond positively to coaching and feedback;
• Openness towards innovation in instructional strategies, alternative assessment methods, blended learning, supports for English language learners, supports for students with disabilities, and cooperative learning;
• Demonstrated commitment to the potential of all students to succeed in rigorous educational settings;
• Willingness to enroll in a program to engage in deep training and earn a Montessori diploma;
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; Master’s degree preferred

Sojourner Truth PCS provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $62,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• middle school: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: In person