What are the responsibilities and job description for the Middle School ELA Guide position at Mi Escuela Montessori?
Location: Mi Escuela Montessori | Lakeland/Bartow, FL
Projected Start: 2026–2027 School Year (Inaugural Year at our New Facility)
Compensation: $48,000-60,000.
In many traditional settings, the teacher is the "Sage on the Stage," delivering a pre-packaged curriculum at a predetermined pace. At Mi Escuela Montessori, we invite you to step off the stage and into the role of a Collaborative Guide. Here, you are not just teaching a subject; you are designing an experience.
We believe that healthy kids are prepared to learn, and the adolescent years are a time of profound creative awakening. We are seeking an ELA Guide who wants to use literature and language as a laboratory for inquiry, reclaiming their professional agency from "cookie-cutter" manuals and rigid district pacing guides.
You won’t teach in a silo. You will collaborate daily with Math, Spanish, Social Studies and Science teachers to build immersive units where ELA is the "connective tissue" of the student’s world.
Thematic Explorations: Partner with Social Studies to explore the "Rhetoric of Resistance" through dystopian literature, focusing on freedom of speech and digital ethics.
Multi-Genre Mastery: Guide students in building portfolios that tell a single story through a blend of poetry, investigative reporting, podcasts, and persuasive essays.
The Art of Voice: Lead a daily "Poetry of the Day" ritual and teach real-world rhetoric, coaching students to write speeches on topics ranging from local issues to global change.
Targeted Support: Provide intentional interventions and enrichment to meet students where they are, ensuring every learner is appropriately challenged.
Inclusive Advocacy: Work alongside ESE, Gifted, and ESOL specialists to help our neurodiverse and multilingual learners thrive in a dual-language environment.
The Traditional Experience
The Mi Escuela Experience
"Sage on the Stage": Centered on teacher-led lectures.
"Collaborative Guide": Centered on Socratic seminars & workshops.
Isolated Instruction: English happens in a silo.
Interdisciplinary Art: ELA is woven into Science, Math, and Civics.
Pacing Guides: Following a script regardless of student interest.
Curriculum Design: Building a "Changemaker" toolkit with agency.
Standardized Prompts: Writing for a grade.
Authentic Voice: Writing for impact, speech, and publication. Collaborating with peers for writing workshop and publications.
We are looking for a visionary educator who is ready to evolve. While you do not need a Montessori credential to apply, we seek a candidate committed to becoming a fully MACTE-accredited Adolescent Guide within 3 years.
$3,000 Tuition Sponsorship: Upon successful completion of your first year of service, Mi Escuela Montessori will contribute up to $3,000 over the next three years toward your enrollment in an approved MACTE-accredited adolescent training program.
Professional Agency: You select the program that best fits your learning style, and we provide the "seed money" to help you obtain a prestigious international credential.
Certification: Valid Florida Professional Teaching Certificate in English (Grades 5-9 or 6-12) and Reading Endorsement or ability to obtain
Bilingualism: While not required, bilingual (Spanish/English) candidates are highly prioritized in our immersion community.
The Facility: Work in a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility with dedicated collaborative planning blocks, a staff refuel station, and a culture of "Grace and Courtesy."
Schedule: Follows the 196-day school calendar (summers and holidays off).
Salary : $48,000 - $60,000