Design Technology Teacher

Carrollwood Day School is seeking a dynamic Design Tech Teacher to join our Lower School team. Qualified candidates will be passionate about developing design thinking skills with lower school students, will possess strong technology skills, a willingness to work within a team, and a commitment to continual professional development, and will easily form meaningful connections with children throughout their academic journey. 

Carrollwood Day School (http://www.carrollwooddayschool.org) is an innovative International Baccalaureate (IB) independent school located in North Tampa, FL. Since the inception of CDS in 1982, we have prided ourselves on being a community of learners.  We have grown from a preschool into a comprehensive program serving more than 1200 students from age two through 12th grade. Carrollwood Day School stands out as a leader in its commitment to educating the whole child and is recognized nationally for its academic excellence and its school-wide emphasis on character development. Outside the classroom, our students are engaged in a multitude of athletics, arts, and extra-curricular programs.  In short, we have PATRIOT PRIDE in everything we do at CDS.

The vision of Carrollwood Day School is to build a community prepared and inspired to better the world. As an IB World School, we cultivate principled entrepreneurial thinkers for a global society by enriching the mind, strengthening the character, and inspiring the passions of our community. 

Carrollwood Day School embraces and celebrates the rich diversity of our students, employees, and families from all backgrounds. As an International Baccalaureate continuum school, CDS strives to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment where each person is valued. We work to intentionally develop cross-cultural competency and appreciation of differences within all constituents. We value the influence of a wide range of experiences and perspectives in our classrooms, relationships, and interactions as we prepare our students to contribute to a diverse and interconnected world.

Carrollwood Day School is one of only 36 independent schools in the United States to offer the full curriculum/continuum of IB programmes from early childhood through college prep (PYP, MYP, and DP).  In 2019, CDS was honored to become one of only 15 U.S. schools to earn membership in the Cum Laude Society and also offer an International Baccalaureate education.  In 2022, CDS was welcomed into the prestigious Round Square organization. In 2023, CDS was awarded the Florida and National School of Character Designation for the second time.

Understanding that a team of talented, supported, and growth-minded teachers is what leads to student success, the first pillar of our strategic plan is to become the destination school for exceptional educators in the Tampa Bay region. Want to join our team and better the world?

The Position of Lower School Design Tech Teacher:  

As a cooperative member of the Lower School team, plan, prepare, and deliver a comprehensive, developmentally and intellectually appropriate and creatively engaging maker lab curriculum.  Work collaboratively with the department to ensure that design thinking is integrated into the curriculum and is aligned with the mission, goals, and objectives of the school. Provide an educational atmosphere where students are inspired to fulfill their potential for intellectual and character growth.  

Essential Job Responsibilities:

• Actively support and advance the vision and mission of Carrollwood Day School
• Effectively plan and execute/teach the maker lab curriculum in the Lower School (LS) to develop students as inquisitive learners, innovative entrepreneurs, and critical thinkers
• Provide cognitively challenging and developmentally appropriate coding, engineering, data and tech literacy, robotics, and design thinking instruction and projects to students from 1st grade to 5th grade 
• Manage the requisition, acquisition, organization, utilization, maintenance, and inventory of all LS Maker Lab resources 
• Establish and maintain student behavior standards needed to achieve a positive classroom environment; demonstrate strong classroom management skills to maintain a respectful learning environment that ensures high levels of learning for all students
• Support student growth, academically and social-emotionally
• Provide a culturally and physically safe and open environment for learning, building, and experimenting through a variety of materials, tools, and techniques for making
• Model and promote the value of failure as a learning experience
• Collaborate with other Design Technology team members both within the LS, with particular attention to alignment with the Early Childhood Center, and across other divisions to implement an engaging, innovative, and linear curriculum that builds over time 
• Sponsor and stimulate excitement for an engaging after-school robotics program 
• Provide for unstructured opportunities to code, make, and create passion projects
• Collaborate with the Director of Entrepreneurship and others to provide professional development and assistance to faculty to embed and incorporate design thinking into all aspects of the LS curriculum
• Communicate with the MarCom team to champion and promote projects within the maker lab
• Communicate with faculty/staff/parents regarding Maker Lab activities
• Commit to keeping current in professional learning practices, information technology, and educational research related to maker programs and design technology for young children  
• Become knowledgeable in the IB PYP program and become a valued collaborative resource to the teachers and students during their Units of Inquiry
• Be a team player; cheerfully participate in and/or assist with pick-up and drop-off, lunch duty, assemblies, field trips, Back to School Night, and other duties and routines regularly part of a PK-12 independent school environment 
• Maintain regular and punctual attendance requirements, including attending division and other school meetings, professional days, graduation, and other required events
• Adhere to School policies as described in the Employee Handbook and other materials
• Be a role model of integrity and professionalism 

Qualifications, Skills, and Attributes Needed for Success:

• Bachelor’s Degree required degree in Elementary Education, or other related field
• Experience as a classroom teacher in an elementary setting, minimum of 3-5 years required
• Forward-thinking vision and pro-active exploration into ways technology and making can enhance learning
• Experience with IB/PYP is preferred but not required
• Have or complete within one year, the Category One training within the IB PYP; may be required to do training over the summer 
• Strong understanding of the academic, social, and emotional development of Lower School aged children
• Have a passion for teaching and learning with young children
• Significant experience in developing and implementing project based learning curriculum
• Successful experience with robotics, preferably Vex Robotics on a competitive level
• Proficiency with laser cutting, 3D printing, and other maker tools and incorporating these tools in meaningful ways to enhance student learning
• Demonstrated success at providing professional development and coaching of faculty is a plus
• Possess a deep understanding of Design Thinking
• Strong collaborative skills and eagerness to work with colleagues
• A strong background in educational technology and strategic use of the many apps used in the lower school
• Strong proficiency in the Google suite of products (docs, sheets, drive, classroom, etc.) is required 
• Demonstrated organizational skills required 
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills 
• Have an interest in engaging with the greater CDS community beyond the traditional school day
• A high degree of professionalism, collegiality, and personal conduct both in and outside of school 
• Ability, willingness, and judgment to interact and communicate effectively and positively with all constituents in a school environment 
• Comfortable with ambiguity and change inherent in a school environment; willingness to adapt and pivot as needed
• Enthusiasm and commitment to the vision and mission of the School 

Compensation includes a comprehensive employee benefits package; CDS offers a competitive salary commensurate with background and experience.

Qualified candidates should send a resume/CV, a statement of interest, and salary expectations to Dawn Wilson, Head of Lower School: dwilson@cdspatriots.org