Career Center

THE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE

LOWER SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL POSITION

JULY 1, 2022

Devoted to intellectual inquiry, a collaborative spirit of learning, and an appreciation for the diversity of human experience, The Park School of Baltimore is a community founded on positive expectations of our students and respect for individual differences. We cultivate children’s innate curiosity by nurturing their interests and engaging them as active participants in their own education. We support young people in becoming confident questioners and responsible citizens of the world. ~The Park School Mission

The Park School is a non-sectarian, independent, coeducational day school of 845 students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. Founded in 1912 as one of the early progressive schools, The Park School continues to practice a distinct educational philosophy. The core values today, as in 1912, are a belief in children’s capacity to love learning, to grow academically and emotionally when inspired by highly qualified, caring teachers, and to develop self-discipline, confidence, and creative problem-solving skills through deep exploration and constant challenge. At every grade level, from Pre-Kindergarten through Upper School, Park actively encourages questioning and conversation as essential elements of the learning process. The school philosophy emphasizes a belief in positive expectations and expects that students, as they mature, will take increasing responsibility for their own learning. The Position: The Park School seeks a dedicated, experienced lower school educator for the position of Lower School Assistant Principal. The start date for this twelve-month administrative position is July 1, 2022. The Lower School Assistant Principal works closely with the Lower School Principal, offering consultation and support on a variety of issues and handling a range of administrative tasks. Specific responsibilities include scheduling, supporting faculty, students and families, observing classroom instruction and providing faculty feedback, coordinating major divisional events, overseeing the extended day program, coordinating curricular work, and the hiring and coordinating of substitute teachers and extended day staff.

Qualifications:

A passionate commitment to the education of lower school children is essential. Specifically, we are seeking candidates who demonstrate the following:

•  Orientation to progressive philosophy and teaching methods
• Formal training in primary or lower school education (MA/MAT/M.Ed. preferred)
•  Classroom experience at lower school level (5+ years minimum)
• Understanding of child development
• Experience with differentiation of instructional strategies and materials
•  Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Commitment to an inclusive community of teachers, students, and parents; restorative justice training and experience a plus
• Flexibility needed to respond to unanticipated needs
• Strong interpersonal skills to work collaboratively with a broad range of faculty Leadership in working on curriculum development with faculty
• Candidates from diverse backgrounds and/or who have experience in cultural competency work are strongly encouraged to apply

Context:

Park’s Lower School Park’s Lower School is committed to progressive principles of education. Respect for children and confidence in their natural capacity to learn, and to enjoy learning, are key. The program at all grade levels centers on experiential learning within an integrated curriculum. Our approach emphasizes open-ended inquiry and problem solving, collaborative projects, and exposure to a wide range of learning activities and materials, anchored by a focus on essential understandings and attention to basic skills. Administrators and faculty collaborate in developing programs to meet students’ academic and social/emotional needs. The faculty role is a fully professional one: in addition to taking full responsibility for students’ learning in core subject areas and their emotional growth, classroom teachers individually and collectively are the creators of the curriculum. With oversight by the Lower School Principal, they engage in ongoing curriculum development and review, both as grade level teams and in cross-grade level and division-wide initiatives. Faculty and administrators are also very involved in divisional and school-wide diversity initiatives. The Lower School at Park includes grades Pre-Kindergarten through fifth, with an enrollment of 270 students and 42 faculty members. The Lower School administrative team includes the Principal, Assistant Principal, 2 Learning Resource Teachers, and a School Counselor. There are three Kindergarten classes (one younger and two older groups) and three sections of grades one through five. Each classroom teacher is responsible for a section of 15-17 students. Specialist teachers provide instruction in Art, Music, Spanish, Physical Education, Library, and Computer.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: Park salaries and benefits are highly competitive with those in area independent schools. For new appointments, salaries reflect experience and training equated to Park’s scales. In addition to normal retirement and health benefits, the school offers the following distinctive programs:

Faculty & Curricular Advancement (FACA) Program:

This program supports summer professional work by faculty on a distinctive scale. Established in 1989, FACA is supported by a $5.6 million dollar endowment; currently, over 40% of all Park faculty participate annually. Grants provide compensation and benefits for group or individual projects selected through a formal review process. Most grants are for four weeks; some are for shorter periods. At times, administrators participate in, or serve as consultants for FACA projects. As twelve month employees, they do not receive additional compensation.

Tuition Remission:

Under current policy, employees who have been at Park full-time for two years are eligible to receive full tuition remission for their children who attend Park. All applicants, including children of employees, must meet Park’s standards for admission. (During the first two years of employment, employees can apply for support through the need-based financial assistance program.)

Application Process: Due to the large volume of incoming resumes, we cannot accept phone calls. Interested candidates are asked to send a letter of interest, personal statement, resume and list of references via email or US mail.

Contact Person:

Priscilla Morales Associate Head of School

The Park School of Baltimore

2425 Old Court Road Baltimore, MD 21208

FAX (410) 339-4125

academicresources@parkschool.net

The Park School of Baltimore does not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, ancestry, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or any physical or mental disability unrelated to a reasonable performance of an employee's duties.