Fifth Grade Teacher

SUMMARY: Reporting to the Head of Upper Elementary, plan and implement appropriate curriculum and activities designed to promote academic, social, and emotional growth for children with varying needs, successfully communicate with children, parents, and colleagues, and demonstrate a professional demeanor as well as an ongoing interest in personal growth and professional development.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Along with co-teacher, grade-level teammates, and division colleagues, create, plan, and implement an appropriately challenging curriculum in various academic subjects for individual, small group, and large group settings that is reflective of the diversity of our families and aligned with our expressed goals around anti-bias education.
• Promote learning in the areas of academic, social-emotional, and physical development and generate children's enthusiasm to actively participate in the learning process.
• Collect information about students using a variety of informal and dynamic assessments, and provide for individual differences among students, working collaboratively with the division director, division learning specialist, math specialist, science specialist, Director of Innovation, and Director of Teaching and Learning.
• Communicate openly with co-teacher regarding shared responsibilities, delivery of curriculum, and individual student and parent needs.
• Model strong team-teaching practices and collaboration, regularly meeting with co-teacher, grade level team, division, and specialist teachers to ensure alignment of instructional vision and delivery in the classroom.
• Communicate with students in a positive manner.
• Communicate respectfully, clearly, and honestly in verbal, electronic, and written form with parents, administrators, and colleagues regarding curriculum, students, and child development issues, and maintain a sensitive, cooperative, and flexible demeanor in interactions.
• Keep current in contemporary pedagogical thinking, strategies, and techniques by regularly reading professional journals, actively participating in Upper Elementary division discussions, and regularly attending professional conferences, workshops, and courses.
• Supervise and coordinate efforts of assistant or associate teachers, interns, student teachers, and other adults involved in the delivery of curriculum to students.
• Integrate and model meaningful and appropriate use of technology within the curriculum and as a communication tool.
• Attend overnight trip experience with students.
• Positively contribute to the schoolwide community
• Regularly meet with the Head of Lower Elementary and other members of the Academic Affairs team to ensure vertical alignment of instruction to the school's mission and core values.
• Maintain and update curriculum (and lesson) guides in conjunction with grade level teams.
• Demonstrate professionalism through reliability, punctuality, and personal appearance and self-care, and maintain personal integrity and a respectful attitude in all relationships, and positively contribute to the school community.
• Provide for the physical safety of children through anticipation and removal of hazards, visual observation of children active or at rest, and by appropriately responding to injuries.
• Follow all personnel policies and the guidelines of the Emergency Response Plans, and take responsibility for students' safety in an emergency situation or drill.

QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty to the satisfaction of the administration. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Minimum of a Bachelor's degree or higher in education or a related field.

BEHAVIORAL SKILLS: Demonstrate personal integrity, friendliness, patience, fairness, openness, non-defensiveness, sensitivity, flexibility, and enthusiasm.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret written documents, professional literature, and material pertinent to child development and education. Ability to write reports, child evaluations from a developmental perspective, curricular plans, and letters. Ability to verbally present information and respond to children, parents, colleagues, and administrators in the areas of early childhood curriculum and child development, and to speak and write from a child-specific perspective. Ability to communicate effectively with parents, students, and colleagues.

TECHNICAL SKILLS: High comfort level and proficiency with technology as a teaching, learning, and communication tool. Ability to use simple tools and machines, such as copiers and laminators. Ability to use computers to write reports, compose letters and emails, create documents, and communicate with parents.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to solve practical problems and apply common sense and good judgment in dealing with everyday and emergency situations. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions: The employee is regularly required to talk and hear; to stand, walk, sit, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and climb; to use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; to reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a teacher encounters while performing the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment varies from quiet to moderate to noisy.