Career Center

Our School
Westerly School is an independent, non-sectarian Kindergarten through 8th grade school focused on whole child education. Through inquiry-based pedagogy and practices, Westerly School strives to recognize and meet the needs of every individual student to ignite within each child a lifelong love of learning as they discover their full and unique potential. Founded in 1991 by a group of parents who wanted to provide an alternative to the Long Beach Unified School District education, Westerly remains the only independent school in Long Beach. Westerly currently enrolls 180 students. 

Position Description
We seek a full-time, experienced, and exemplary Lead Middle School Humanities Instructor beginning August 2022. The Lead Middle School Humanities Instructor will integrate culturally responsive pedagogy and practices into the planning, design, and implementation of Sixth through Eighth Grade Humanities. The Lead MS Humanities instructor will plan, document, and teach Humanities curriculum that incorporates multiple perspectives and adheres to the school’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-bias/anti-racism. Through inquiry and project-based pedagogy the sixth through eighth grade courses incorporate English language arts, literature, history, themes including religion, economics, philosophy, social justice, and other relevant ideas and concepts. The Humanities courses are designed to facilitate critical thinking, writing, rhetoric and student-led discussions and debate. In addition to teaching Middle School Humanities, the Lead Middle School Humanities Instructor will also play an integral role as a member of the Middle School Team, promoting and exemplifying Westerly’s core values in order to motivate and nurture the academic and social progress of students.

The ideal candidate will:

• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion both in their teaching practice and in building meaningful relationships with students, colleagues, administrators, and families in a manner consistent with the School's mission
• Work collaboratively with the Westerly Middle School team to promote lifelong learning, curiosity and inquiry among students
• Intentionally use educational technology to support student learning and ongoing communication with students and families
• Support students’ lifelong learning, curiosity and inquiry, engage all learners, and work with students to connect content to the real world in the classroom setting
• Possess an understanding of the cognitive, social, and emotional development of middle school children
• Bring enthusiasm for working with children in a school setting; participate wholeheartedly in the life of the school; and conduct themselves professionally and warmly
• Communicate frequently and clearly with colleagues, families, and students about curriculum and student progress
• Demonstrate curiosity, creativity, self-reflection, and willingness to take initiative and run with new ideas
• Demonstration of cross-cultural competence, empathy, and anti-bias/anti-racism pedagogies
• Passion for working with middle school students
• Knowledge of and experience with inquiry, and project-based learning (PBL) pedagogies
• A desire to continue to learn and develop as an educator

Essential Duties 

• Design, develop and teach culturally responsive and inquiry-based curriculum for Humanities program (Grades 6-8)
• Incorporate multiple teaching strategies to meet grade level standards and skills with inquiry and project-based pedagogy at the forefront of teaching practices
• Differentiate curriculum to appropriately challenge a wide variety of learning styles and abilities
• Use technology purposefully in the classroom to enhance learning and provide feedback to students and parents
• Use a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional and assessment methods to meet the needs of all learners and provide varied forms of feedback on learning
• Communicate regularly and frequently with families regarding student learning and class plans, i.e., weekly newsletter/week at a glance, emails, websites, etc. 
• Serve as a homeroom teacher and advisor
• Engage with students, colleagues, and parents to foster a sense of community

Qualifications:

• A./B.S. in English, History, Liberal Arts, Humanities, Education, or related field required
• A./M.Ed in English, History, Humanities, Education, or related field preferred
• California (or other state) Teaching Credential desired
• Three to five years as lead instructor in Middle School English, History, or Humanities preferred
• Familiarity with “Learning for Justice : A Framework for Anti-bias Education”
• Excellent communication skills, including writing, speaking, and clear articulation of thoughts, ideas, and plans

Salary is commensurate with experience.  In addition to salary, the school offers all full-time employees a retirement plan with matching contributions, medical, life, dental, disability insurance, and optional vision insurance.

Applicants should submit the following with their application materials:

• Cover letter explaining why they are particularly interested in and qualified for this position
• A current resume
• A statement of educational philosophy
• Applicants, please submit a cover letter, resume, and at least 3 written letters of recommendation to:
  Toni DiNapoli, Director of Finance and Facilities, at tdinapoli@westerlyschool.org with "Humanities Instructor - (your name)" written in the subject line.

Westerly School is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit.  School policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on age, color, creed, disability, gender, marital status, national origin or ancestry, race, religion, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, a medical condition including genetic characteristics, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.