Maker Program Teacher, for Grades 6-8
Greenwich Country Day School
Location
Greenwich, CT | United States
Job description
Greenwich Country Day School is an independent, co-educational day school with a current enrollment of over 1400 students in grades N-12, and a faculty and staff of over 350. The original Old Church Road campus is home to grades N-8. The High School, established in 2019, is located less than two miles away on Stanwich Road. Founded in 1926, Greenwich Country Day School is a family school where innovative teaching is encouraged as teachers model and foster a love of learning, challenge and inspire children toward academic excellence, and cultivate students’ interests and talents outside of the classroom. We value purposeful and personal learning in a joyful environment, with emphasis on the development of character, creativity, and a sense of personal value along with strong academic skills. GCDS is committed to graduating ethical, confident leaders who possess a strong sense of purpose.
GCDS is fortunate to have built a large endowment which helps to fund competitive salaries and benefits, a robust professional development program, and reimbursement for graduate school tuition. GCDS offers a substantial need-based financial aid program to support students from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.
Greenwich Country Day School seeks a Maker Program Teacher, for Grades 6-8, to start August 2024. The ideal candidate will be a tinkerer/woodworker/designer and successful applicants will possess content and pedagogical expertise and a dedication to collaboration across curriculum. Interdisciplinary proficiency is highly desirable.
In addition, each GCDS faculty member is expected to demonstrate ability in the following areas:
- Understands, champions, and implements GCDS Design Principles
- Fosters and stewards a culture of mutual respect, equitable practice, and joy in and out of the classroom
- Cultural competency skills to collaborate effectively across difference
- Sets high expectations for learning, academic achievement, and character development
- Exhibits strong working knowledge of student cognitive development and learning preferences
- Identifies and supports students’ social, emotional, and academic needs
- Provides timely feedback to students, and collaborates with faculty to offer specialized support in pursuit of each student’s learning goals
- Implements a wide array of pedagogical tools and strategies in appropriate and effective combinations
- Facilitates and designs effective group/collaborative work and productive dialogue among students and teachers
- Communicates effectively with students/families about classwork, learning goals, and student progress
- Demonstrates content knowledge and expertise; and scaffolds curriculum to ensure progress towards mastery
- Ensures that reading and writing are aimed across the curriculum and learning design
- Collaborates and plans actively for learning with teachers and students
- Implements backward design to align all lessons, activities, and assessments
- Designs formal and informal assessments that measure student progress; employs a variety of formative and summative assessments to gauge student progress toward mastery
- Fosters student growth through structured opportunities for reflection, including Student-Led Conferences and Presentations of Learning
- Provides opportunities for student engagement through “Voice and Choice”
- Creates relevant and authentic learning experiences; is able to include and/or connect with outside experts and resources towards this aim
- Showcases student work within the community and prepares students to exhibit and communicate effectively
Responsibilities Include:
- Instructional responsibility in the content area
- Serving as faculty advisor to student robotics teams and other maker clubs
- Encouraging and facilitating participation in external competitions
- Oversight of the development and progress of each child
- Assessment of all students’ progress in both written and verbal reports
- Communication with parents
- Collaborative work with Media Lead, colleagues on grade level, departmental and interdisciplinary faculty teams, Upper School faculty and staff, and the broader school community
- Daily supervision of a lunch table
- Serve as an advisor for 6-12 students
- Contribution toward athletic and/or co-curricular programming, as assigned, in addition to classroom role (coaching 2 seasons)
- Expected to participate in the development of students outside their classrooms in typical middle school social situations like recess, the hallways, and community meetings
Required Qualifications:
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree or demonstrated professional competency
- Minimum of 3-years successful classroom teaching experience with students in this age group
- Extensive background in using technology to help solve complex problems
- Engineering skills
- Experience with relative MakerSpace equipment; 3D printer, laser cutter, CNC router
- Experience with inquiry-based learning and/or project-based learning
- A passion for learning and the ability to motivate and inspire students
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Commitment to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive school community
- Willingness to take on multiple roles within the school
- Personal traits appropriate for nurturing the growth of children - must be energetic, creative, flexible, patient, and have an inexhaustible sense of humor
Preferred Qualifications:
- Advanced degree in the field
- Capacity to teach multiple disciplines/subject areas
- Work experience outside of education
- Mentoring or advising experience (with adolescents)
- Athletic coaching experience is valued and welcome
- Demonstrated experience in establishing collaborative relationships with external partners/organizations in the design and implementation of learning experiences
Interested candidates are invited to use the link provided to submit a cover letter and resume to Raquel Salcedo, Director of Recruiting & Talent
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