Career Center

Summary

Grace Church School seeks an inspiring, skilled, and experienced educator to serve as a Part-Time Literature Teacher in the High School Division.

About the School

Grace Church School is a JK–12, co-ed independent school located on two campuses in downtown New York City.  An Episcopal school, welcoming children of all faiths and of none, Grace believes in the inherent, precious dignity of every individual and seeks to provide an outstanding education worthy of our common humanity. 

Grace is a school of big ideas.  Our structured curriculum promotes academic excellence through a pedagogy of joy:  an approach that reflects our belief that stress isn’t the fuel of academic achievement but that joy is, and that students learn best when motivated by delight, wonder, curiosity, and purpose.  We work hard to nurture a culture of dignity and belonging, believing that the strength and diversity of the school enhances every aspect of our program, and we seek to foster in each student an active ethical consciousness.  Grounded in tradition, the school remains ever open to innovation, looking to the best research on the science of learning and the craft of teaching to advance the timeless values and aspirations of our mission. 

Grace Church School by the numbers

Founded:  1894

Enrollment: 799

Students of Color:  37%

Students who receive financial aid:  28%

Total Faculty:  142

Faculty of Color:  39%

Faculty with advanced degrees:  75%

About the High School Division

 In 2012, Grace’s High School Division opened its doors at 46 Cooper Square to its inaugural class, extending the school’s rich tradition and commitment to excellence in academics, arts, and athletics to the secondary school level.  The core characteristics of the school—a proven academic track record, the joy of focused learning, the warmth of a caring community, and engagement with the wider world—find broad avenues for expression in the vibrant and dynamic environment of the High School Division. 

Grace designed its High School program to provide engaging challenges, to pursue deep learning, and to support the particular needs of adolescents.  Organized in a six-day rotating schedule, with a fixed “Lab Day” each week, the curriculum affords students opportunities to develop and master a broad set of core academic skills, to pursue individual passions and interests through the year-long sophomore independent project, to take “majors” in the arts and pursue advanced topics electives in the sciences, and to enroll in advanced classes at Cooper Union and NYU.  The academic program emphasizes quality over quantity and depth over breadth, within the context of core competence and mastery. In each discipline, there are things students need to know (salient knowledge) and things they need to know how to do (essential skills), thereby preparing them for intellectual, creative, and ethical endeavors, as they go on to lead meaningful and purposeful lives. The Lab Studies program offers touchstone experiences of a Grace education, allowing students to pursue study in areas of special focus and personal interest through inquiry-based, hands-on courses that emphasize real-world, project-based learning and problem solving.  School students at Grace Church School distinguish themselves as leaders and innovators after graduating and moving on to leading colleges and universities.

About the Position

• This position begins in late August
• It entails leading one section of a tenth-grade course, Literature of the Americas 
• It generally meets three days a week for 80-minute classes
• This required course offers a survey of some of the major literary traditions in North American, Latin American, and Caribbean literature
• Core texts include The Great Gatsby, Homegoing, Minor Feelings and Shakespeare’s The Tempest
• Course goals are as follows: to help students develop their writing; to expand their capacity to discuss various major themes and genres, such as the colonial and post-colonial imagination, immigrant stories, the individual in society, dreams and realities, and the price of freedom
• The kinds of writing involved include analytical papers, reflections, short fiction, and poetry
• Interested applicants should submit a résumé and brief cover letter through the employment page of the website
• Grace is an equal opportunity employer

Faculty must be academically prepared and highly effective at teaching and designing curriculum, along with a weekly tutorial period for additional individual or small group instruction. Faculty must be adept at using technology for teaching and learning, and supporting students.

Faculty also serve as advisors in small advisory groups that meet daily.  Advisors are responsible for supporting, advising, and mentoring students through their four years of high school, helping them to understand themselves as learners and to lead their fall and spring family conferences, and to contribute to student life and the school community.  

In addition to teaching their core academic classes, all faculty teach in our Lab Studies program, focused on inquiry-driven, project-based, experiential real-world learning. Lab courses are team taught by faculty responsible for planning and co-constructing course content with their students. 

Working closely with the class dean, school counselors, college counselor, learning specialist, and high school division head, teachers are part of a collaborative, team-based structure with a high level of communication and collegiality. Active participation in a faculty culture of continuous learning, professional development, and intellectual growth is expected and supported.

• Opportunities are available to coach, direct, and lead activities in the extracurricular program, in which all students are encouraged to participate
• Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree or doctorate preferred
• To apply, visit our website and submit a cover letter and résumé
• Grace Church School is an Equal Opportunity Employer