High School English Language Arts (ELA) Teacher Pool, Salem High School, Salem Public Schools SY2024-2025

About Salem Public Schools, Where Belonging Leads To Opportunity.

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students across our 11 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do. Over the next three years (2023-2026), we are committed to the work outlined by the four core priorities in our strategic plan: 1) Elevate Learning; 2) Empower Educators; 3) Center Belonging; and 4) Strengthen Our Foundation. We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. Applicants who have experience working in urban schools and settings and are bilingual are strongly encouraged to apply.

What You’ll Do

The position of English Language Arts (ELA) teacher at Salem High School is an excellent opportunity to provide students with high-quality, accessible standards-based instruction. The ELA teacher will guide and support students in developing competencies in the structure of ELA by implementing the District approved curriculum.

Role Responsibilities

Make ELA content accessible to diverse learners and promote learning for all students.

Skills

The ELA teacher will develop and implement standards-based unit plans with an emphasis on student mastery of content and skills. Integral to this role is monitoring students’ progress and pace by using formative and summative assessments directly linked to the learning goals; scaffolding instruction, supports, and pacing so that all learners can master the content; and supporting high expectations for achievement by providing teacher corrective feedback, opportunities for practice, revision, and improvement. In addition the ELA teacher:

• Identifies underachieving students in need of support in the areas of ELA by using the district assessments plan
• Evaluates each students’ progress in ELA knowledge and skills
• Prepares teaching materials and related reports for the purpose of implementing lesson plans and documenting student progress
• Participates in in-service programs to enhance the overall educational experience for students
• Assists students, individually or in groups, with lesson assignments to present or reinforce learning concepts
• Provides structure in the classroom by promoting a positive classroom environment that is conducive to learning
• Works under the general supervision of the building principal and/or other designated administrator, manages student behavior, assesses and evaluates student achievement
• Additional duties may be assigned
  
  

Essential Attributes

• Holds an unwavering belief that every student in Salem can grow and succeed
• Skilled in providing equitable access to the curriculum, particularly in underserved populations
• Able to work collaboratively and flexibly as part of a building team
• Has a strong work ethic, is self-directed, and has the ability to work independently
• Self-reflects and accepts feedback with a growth mindset
  
  

What You’ll Bring

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission and are highly motivated to change children’s lives through education. You’ll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work and the people around you to the next level. We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.
• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues – You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.
• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families – You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS. You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.
• Embrace feedback – You are a reflective practitioner who learns from mistakes and challenges and uses them as opportunities for professional development. You model persistence and growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.
  
  

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree (Required) Master’s Degree preferred
• Required Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure in English 5-12
• Experience with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs preferred
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement (Required within 1-year of start date)
• Ability to meet the expectations of the Massachusetts Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice
• Safety Care Trained, or willing to be trained (District provides)
• Proficiency with technology (blended learning, teacher/family communication suites (Remind preferred), Google G-Suite Apps, etc.) desirable.
• Maintain professional competence through in-service education activities provided by the District, and/or in self-selected professional growth activities.
• Minimum of 2 years teaching experience and working in an urban public school or charter school setting preferred.
• Second language (Spanish and/or Portuguese) proficiency a plus
• Bilingual candidates and candidates of color strongly encouraged to apply
• Current authorization to work in the United States
  
  

Work Year: Teachers in Salem Public Schools work a 185 day school year (180 student contact days plus 5 professional development days. Please visit www.salemk12.org to view the 2024-25 district and/or school calendar.

Salary: Teacher salaries in the Salem Public Schools are determined by the Salem Teachers Union collective bargaining agreement. Salary information can be found in Appendix A.

Benefits: The City of Salem offers Group Insurance Commission (GIC) benefits to all full-time employees. Click here for more information about our health benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, housing status, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.