Career Center

Aspen Academy, a PK-8 independent school in Greenwood Village, has an amazing opportunity for an academically well-rounded teacher who meets students where they are at and wants to lean in and help develop and implement a future-forward education program. The ideal candidate believes facilitating students pursuing their passions and forging new paths for themselves is their dream job. This position carries the primary responsibility for the implementation and development of Aspen Academy’s Enterprise Program and success of its students. This on-campus position facilitates learner-centered courses based on student-selected authentic projects or questions within different subject domains. It promotes high student agency, 21st century skill development, and meaningful personal experience while following curriculum standards. Seventh and Eighth Grade students can choose semester-long courses within the domains of Communication and Literacy, Science and Social Studies, and Mathematics. Students will receive direct instruction to develop self-regulated learning skills, and their final grades will be influenced by personal reflections, facilitator observations, teammate feedback, and authentic audience assessment. Interested? Please read on!

 Overview:

We live and model the community’s values in thought, word and deed to students, colleagues and parents and the larger community. We are palpably committed to, supportive and co-leaders in the achievement of Aspen Academy’s vision and mission.

• Our values: Be Kind. Do Good. Work Hard. Make the World Better.
• Our mission: We edify and inspire students and educators to grow, learn and lead.
• Our vision: We are a national leader in innovative and transformative education.

Is this you?

• You cultivate students’ curiosity, engagement, growth and performance in academic, intellectual, social and emotional domains.
• You are a competent, compassionate, creative, dedicated and enthusiastic professional. You are committed to growth and improvement.
• Curiosity is your natural state of being. Success to you is enabling and unleashing student potential, where students figure out how to do it themselves.  You possess a habit and practice of continual personal and professional growth.
• You are an excellent communicator, both written and verbal.
• Your strengths include time, organization and project management; and you demonstrate strong social and emotional intelligence, and cultural competency.

If this describes you, we can’t wait to meet you!

At Aspen Academy, we prepare students to enter, succeed in, and graduate from outstanding high schools.  We are committed to providing an intentionally diverse student body with an outstanding liberal arts education within the framework of an individualized education; character, leadership and entrepreneurial development; and service learning. 

If not for life, then what are we learning for?  We look at learning as a way to ignite the personal passions and interests of each and every student. Our academics, partnered with a focused leadership development sequence, prepare students for life. Students thrive as they build lasting relationships with peers and teachers through small class sizes and a community focus.

Diversity and inclusion are core to Aspen Academy. We are passionate about building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive working and learning environment.  Every member on our team enriches our community by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world. We don’t just accept difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and thrive because of it. Aspen Academy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and promotes affirmative action. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and military and veteran status.

If this inspires you, please apply to join our team.

Our Learner-Centered Program Facilitator’s Responsibilities:

Teaching

• Exhibit a solid knowledge base and enthusiasm for the core domains - Communication and Literacy, Social Studies and Science, Mathematics.
• Facilitate all courses within the Aspen Academy Enterprise Program. Communicating learning goals and feedback, establishing rules and procedures; helping students interact with new knowledge, practice and deepen new knowledge, and generate and test hypotheses; engaging students; establishing and maintaining effective relationships with students; building teams and developing a community of leaders; communicating high expectations for all students.
• Facilitate students’ exploration and access to resources relevant to their projects. Support student review and alignment with state standards. Prepare and develop activities, materials and lessons to meet the learning objectives (skills and content).  Plan and implement an appropriately focused and balanced curriculum for each student which align with standards. Enable students to organize public presentations of final outputs (e.g., events, presentations, performances, publications).
• To develop and maintain a well-managed classroom where 100% of the students are engaged, consistently challenged, and supported. Classroom policies should be consistent with school policies. Exemplifies and promotes Aspen Academy’s Values, Mission, and Vision.
• Reflect on teaching. Evaluate personal performance as well as develop and implement a professional growth plan.

Program Management

• In collaboration with the Middle School Director, effectively manage the Aspen Academy Enterprise Program vision, growth and performance and its impact on students, teachers, parents, and the community.
• Work to ensure the successful engagement, growth, performance and satisfaction of students, families, and team members as well as the growth and performance of the program and the school overall.
• Continue to develop, innovate, research and promote the program.
• Collaborate with the Middle School Director to develop, track, and achieve the program’s annual goals and objectives.
• Collegiality and Professionalism: Promote a positive environment; promote an exchange of ideas and strategies; promote our school and its community’s development.

Education, Experience, and Qualifications: 

• Required: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Preferred: postgraduate degree.
• 3-5 years of experience in learning environments, such as alternative classrooms, project-based learning, embedded learning, experiential-based learning, inquiry-based learning. Goldstar PBL experience preferred.
• Evidence of solid working knowledge of the following academic domains – science, social studies, mathematics, language arts. Preferred AMPED on Algebra
• Student group / team management experience.
• Proficient use of computer software, Google and learning management systems (Canvas preferred).
• Grant permission for a criminal background check upon hire.
• Meet physical demands to perform essential functions of the role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions: Ability to work full-time, including occasional evenings and weekends; work in person/in the school building; speak for long periods of time. Regularly required to stand; walk; use hands; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, or crouch.  Frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds; occasionally life up to 50 pounds.

Aspen Academy Enterprise Program Overview

This brand new program encompasses learner-centered courses that are organized around student-selected authentic/relevant/complex projects or questions within particular subject domains.  While connected to curriculum standards, the Project Based Learning design of these courses will also support high student agency, 21st century skill development, and meaningful personal experience.  Curiosity, collaboration, communication, critical & creative thinking will be fundamental aspects of these experiences.

Seventh and Eighth Grade students will have the option to participate in this program and choose domains of interest, including Communication and Literacy, Science and Social Studies, and Mathematics. Each course will be one semester and is divided into two 9-week sessions. As an example, for Communication and Literacy, a student would choose a 9-week Communications option, then a Literacy option for the second 9-week session.  Similarly, students would be expected to complete both a 9-week Science option and Social Studies option within one semester. Students can choose from the following:

• Communication and Literacy options include publishing or producing an original work, identifying a relevant business problem at Aspen Academy and proposing a solution, deeply exploring a literary work, or conducting a research project and explore through multiple perspectives.
• In Science, students can choose to explore an emerging technological topic, or use their imagination to create a fictional technology or scientific application. Within the domain of Social Studies, students can choose to deeply explore and create an organized and cohesive history of a topic, or explore an ethical, public policy, or governance question of their choosing.
• For the domain of Mathematics, students will take a contextual approach by applying Algebra 1 in Manufacturing Processes, Entrepreneurship and Design.  This course will use the AMPED On Algebra

Explicit direct instruction will be provided for developing the self-regulated learning skills necessary for success, including research, interviewing, project management, and more. 

Students will choose and define a final product that demonstrates understanding and aligns with Colorado state standards of subject proficiency.  Final grades will be influenced by personal reflections, facilitator observations, and teammate feedback and authentic audience assessment.

About Aspen Academy

Aspen Academy – Be Kind. Do Good. Make the world a better place. This is the only rule at our national model school and the focus of the work that we do every day. We prepare students to enter, succeed in, and graduate from outstanding high schools. We are committed to providing an intentionally diverse student body with an outstanding liberal arts education within the framework of an individualized education; character, leadership and entrepreneurial development; and service learning. Students thrive as they build lasting relationships with peers and teachers through small class sizes and a community focus. Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion are core to Aspen Academy. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working and learning environment for all students, staff, and faculty. We believe every member on our team enriches our community by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. If this inspires you, please apply to join our team.

Connections working at Aspen Academy