Job Details
Level
Entry
Job Location
University School of Nashville - Nashville, TN
Position Type
Part Time
Education Level
4 Year Degree
Salary Range
$20.00 Hourly
Job Shift
Day
Job Category
Education
Lower School Teacher Assistant
2024 - 2025
University School of Nashville is currently accepting applications for Lower School Teacher Assistants for the 2024-2025 school year. These positions offer a unique opportunity to be part of a classroom throughout the entire school year, helping teachers create a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. Through guided work in the classroom, Teacher Assistants gain a deeper sense of the many responsibilities and joys of the teaching profession. Teacher Assistants take an active part in the life of the School and are integral to helping USN carry out its mission to teach with best practices.
Teacher Assistants are assigned to Lower School classrooms in Kindergarten through Second Grade. They work closely with a lead teacher to support the students in the classroom. Duties include assisting with classroom management, supporting individual students, working with small groups, and preparing materials for projects. Additionally, Teacher Assistants help with assessing students, documenting class activities, supporting the daily maintenance of the classroom, and helping supervise snack, lunch and recess periods.
While working as instructors in the classroom, Teacher Assistants learn from faculty mentors and from opportunities for professional development. While engaging in this nurturing learning process, the Teacher Assistant is expected, nevertheless, to exercise professional judgment and responsibility in keeping with the expectations of USN's faculty.
USN has a deep commitment to equitable and just community spaces. Candidates should possess an openness to learning about ways that implicit biases in race, ethnicity, gender identity and socioeconomic class can shape curricula and pedagogy, classroom culture, and student outcomes. Candidates should further plan to apply knowledge gained to demonstrable actions that promote equitable and just teaching and learning.
Candidates should be able to devote 4-5 hours per day between the hours of 7:30 am and 1:00 pm Monday-Friday from mid-August to the end of May. Exact hours are dependent upon the grade level to which the Teacher Assistant is assigned. The rate for this position is $21.00/hour.
Responsibilities

• Assist with classroom tasks as directed by the mentor teacher
• Provide support for individual students and small groups
• Prepare materials for lessons and projects
• Assist with student assessments and documentation
• Attend training sessions for professional development
• Work in concert with the mentor teacher to support the academic and social-emotional curricula
• Provide support and supervision during field trips, special events, cafeteria, and playground times
• Serve as a role model for students by exhibiting the qualities essential for a caring, cooperative community of learners

• Perform other duties as determined by the Assistant Head of Lower School and, in some cases, the Head of Lower School or the Director

Qualifications and Experience

• A bachelor's degree is required
• Successful experience working with children in a group setting is preferred

Skills and Abilities

• Attend to punctuality for all assigned work times
• Maintain a positive and professional demeanor
• Work collaboratively with all faculty and staff members
• Communicate effectively
• Demonstrate commitment to developing as a teacher
• Demonstrate flexibility with tasks and assignments

Please be prepared to upload your resume and cover letter to your online application.
The School
University School of Nashville is an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational day school with enrollment of 1,080 students kindergarten through twelfth grade. In 1915, the George Peabody College for Teachers opened Peabody Demonstration School, USN's predecessor, which earned acclaim for its curriculum and faculty. In 1974, Peabody College announced plans to close PDS, and a group of parents, alumni, students, and teachers reconstituted and re-chartered the school as University School of Nashville.
USN's midtown location adjacent to Vanderbilt University and its Peabody College for Teachers reminds us each day of our beginnings 107 years ago in the demonstration school culture of innovation and educational best practices. It's a vibrant educational community for both students and teachers in the midst of a dynamic city.
In the USN community, students expect much of each other, and faculty benefit from that high standard. We seek educators who are enthusiastic about their own learning to complement their teaching, and we offer many opportunities for professional development. USN is committed to creating an institutional environment that mirrors the cultural and ethnic composition of greater Nashville. USN encourages a diverse applicant pool and provides equal employment opportunities for employees and job applicants.