Johns Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Posted: 17-Jun-25
Location: Johns Island, South Carolina
Type: Full Time
Salary: DOE
Categories:
About Charleston Collegiate:
Charleston Collegiate School (CCS) is an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian day school serving students from PK through 12th grade. Situated on a picturesque 60-acre campus of playing fields, wooded trails, and an outdoor education center, CCS is located on Johns Island—just 20 minutes from Charleston’s historic district and the beach resorts of Kiawah and Seabrook Islands. Founded in 1970, CCS fosters a challenging and supportive learning community that recognizes, nurtures, and challenges its diverse student body. Organized into Lower School (PK-5), Middle School (6-8), and Upper School (9-12), the school’s mission is to empower students through a student-centered approach that emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and individuality. With approximately 400 students, CCS is Charleston’s only independent PK-12 school of its kind, providing a unique education grounded in the pillars of project-based learning, entrepreneurship, arts and creativity, and outdoor education. These foundational elements equip students to become lifelong learners and resilient leaders ready for 21st-century careers.
Job Summary:
The Wilderness Survival Skills and Environmental Sustainability teacher is a key member of the Upper & Middle School faculty. This teacher is responsible for teaching outdoor education courses that focus on wilderness survival skills and sustainability topics through a hands-on, grade-level appropriate curriculum that extensively uses the school’s outdoor spaces and outdoor-education classroom. Ideal candidates will have a proven track record teaching at middle and high school levels with a particular emphasis on developing success skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and independence through experiential and student-centered learning. The ideal candidate will be an experienced educator and outdoors person who can build meaningful and healthy relationships, create engaging opportunities for student growth, and collaborate effectively, efficiently, and professionally.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The Wilderness Survival Skills and Environmental Sustainability teacher builds students’ wilderness survival skills and knowledge of environmental sustainability by designing engaging projects and hands-on learning experiences:
- Stay informed on best practices in environmental sustainability and wilderness survival skill building
- Teach courses that build wilderness survival skills that include but are not limited to wilderness awareness, navigation, firecraft, water procurement, shelter building, wilderness first aid, food procurement, wildlife awareness, emergency signaling, and risk management.
- Include in courses opportunities to increase knowledge of environmental sustainability concepts at the local, regional, and global levels in a grade-level appropriate progression from middle to upper school.
- Ensure a safe learning environment by teaching proper equipment use and care of the Outdoor Education Center.
- Take an active role in supporting the school’s mission by championing students’ love for outdoor exploration and personal growth through active participation and leadership opportunities in clubs and other extracurricular opportunities.
- Lead an Adventure-based Winterim for Middle or Upper School
- Assist as a Middle or Upper School Advisor
- Demonstrate skill as a facilitator of experiential education and project-based learning, especially in designing outdoor experiences that include opportunities for students to engage with the local community.
- Establish a safe, inclusive, and organized classroom that promotes creativity, critical thinking, independence, communication, and problem-solving, while setting clear norms for giving and receiving feedback.
- Scaffold instruction to meet individual student needs, using skills-based curriculum aligned with the CCS Core Values: advocacy, community, empathy, integrity, and optimism.
- Communicate effectively with families and colleagues in person, by phone, and through email to provide updates on student progress, successes, and challenges.
- Be creative, energetic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial with a positive ‘can-do’ attitude and growth mindset
Outdoor Education Co-curricular Programming Responsibilities
- Assist the Director of Auxiliary programs to coordinate the programming of OEC co-curricular activities, including after school and summer programs, that focus on environmental sustainability and/or wilderness survival skills (e.g. backpacking, camping, kayaking, climbing, etc.)
Qualification Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in related field; master’s degree preferred
- Successful track record working with students and parents
- Possess a deep commitment to equity and diversity, CCS core values, and educational pillars.
- Outstanding interpersonal skills and a dedication to a high level of confidentiality
- Exceptional written and oral communication
- Excellent organizational skills
- Detail-oriented and able to work collaboratively
- Strong work ethic and high level of integrity
- Technologically savvy, experienced, and willing
- High-energy and enthusiastic about working in an academic atmosphere
For more information and to apply visit www.charlestoncollegiate.org or contact Head of Upper School, Gareth Griffith, at ggriffith@charlestoncollegiate.org and/or Head of Lower/Middle Schools, Alicia FaJohn, at afajohn@charlestoncollegiate.org