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Windward School
Windward School, a grade 7-12 college-preparatory, independent day school in vibrant West Los Angeles, seeks an experienced educator to join our English Department as a Full-Time teacher. Windward faculty and administrative leaders continually seek best practices and educational partnerships to help our students and faculty pursue their passions, engage in cutting edge work, and lead meaningful lives.
Windward’s mission, as a college-preparatory school, is to challenge each student to achieve academic excellence in a nurturing environment. Windward teachers, parents, and administrators work as a team to encourage each student to be responsible, caring, well, informed, ethical and prepared, thus promoting the fullest development of the individual.
The School is looking for a dynamic, innovative teacher to join our collaborative English Department. In addition to teaching three sections of English, the new member of the team will teach and coach Speech and Debate.
The successful candidate will have experience with collaborative curriculum design–ideally with a critical knowledge of Understanding by Design–as well as teaching experience at both the middle and upper school levels. Teaching responsibilities will include three sections with two preparations.
In the English Department, students and teachers work together to deepen skills and understandings in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. We read a variety of challenging texts to promote critical thinking and stimulate reflection, including prose—both fiction and nonfiction—poetry, and drama. In partnership with reading texts closely and writing across a range of genres, students cultivate increasingly dynamic rhetorical skills, particularly as discussion participants. Courses support and challenge students to better understand their own learning processes and to acquire increasingly sophisticated strategies as learners. Teachers should be able to teach grades 7-12, with an expected focus on grades 7-10.
The successful candidate will also have experience teaching and coaching debate. The responsibilities for this position will include teaching the Middle School and Upper School Debate classes and taking each group of students to weekend debate tournaments and after school scrimmages. Speech and Debate classes are part of Windward’s elective program, with each class meeting 2 days per week.
Middle School students participate in Parliamentary Debate. Upper School students have participated in Parliamentary Debate, Lincoln Douglas debate, as well as Speech events, including Interpretive, Original Oratory, and Extemporaneous.
Summary of Major Responsibilities
English Teacher
● Teach three sections of English, predominantly in grades 7-10
● Design and coordinate curriculum with other members of the department and liaise with other departments
● Monitor and evaluate students’ progress, prepare for parent conferences, craft narrative feedback for students, etc.
● Exhibit knowledge of current trends, pedagogy, research, and topics of importance in language arts education by applying it in the classroom and sharing it with teachers on a departmental and school-wide basis
● Participate in regular, purposeful pedagogy meetings and in professional development sessions
● Participate actively in the life of the school, through attendance at events, committee membership, and leadership of extracurricular activities
● Perform other duties within the scope, spirit, and purpose of the job, as requested by the divisional directors
Speech and Debate Teacher and Program Lead
● Plan and teach Middle and Upper School Debate Classes (MS/US Period 8) including research, rhetorical analysis, listening, collaboration, understanding multiple perspectives on controversial issues
● Offer a robust schedule of opportunities for students to participate in both Middle School and Upper School debate competitions and tournaments
● Provide additional support outside of class time for students in their research and preparation for debate competitions
● Organize transportation, participation and forms for debate team tournaments and scrimmages in coordination with the Operations team. Waivers for any travel to in-person tournaments should be created and overseen by Operations.
● Handle debate class communication needs for relevant speech and debate organizations, parents and students.
● Maintain memberships and registrations for speech and debate organizations
● Develop, track and implement budget needs and expenditures for Speech and Debate program
● Attend all off-campus and weekend tournaments for debate, acting as the lead chaperone and coach for students
Essential Qualifications/Experience
● A Bachelor’s degree in English Literature or a closely related field, advanced degree preferred
● A minimum of three years’ full-time experience teaching English, six or more years preferred; a minimum of three years of experience with debate preferred
● A demonstrable passion for literature and writing, debate, and working with young people
● Excellent written and oral communications skills
● Evidence of significant recent professional development
● Excellent technology skills and experience integrating technology into the curriculum
● Experience in a school with a similar philosophy, teaching methods, and curricula to those of Windward; knowledge and understanding of independent school communities preferred
● Willingness to contribute to school life outside of the classroom
● A proven commitment to the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people
● A commitment to creating a welcoming community that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion
This is a great chance to be part of a dynamic, close-knit, independent school culture and community. Please see the Employment page on our website, which includes a salary calculator. We offer competitive compensation and benefits, including:
● Medical, dental, vision insurance
● Paid Holidays, Vacation and Wellness days
● Retirement Plan, including up to 6% employer match
● School-paid Life and Disability Insurance
● Flexible Spending Account Plans
● Annual $2,000 FlexCheck
● Annual $2,000 Lunch Allowance
● Access to Peak Performance Center to promote physical and mental health
● Wellness Initiatives
● Employee Assistance Program
● Tuition Remission
● Funds for Professional Development
● Nurturing, supportive and inclusive community
● And much more!
For more information about Windward, see our website: www.windwardschool.org.
To Apply: All interested candidates should submit a resume, three letters of recommendation and a letter of interest via this link.
EOE
