Elective Teacher

Description

 Full-Time - 10 Month Contract 

Reports To: Principal

Supervisory Responsibilities: No 

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mission 

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School's mission is to empower young adults (18-20 year-olds) to develop skills and connect to opportunities by fostering an environment of love, support, and respect for their whole person. Students graduate high school and successfully transition to college and career as critically conscious leaders, committed to positive change for themselves and their communities.

Vision

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School provides an outstanding alternative education that activates the capacity of all students to learn, achieve and grow. YBPCS will be recognized as a model of authentic experiential learning, not only among programs serving out-of-school youth, but also among all high-achieving schools and youth programs in the country.

High expectations, a nurturing climate, personalized culture and rigorous real world learning experiences ensures that graduates are poised for life-long learning and career advancement. It is our vision that YouthBuild graduates will emerge as highly accomplished, self-sufficient, self aware and socially conscious citizens. Graduates will be energized about their futures and build support networks for their personal, social and emotional health and well-being.

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School will maximize its capacity to engage each student’s passion, tap into his or her individual potential and provide him or her with real opportunities for personal and professional transformation.

Values

YBPCS’ values are deeply held and come from a love of humanity and a perspective that views each student as a community asset. The programs three core values - respect, excellence and perseverance – are reinforced through all aspects of the program.

Impact Statement

Young people in Philadelphia who are disconnected will build skills and access resources and opportunities to achieve economic stability and personal development, and become critically conscious leaders within their communities.

Job Summary: 

Teachers at YouthBuild are creative, flexible and passionate about seeing all students succeed.  As part of an unapologetically comprehensive organization, they balance their academic responsibilities with facilitating students’ holistic self-development.  Using a strengths-based approach, they focus on engaging students and developing their self awareness, critical consciousness and confidence as lifelong learners. We expect our teachers to model developing self awareness, critical consciousness and lifelong learning.  Particularly, they are explicitly committed to taking steps to be actively anti-racist, and to confront anti-blackness in educational practice.

Working at YouthBuild is joyful, challenging and inspiring.  Teachers have the autonomy to design meaningful curriculum within a social justice context, aligned to core transferable competencies.  Beyond their classrooms, they participate in a warm, loving culture that uses a variety of structures to build community, including a restorative-justice approach to discipline, weekly community meetings, and school-wide service projects.  Teachers are supported in all aspects of their job, and are encouraged to always continue growing into their best professional selves.

Responsibilities and Duties: 

In general, teachers at YouthBuild:

• create a positive learning environment built on strong relationships   
• design learner-centered units that develop transferable competencies and culminate with “demonstrations” (projects) that showcase students’ original work 
• use instructional strategies where student voice and thinking are the primary focus and content coverage is secondary
• develop learning experiences that emphasize soft skills like collaboration, reflection and revision 

YouthBuild’s Elective teacher focuses on engaging students through hands-on activities that build skills of inquiry and observation in areas like citizen science and makerspace projects.  The elective teacher also supports students developing research and advocacy skills through a science lens.  

Beyond the classroom:  

• act as formal mentor to 4 – 5 students, forging empowering relationships that ensure that the students they coach stay connected and on track  
• work in inter-departmental teams to support the success of a group of twenty five students as they move through our rigorous program 
• participate in a highly collaborative, fluid school culture that requires strong interpersonal skills and flexibility

Requirements

• Certification in General Science (would consider other Science Certifications)
• 3 -5 years teaching experience
• Demonstrated commitment to focusing on scientific thinking and processes rather than any specific content
• Ability to evaluate and design curriculum
• Experience with and commitment to positive youth development
• Creative, innovative approaches to curriculum and instruction
• Demonstrated commitment to continual professional growth

Common Competencies:

• Mission driven to work with YB’s student body
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Office skills
• Intermediate to advanced Google Suite skills
• Commitment to social justice
• Demonstrated values that align to restorative practices
• Willingness to prioritize data collection, analysis, and sharing
• Willingness to reflect on impact data and incorporate that information into routine decision-making

Clearance Requirements:

• FBI - Criminal History Report
• PATCH - Pennsylvania Police Department - Criminal Background Check (and/or applicable based on State of residency)
• PA Child Abuse History Clearance
• TB Test Results
• Act 24 - Arrest Conviction Form
• NSOPW - National Sex Offender Clearance

How to Apply: 

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by this employee..

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, medical condition, veteran status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.