Middle School Music and Choral Teacher-Part time

Overview Gordon is a racially and socio-economically diverse Nursery through eighth grade independent school with an enrollment of 345 students, renowned nationally for a multicultural curriculum and a commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice. Our curriculum focuses on developing intellectual leadership by leveraging a child’s natural imagination, creativity, and inquisitive nature. Students are challenged and inspired to be active participants in their own education, and faculty and staff strive to develop deep and meaningful relationships with each child and family. The opportunity We are seeking a dynamic and innovative music teacher who is passionate about teaching general music literacy to our Middle schoolers, and who will develop appropriately rigorous performance ensembles with grades seven and eight through our arts electives program, clubs, and an auditioned a cappella ensemble. Our middle school music educator will teach general music to 6th grade, lead a choral ensemble elective, plus teach electives courses that they can develop, drawing upon their own areas of deep musical connection (History of Hip Hop or Computer Assisted Composition are examples of music electives we’ve had in the past). The ideal instructor would also build upon our existing choral scope and sequence by leading choral groups for fifth/sixth grades, as well as our auditioned a cappella group – both of which have flourished over the past decade at Gordon School. Additionally, this educator will lead our Handbell Ensemble. The middle school music teacher will develop and implement a strong, multicultural curriculum that responds to and is supportive of the diverse developmental needs of the students, and that integrates music with other disciplines when appropriate. The ideal candidate will have both a broad and a deep understanding of music education, including choral and instrumental knowledge, and will demonstrate a profound understanding of middle schoolers. In addition to music instruction, as a member of the Middle School faculty, this person will serve as a Middle School advisor, working to support a small group of Middle School students with their social-emotional and academic experiences at Gordon. The position reports to the Middle School Director and works closely with the Arts Program Director. A Day in the Life of the Middle School Music Teacher: ● Meet with the performing and visual arts teaching faculty to discuss opportunities for cross-curricular programming ● Lead a rehearsal for the G-Notes (Gordon’s a cappella group) in preparation for an upcoming performance ● Arrange a musical selection with Middle Schoolers to be featured in their musical production ● Facilitate a social-emotional learning lesson for a small Middle School advisory group and preparing them to present during student-led conferences ● Teach engaging, skills-based music lessons for 6th graders ● Teach an engaging music elective for 7th and 8th graders ● Chaperone a grade-level team-building overnight trip to open the school year Personal Attributes and Skills Required ● Experience teaching music literacy , leading choral and instrumental ensembles to Middle School students ● Ability to provide piano accompaniment for ensembles ● Appreciate and enjoy working with middle school children ● Be energetic, flexible, resilient and open to change ● Be creative, imaginative and resourceful ● Possess good organizational skills and be able to implement these effectively ● Have strong interpersonal skills that support and engender trust, and desire and be able to work as a positive member of a team of teachers ● Be a thoughtful and effective listener ● Be able to communicate with parents, colleagues, and students clearly and accurately both orally and in writing ● Have a strong sense of self, a good sense of humor, and a positive outlook on his/her personal endeavors ● Have a deep sense of community, be respectful of adults and children, and understand and respect human differences ● Support multicultural curriculum and education Prerequisites for the Position ● Possess a music education degree or comparable experience ● Evidence of rigorous musical training and background; demonstrates a firm knowledge of musical concepts, techniques, and history ● Piano skills sufficient for teaching and choral directing responsibilities ● Capable of training students vocally and instrumentally to a foundational level; committed to building musical literacy using a variety of methods (Kodaly, the Takadimi system, Orff Schulwerk, Solfege, among others) ● Experience building scope and sequence that uses musical instruments, voice and teaching materials that are suitable for various stages of development ● Have a strong understanding and working knowledge of current educational practices, classroom management, and of a curriculum which supports a developmental, process-oriented approach ● Have experience working with children and parents Duties and Expectations ● Promote direct student involvement and participation in all aspects of the program ● Establish and maintain a classroom environment that is organized and orderly, yet flexible ● Set and monitor a classroom tone that motivates, stimulates, and inspires students, is sensitive to their needs, and assumes appropriate behavior and respect for fellow classmates, teachers, and the school as a whole ● Lead students in an afterschool Winter and Spring concert ● Lead students and small groups during two major in-school assemblies at the end of each semester ● Develop opportunities for ensembles to have greater presence and participation in general school life ● Actively engage in ongoing professional development, especially regarding growth as a multicultural practitioner ● Collaborate with our Theater teacher as Musical Director for our afterschool musical. This carries an additional stipend. ● Find and support performing or competition opportunities for our music ensembles in the community ● Participation in RIMEA (RI Music Education Association) events such as All State and Solo and Ensemble Festival ● Serve as an advisor to a group of students, be well-informed about all aspects of advisees’ work and school life, and be an advocate for and mentor to the advisees ● Develop and support specific learning goals and expectations for each grade level ● Assess student work appropriately and positively, write progress reports and hold parent conferences as requested ● Assume such student supervisory activities as may be required ● Attend and participate in advisor team, department, divisional, and all-school meetings