Boston, Massachusetts
Emeryville, California
Posted: 25-Nov-24
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Type: Full Time
Salary: 25000
Categories:
Required Education:
Summary
Albuquerque Academy seeks a cohort of teaching fellows for the 2025-26 academic year. Albuquerque Academy is looking to engage candidates who embrace a growth mindset in their approach to education and will bring that perspective to teaching and advising in our 6-12 program. Successful candidates are eager to grow as new educators and eager to embrace experiences in all aspects of school life: teaching, advising, coaching, immersive school trips, and leading extracurricular activities. They intend to become career educators. They also demonstrate a dedication to collaboration with their colleagues and a creative and flexible approach to curriculum design and instruction. In addition to teaching two classes, candidates will also attend a class taught by their mentor teacher for the full school year. They will meet regularly with their mentor teacher to discuss all aspects of their own classroom work and their observations of other classes. At least for the first semester, most teaching fellows will follow the curriculum laid out by their mentor teacher. Diversity is a core value at Albuquerque Academy, and we seek candidates who demonstrate an abiding commitment to equity and belonging.
Candidates specifically interested in the Experiential Education Department Teaching Fellow listing, please see the separate job posting on the Human Resources website; this will be posted in late January.
All teachers at Albuquerque Academy approach their work in accordance with the values in our mission and in a spirit of kindness, professionalism, generosity, and civility to all members of the community. An education at the Academy focuses on the whole child, and teachers and administrators are expected to teach well and also to function as adult mentors for students, in and out of the classroom. Our community norms, listed below, underlie our school culture, and all community members are expected to commit themselves fully to them.
- Value and respect the diverse contributions of each person in the community.
- Assume positive intent and inquire if you are left with questions or concerns.
- Engage in face-to-face direct conversations; be clear, open, and honest in your conversations.
- Be present and participate.
Strong candidates are attracted to our mission and see themselves as engaged community members. They will need to create and implement relevant curriculum and varied assessments for their classes. Outside the classroom, our teachers work with students in ways that foster their growth and development into effective community members. The teacher’s daily activities include classroom teaching, advising, being available to students for assistance, supporting extracurricular activities, and serving the school community in a variety of other ways. Teaching fellows are directly supervised by their mentor teacher, their department chair, and their division head.
The teaching fellow will commit to full participation in all aspects of the teaching fellows program, including: regular seminars on a variety of aspects of school life with the associate head of school, professional development opportunities with the rest of the faculty as well as those designed especially for the teaching fellows cohort, and serving as a co-faculty sponsor in at least one immersive experience for students. Fellows should thrive in a collaborative setting with their cohort of beginning teachers as well as their departmental and divisional faculty. Successful fellows will seek out direct feedback and value all aspects of the mentoring offered in this position. The school commits to helping the teaching fellows embark on a job search for the following year. Should there be an opening at the Academy, fellows are welcome to apply, but there is no guarantee of future employment with Albuquerque Academy. The teaching fellows program is a one-year position.
Additionally, Teaching Fellows will participate as teachers and advisers in the Academy’s “Bridge Program,” an academic and social preparation and orientation experience for rising sixth-grade students that takes place before school begins in early August. Teaching fellows will have flexibility in terms of their presence on campus before August, when they will need to be physically present to participate in training and then work with students. July should be used for preparation and planning for the start of the school year, to include some meetings (can be remote) to work with their mentor-teacher and department chair. The stipend for the Fellows program is $25,000; fellows are considered full-time employees (40 hours per week) and are therefore eligible for the full array of benefits. Fellows should expect to be on campus during the school day, and sometimes after and before school for meetings.
Albuquerque Academy seeks to maintain a diverse and energetic faculty to work with over 1100 highly capable students, including over 50% students of color. We encourage applications from groups traditionally underrepresented in independent school communities.
The position is open until filled, and applicants are asked to submit a letter of interest, resume, and three professional references, including at least one supervisor, along with their online application.
Essential Functions
- Understand, champion, and apply the Academy’s mission.
- Strive to inspire a love of learning in students.
- Teach two sections of a course in their discipline during the academic school year.
- Initially follow the curriculum or their mentor teacher for the first quarter or semester of the year.
- Invite and value regular and consistent observations of their teaching by their mentor teacher, department chair, and others.
- Observe their mentor teacher regularly; most often they will be in the classroom with their mentor teacher every time the designated course meets.
- Create, develop, and implement relevant curriculum, teaching and learning objectives, and varied assessments that support the needs of students in collaboration with their mentor teacher during the latter half of the year.
- Co-lead an advisory group with a veteran teacher and engage fully in the divisional advising curriculum.
- Demonstrate content knowledge and expertise; scaffold curriculum to ensure progress towards mastery.
- Implement a wide array of pedagogical tools and strategies in appropriate and effective combinations.
- Seek to implement “backward design” to align all lessons, activities, and assessments.
- Design formal and informal assessments that measure student progress; employ a variety of formative and summative assessments to gauge student progress toward mastery.
- Communicate effectively with students/families about classwork, learning goals, and student progress.
- Provide timely feedback to students, and collaborate with others to offer individualized support in pursuit of each student’s learning goals.
- Provide opportunities for student engagement through differentiated instruction and student choice.
- When appropriate, showcase student work within the community and prepare students to exhibit and communicate effectively.
- Identify and support students’ social, emotional, and academic needs.
- Set high expectations for student learning, academic achievement, and character development.
- Make student-centered decisions and serve as a role model to students.
- Work productively with parents, administrators, and colleagues when student academic or behavioral concerns arise.
- Foster student growth through structured opportunities for self-reflection.
- Serve as a substitute teacher occasionally when asked to do so by the department chair.
- Teach in the summer Bridge Program.
- Adhere to the community norms set by the school, listed above.
- Foster and maintain a culture of mutual respect, equitable practice, and joy, in and out of the classroom. Demonstrate cultural competence and communicate and collaborate effectively across differences.
- Assist in at least one student immersion trip, e.g., Experiential Education day hike.
- Demonstrate openness to feedback from their mentor teacher, department chair, division head, and instructional coach; actively seek feedback and value mentoring.
Other Responsibilities
- Attend lunch, provided free to faculty, to help to monitor the dining hall.
- Engage actively in departmental, divisional, and teaching fellows meetings, professional development, and other activities.
- Attend and support divisional or school activities including other duties such as chaperoning dances, monitoring supervised study hall, proctoring standardized tests, etc.
- Continue to advance their own understanding of curricula and pedagogy by participating in the school and department’s professional growth and development plan.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Education
- A bachelor’s degree is required.
Knowledge/Skills/Abilities
- Commitment to and passion for education and young people
- A growth mindset
- Commitment to a career in education
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Capacity to work independently, collaboratively, and on a team.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong organizational and presentation skills
- Strong organizational skills and time-management skills.
- Computer skills including desktop publishing, and Microsoft Office software, learning management systems, and online teaching techniques.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Working Environment
- Generally, teaching is performed indoors in a classroom or office setting.
- Hours are generally from 8:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. from mid-August to late May.
- Coaching, extracurricular, or other chaperoning/sponsoring duties may take place outdoors and may extend into pre-school hours, the late afternoon/evening, or weekends.
Physical Demands
Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times. Must be able to traverse school facility and lead students to safety in the event of an emergency. Involves long periods of standing/sitting. Frequently involves carrying textbooks and classroom supplies, communicating/speaking, retrieving files and supplies, writing, using a computer, and reading for preparing daily teaching and grading.