Mission Statement: The Growing Up Green Charter School (GUGCS) supports children to be conscious, contributing members of their community through a rigorous, anti-racist, anti-bias, curriculum and engaging green culture. Graduates of GUGCS will be prepared to attend high-performing schools where their interdisciplinary academic foundation, knowledge of sustainability, and a strong sense of self set them apart as leaders and social justice advocates of the future.
School Culture: GUGCS teaches students our school culture through our core values: Social Justice, Collaboration, Courage, and Kindness. Students are taught the core values through assemblies, class meetings, and various lessons.
General Responsibilities
Learning Environment
Guide and support the Growing Up Green school community in fulfilling its mission and charter goals.
Establish and maintain ongoing positive relationships and constructive interactions with students, families, colleagues, and administration in and across elementary school campuses.
Regularly collaborate with all other CIT Members and School Leaders through meetings, conference calls, co-observations, and school visits.
Support teachers in creating a rich learning environment with access to diverse literature, content-specific manipulatives, and anchor charts.
Demonstrate commitment to working with diverse populations of families and students and model behavior which depicts respect and a feeling for the dignity and worth for all students, staff, and families.
Curriculum and Instruction
Create, refine, adapt, curate, and pace commercial and "Growing Up Green-developed" Common-Core aligned curricular products that form the basis of the experiential, inquiry-based literacy program with an emphasis on culturally responsive and anti-racist pedagogy and meaningful connections to sustainability and Green Principles in grades K-4.
Develop materials and support or lead professional development for various members of the teaching staff, focusing on literacy content and the highest fidelity implementation of the literacy curricula.
Regularly coach teachers around the conceptual understanding of literacy concepts and facilitation of inquiry-based literacy instruction.
Demonstrate an understanding of effective literacy teaching and encourage teachers in applying these practices before, during, and after lessons.
Work closely with the School Leaders and the Support Services team to provide guidance to teachers on differentiating content and monitoring student progress.
Facilitate the integration of literacy concepts/skills/strategies / technology into classrooms.
Keep abreast of current research in literacy and maintain a collection of professional learning materials.
Coordinate the management of literacy materials to support the curriculum.
Plan and manage experiential learning opportunities through trips, residencies, and other mediums.
Assessment
Monitor students' academic performance relative to the absolute, comparative, and value-added goals as noted in the GUGCS charter.
Design and monitor literacy assessments to evaluate student performance and progress.
Demonstrate and communicate knowledge of how to administer literacy assessments and how to interpret the results of each assessment.
Use assessment data to discuss student progress, modify unit plans, inform groupings, target specific instructional practices, and support student learning in literacy.
Facilitate and support faculty in the evaluation of student learning based on assessment data.
Staff Development
Model lessons for faculty in the implementation of the physical, organizational, and instructional components that constitute a quality literacy program.
Utilize academic data to adjust and focus on curricula, instruction, assessment, and professional development.
Guide and support faculty by observing, coaching, encouraging, and providing constructive and actionable feedback as they organize for and implement instruction around literacy.
Organize and facilitate collaborative opportunities for faculty to reflect on and analyze literacy instruction.
Conduct meaningful and well-planned staff development such as, and including, workshops and/or book studies for professional development in elements of literacy instruction, effective instructional practices, and the integration of literacy and other content areas.
Reinforce literacy concepts and skills in the content areas by addressing various learning styles and including integrated learning, interdisciplinary connections, and higher-order thinking skills appropriate for a wide range of abilities.
Parent and Community Engagement
Develop and lead parent workshops around literacy and effective instructional strategies used at Growing Up Green.
Provide teachers with Family Letters to accompany each Unit.
Related Professional Responsibilities
Build positive and efficient working relations with the Growing Up Green CIT Members, leadership teams, and teachers.
Actively help establish and participate in the school community through weekly staff meetings, PD opportunities, staff committees, select school events, etc.
Attend workshops and conferences to support the growth of GUGCS and remain current about issues related to literacy curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Fulfill duties, responsibilities, and commitments as outlined in the GUGCS faculty handbook.
Recommend annual refinements to the literacy program based on network trends, feedback from school-based leadership, and research of best practices.
In collaboration with other members of the CIT and school-based leadership, participate in literacy content walkthroughs and implementation visits to monitor the implementation of the literacy program.
Collect and analyze videos of exemplary teaching practices around the strong implementation of literacy instruction and curate an initial body of annotated student work.
In collaboration with other members of the CIT, proactively communicate important curriculum and assessment information to relevant stakeholders.
Give and receive feedback with radical candor.
Qualifications and Experience:
Strong commitment to Growing Up Green Charter School's mission and sustainability
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with administrators and teachers
Proven track record for achieving literacy results using an inquiry-based approach
Experience in early phonic instruction
Demonstrated ability and/or desire to coach teachers (e.g., mentor teacher, lead teacher, etc.)
Knowledge of Responsive Classroom and/or Developmental Designs
Strong knowledge of Culturally Responsive Practices
Experience in environmental education a plus
Experience in implementing the Science of Reading a plus
Ability in integrating technology into teaching
Excellent organizational skills
Starting salary is $90,000 (commensurate with experience)
Education
Bachelor's Degree required. Master's Degree in specific content preferred
5+ years of classroom teaching experience, grades K-5