JOB SUMMARY

Edmund Burke School, located in Washington, D.C., seeks a creative, organized, and energetic Ceramics teacher to join the Visual Arts Department beginning in August 2025. This full time position would include teaching middle and high school classes and advising 6-8 students in the middle or high school. While most courses will be related to ceramics (handbuilding, wheel throwing, glazing and surface decorating), we welcome candidates with other interests for future courses (e.g. fiber arts, sculpture, 3-D art, mixed media, assemblage, etc.)

Depending on the skills and interest of the candidate, there may be the possibility for additional responsibilities which would qualify for stipends. The ideal candidate would have teaching experience, professional artistic accomplishment, a bachelor’s degree in the field (master’s preferred), and a commitment to ongoing professional development. 

Edmund Burke School offers a studio-based experience designed to develop within each student an understanding of the visual language of the artist and one’s own creative potential. Projects expose students to various approaches to making art, as well as the work and ideas of different artists. The Visual Arts Department welcomes lifelong learners willing to grow as teachers and mentors. Candidates should enjoy teaching young people who are authentically diverse and dynamic, have classroom experience differentiating instructional strategies, strong communication skills, facility and nimbleness with educational technologies, and a willingness to embrace modeling health and safety protocols in a school setting. The department prioritizes rotating displays of student work throughout the year in our public spaces, and the year culminates in a school-wide Art Show.

A progressive co-educational day school for grades 6-12, Edmund Burke School emphasizes a student-centered, constructivist approach to education. Committed to building a diverse, multicultural faculty, the school values open-mindedness and collegiality. We expect teachers to run equitable and energetic classes, use innovative, developmentally-appropriate classroom activities and assignments designed to engage a diverse student population, and employ appropriate technology in the classroom. Burke values the ability to use or include multicultural perspectives in classroom instruction, and expects teachers to show patience and foster a respectful, caring community. Candidates should enjoy building curriculum through collaboration with colleagues and take pleasure in the company of adolescents. Teachers at Burke join a lively, dedicated and cooperative school community. In addition, we look for teachers who can enrich Burke’s community outside the classroom, especially by coaching.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Teach trimester-long and/or year-long courses that are intellectually and creatively challenging and engaging
• Provide clear curricular expectations and create assessments that hold students accountable for their learning
• Serve as a student advisor
• Chaperone bonding trips and field trips
• Regularly attend department meetings, team meetings, and faculty and staff meetings
• Respond in a timely and informative way to phone calls and emails, generally within 48 hours
• Engage in continuing professional development
• Participate in the duty schedule for teachers
• Oversee the safe operation and maintenance of the school kiln, including loading, firing, and unloading ceramic pieces
• Coordinate student exhibitions, displays, and participate in community art projects.
• Other duties as assigned

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

Education/Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, or a related field; master’s degree preferred
• 3 years teaching experience in ceramics and pottery, including hand-building, wheel-throwing, glazing, and kiln operation.
• Familiarity and experience with different kiln types (electric, gas, or raku) and firing techniques.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Excellent communication skills
• An affinity for working with adolescents
• A willingness to learn and improve professionally
• Personal and professional experience of the discipline being taught
• Interest in extra-curricular involvement with students
• A demonstrative commitment to equity and inclusion
• Familiarity with independent schools and the progressive philosophy
• Ability to lift and carry heavy materials such as bags of clay, glaze containers, and kiln shelves (typically up to 50 lbs).

COMPENSATION 

The School follows a faculty compensation system based on years of teaching experience. A beginning teacher entering their first year of teaching is slated to earn approximately $60,000 in 2025-26 with each additional year of experience of an incoming teacher equating to roughly $1,000- $1,500 in additional base compensation. This does not include annual percentage increases approved by the Board of Trustees. Faculty have the opportunity to earn additional stipends for athletic coaching and other co-curricular duties. In addition, all full time employees are eligible for a range of benefits. Part time teachers earn a prorated salary based on this full time calculation. 

COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AND INCLUSION:

At Edmund Burke School, we have a longstanding commitment to equity and inclusion. We are dedicated to hiring people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and we honor the dignity and worth of all people. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability or handicap, veteran status, marital status or any other classification protected by law. We expect the values and work of prospective candidates to align with our mission on equity and inclusion. The culture of the Edmund Burke School aims to embrace differences, develop sensitivity to the perspectives of others, and prevent isolation of any one group of individuals.

Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume to employment@burkeschool.org 

About Edmund Burke School

Edmund Burke School Founded in 1968, Edmund Burke School is a co-ed independent college preparatory school enrolling just over 300 students in grades 6-12 (approximately 80 in the Middle School and 225 in the High School) on a city campus in Van Ness, Washington, DC. With a student / teacher ratio of 6:1 and average class size of 14, Burke is a place where each individual is known and engaged.Burke consciously brings together students who are different from one another in many ways, actively engages them in their own education, holds them to high expectations, gives them power and responsibility, and supports and advances their growth as skilled and independent thinkers who step forward to make positive contributions to the world in which they live.As progressive educators, we are committed to creating a safe, equitable and inclusive learning environment and to teaching in ways that cultivate integrity, moral reasoning, and social responsibility. We help students become advocates for themselves and others. We provide students with developmentally appropriate opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills to make our community—and the wider world—a more just place.

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