Elementary School Drama Teacher

Status: Full Time, Basic Contract

Position Overview

• Teach six grade levels (kindergarten - fifth) of Elementary School Drama classes.

• Direct two Shakespeare 5th grade productions (One play per class). Evening Performances and co-direct the 3rd & 4th Grade Follies.

Essential Job Functions: 

1. Teaching weekly, 45-minute theatre classes to children, ages eight-eleven, in second - fifth grade. Drama classes are held back-to-back, in half-groups of 13-14 students each with the following curriculum:​​​​​​

   • Kindergarten - second grade drama focuses on using our bodies, our voices, our minds, and our hearts, to communicate and express ideas, feelings, and stories. After learning and demonstrating comprehension of the elements of dramatic structure, students learn to work together cooperatively to create and share their own stories as they explore the drama, the magic, and the wonder that exists in the world we live in, and in the worlds that exist within each of us.

   • Third grade drama students continue to utilize the elements of dramatic structure and themselves, to create cohesive, honest stories and scenes. They do extensive work exploring physicality through mime, movement, and creating objects in space. The students then demonstrate their comprehension and mastery of these forms by communicating ideas, feelings, and stories using only their bodies.

   • Fourth grade drama students continue exploring ways in which feelings can be expressed and stories can be told. There is an expectation of greater focus, greater risks, and more complexity in their scene work. The main focus of the year is character development.

   • Fifth grade drama reviews and enhances all the skills and concepts the children have been introduced to over the prior three years. After a brief exploration of the history of early theatre (the art form and the theatres themselves), they focus on a comprehensive unit on William Shakespeare, culminating in a performance of an abridged version of a Shakespeare play, using the original language, and held at the end of March.

2. Working in collaboration with homeroom teachers and other Specialists including Music, Art and Science, to create culminating events throughout the year. These collaborations support Life Skills, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the homeroom teachers’ as well as the specialists’ curriculum. 

3. Excellent time management and flexibility planning, preparing and delivering instructional materials that facilitate an effective and inspiring learning experience.

4. Adapting teaching methods and materials to meet varying student needs and interests.

5. Writing thoughtful narrative assessments on each student over the course of the year and thoughtfully communicating with parents and guardians as necessary.

6. Staying in close communication with homeroom teachers, student support services and administrators regarding students’ emotional, physical and academic well-being.

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• Graduate degree in Theater preferred but Bachelor’s degree with experience will be considered.

• Min. 2 years experience teaching Drama at the Elementary School level.

• Experience directing drama productions at the Elementary School level.

• Strong collaborative, organizational and communication skills and a positive disposition.

• Ability to create a nurturing, appropriately challenging learning environment.

• Patience, flexibility and an irrepressible sense of humor.

• An interest in teaching social responsibility preferred.

Physical Demands:

This job requires a lot of time on one’s feet engaging with highly energetic children. Moving chairs, benches and other light furniture and props is part of the daily routine, as is facilitating voice and movement work, warm-ups, etc. with the students.

Basic Faculty Expectations

• These requirements apply to all Elementary School faculty members:  

• Embody school’s mission and its five basic commitments: 

  1. to academic excellence, 

  2. to the arts, 

  3. to the greater community, 

  4. to the development of a student population of social, economic, and racial diversity, 

  5. to the development of each student’s physical well being and full human potential.

     1. Model lifelong learning & engage in professional development.

     2. Collaborate and engage with all constituents in elementary school community.

     3. Educate all constituents of developmental needs of adolescents and their families.

     4. Demonstrate that work in the elementary school is centered around a love of learning and the development of the whole child as a positive, creative member of our community.

Salary : $78,000 - $129,500