Searching The Globe for a World Languages Teacher

Do you favor an educational process that backs diverse high school students in their search to discover their gifts and passions and then nurturing those gifts and passions? Does that sound better to you than rote instruction based on standardized tests and curricula?

Do you like the notion of enabling students to explore and examine their lives and the world around them through language and culture? Do you think Spanish and other languages can be taught in cross-curricular experiences that are meaningful to teens that are actively working on reengaging themselves in their own education? Does a boarding school that bases its ”disciplinary action” on relationships and mutual respect resonate with you?

If you answered yes to those questions, consider applying for our latest job opening: World Languages Instructional Specialist.

At Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center (PDC), our instructional specialists work together to develop empowering active-learning opportunities for our students. We care about each other’s success and our student’s experience, and the way we work constantly and consistently leads to innovations that have an impact at our school and beyond.

That means we’re not only committed to our students here at Eagle Rock, but we learn from those experiences in order to contribute to progressive secondary school reform efforts across the country. Take a look at the Eagle Rock website so you can have a better understanding of what it is we do here for the school and the professional development center.

If you like what you see, that’s great. Because we’ll be honest with you: What we offer at Eagle Rock School and through our professional development center isn’t for everybody. If you’re fairly unwavering in your belief that students need to be “taught lessons,” or that you think instructors should follow a set of standard curriculum documents, or that learning should only occur during the traditional school day, working at Eagle Rock is not for you.

The same goes if you’re looking for a job rather than a lifestyle. You just can’t squeeze into that fit. But if you’ve got boundless energy, an inherent trust in the ability of the students themselves, a passion for individual expression through reading and writing, a deep desire to work on school wide initiatives and with individual students, and you have ambitions to impact secondary education nationally, we want to hear from you.

And now for the specifics: The official job title is World Languages Instructional Specialist, and you’ll report to our director of curriculum. If you’re interested in applying, you need to submit by the March 28, 2016 deadline, a brief cover letter, your resume, a brief skills self-assessment that indicates results produced in each of the three major areas of responsibility listed in the full job description on our employment page, and three professional references with phone numbers and email addresses for each.

This information should be sent to info at eaglerockschool dot org on or before the 28th of March. No offense, but we don’t want to talk to you by phone during this process, and no paper or faxed materials will be considered. However, if you have a clarifying question about the position, you may send them to Jen Frickey, Director of Curriculum, at jenfrickey ateaglerockschool dot org.

If you are thinking about applying, we do require that you to have a BA/BS degree (but in all truth, a master’s is preferred). You should also have extensive experience working with adolescents; strong organizational and leadership skills; and a desire and ability to reform educational practices. Helpful would be an ability to work collaboratively both inside and outside the classroom and experience working with diverse populations including a mix of LGBTQ students; students from low-income backgrounds; and students from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. At Eagle Rock, many of our students have not found success in traditional educational settings.

A sense of humor helps, along with visionary thinking, seasoned judgment, strong interpersonal skills and a deep love of working with high school students.

Specific to this job, we’re looking for someone with strong speaking, writing and teaching skills in Spanish, with native Spanish speakers strongly encouraged to apply. You should also have experience with best practices of world languages instruction, such as Total Physical Response (TPR), immersion method, the Natural Approach, Organic Language Acquisition method, and/or blended learning.

And, of course, teaching in mixed-ability classrooms with various levels of language proficiency — from novice to native speakers — is an asset, as is experience with interdisciplinary curriculum design, backwards curriculum design, experiential education, differentiated instruction, project-based learning, and the Understanding by Design process.

For more information, including job responsibilities, please visit our online employment page: http://eaglerockschool.org/about-us/employment.