Details
Posted: 12-May-22
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Type: Part Time
Required Education: 4 Year Degree
Salary: Stipend
Categories:
Science
Middle School Science Olympiad Head Coach
A Part-Time Position beginning October 1, 2022 (running through May 1, 2023)
NPES
North Park Elementary School is an independent school accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) located in Chicago's North Center-Ravenswood community. North Park serves 248 students in Preschool through 8th Grade, and is dedicated to raising confident, self-reliant individuals in partnership with families, instilling a sense of curiosity, a passion for learning, and a commitment to impacting the broader community in positive ways. North Park seeks to nurture curiosity, spark creativity, and sustain a vibrant, inclusive, community that supports all students, helping them become the best version of themselves. North Park believes that diversity is a critical source of strength for all. For more on the school’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, click here.
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is open to all interested NPES students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, with three grade-level teams forming and competing. Student enrollment in Science Olympiad takes place online in mid-October through the school’s fall clubs/activities program. There is a parent meeting after registration in late October, and a coaches’ clinic in early November. After-school practices begin in early November, with each of the three grade-level teams practicing once weekly for an hour. The season includes three meets from January through February, a regional tournament in March, and the state tournament for eighth graders in April. Including the coaches’ clinic, some longer weekend practices, and the tournaments, there are about seven Saturday morning and afternoon events. The season concludes with an awards ceremony and celebration luncheon in late April. There is one Assistant Coach to support the Head Coach and program, along with parent volunteers recruited by the Head Coach. For a sense of the topics/events middle schoolers prepare for, see this event archive, and for more on coaching Science Olympiad, click here.
Essential Duties
The Science Olympiad Coach is responsible for the facilitation of the Middle School Science Olympiad Program at NPES. The coach will develop the program and provide students with a rewarding extra-curricular team experience that will enhance their love of science and technology, as well as foster future learning success. The coach will facilitate team organization and development, weekly practices, and student competitions. In addition, the coach will research events and order/maintain materials (in collaboration with the Middle School Science Teacher), assist students to identify resources and their use, and maintain a safe environment for all. The coach will create tests for specific events, lead teams at meets hosted at other schools in the Chicagoland region and down state, and like all Science Olympiad coaches, provide grading support as needed at the meets.
North Park Elementary School is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of age, color, sex, disability, national origin, race, religion, or veteran status. NPES does not sponsor work visas.
Qualifications
- A strong and varied background in science, mathematics, and technology (Bachelor’s Degree in a science related-field preferred), with genuine curiosity about how things work
- Experience working with Middle School students
- An engaging teaching style students appreciate
- Outstanding organization, time-management, and communications skills
- Experience integrating technology into teaching and learning
- Social-emotional attunement to early adolescents and strong cultural competence, with awareness of and sensitivity to issues in diversity, equity, and inclusion
- The ability to teach students how to work collaboratively in teams, and to guide students while also letting them work with age-appropriate levels of independence
- The ability to manage and communicate with an Assistant Coach and parent volunteers
- An understanding of how to include all learners meaningfully in the program
- The ability to be detail-oriented, completing all registrations for tournaments and collaborating with the Office Manager and Director of Business and Operations in event planning
- Availability to work three times weekly after school for an hour and up to seven Saturdays during the Science Olympiad season (October through April)