Science Teacher | Founding Years Middle School | ECPA

Job Description

Job Description

Position Title : Middle School Science Teacher - Founding Years

Location: New Haven, CT

Reports To: School Principal

Employment Type: Full-time, Exempt

Start Date: SY26-27 (Post July 1, August Onboarding)

Salary Range: $50,000 - $90,000 , commensurate with experience.

About Edmonds Cofield Preparatory Academy for Young Men

Edmonds Cofield Preparatory Academy for Young Men (ECPA) is New Haven’s first dedicated middle school for young men. Our mission is to develop resourceful, resilient, and responsible young men who think critically, lead ethically, and contribute positively to their communities. ECPA provides a rigorous academic experience that fosters mastery of learning while preparing students to navigate real-world choices with confidence and integrity. Through exposure to entrepreneurial thinking, leadership development, and hands-on learning opportunities, our young men cultivate the skills and mindsets necessary to excel in high school, college, and beyond.

For more information about ECPA, please visit

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About the Opportunity

ECPA is entering a pivotal Founding Years chapter. With our inaugural year underway and our expansion into 7th grade ahead, we are seeking a mission‑driven educator who can teach with excellence while helping strengthen the culture, systems, and academic model that will carry us to full scale as a 5–8 middle school for young men.

As a Founding Years Teacher, you will build a joyful, rigorous classroom where young men are seen, known, and challenged. You will help refine schoolwide routines, deepen our identity‑affirming practices, and contribute to the structures that ensure consistency and belonging as the school grows.

You will join a team that holds a high bar for instruction, believes deeply in the brilliance of our students, and is committed to creating a school where young men experience both high expectations and deep care. Your work will shape not only your classroom, but the next stage of ECPA’s development as we grow grade by grade.

This opportunity is ideal for educators who thrive in early‑stage environments, bring steadiness and creativity, and want to make a lasting impact on the lives of young men in New Haven.

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Key Responsibilities of the Role

As a Founding Middle School Teacher at ECPA, you will be primarily responsible for:

Instructional Excellence

• Plan rigorous science learning by intellectually preparing standards‑aligned, phenomenon‑based lessons that reflect ECPA’s deeper‑learning approach and build students’ scientific thinking.

• Deliver high‑quality instruction that develops core disciplinary skills—modeling, analyzing data, constructing explanations, and engaging in scientific argumentation.

• Build strong, affirming relationships that create a classroom where young men feel safe taking intellectual risks, asking questions, and exploring scientific ideas.

• Integrate culturally relevant and responsive practices to make science meaningful, identity‑affirming, and connected to students’ lived experiences and communities.

• Use data and ongoing assessment (exit tickets, lab checks, student discourse, formative tasks) to differentiate instruction and ensure every learner is known and supported.

Classroom Culture & School Community

• Establish a structured, joyful classroom grounded in mutual respect, high expectations, and consistent routines that support productive scientific discourse and collaboration.

• Model and reinforce ECPA’s values to help boys grow as scholars, leaders, and responsible young men—both in the lab and beyond.

• Partner with families to build trust, share progress, and ensure shared ownership of student growth.

• Contribute to school life by supporting events, leading a club or enrichment experience (STEM‑related or otherwise), and helping build emerging traditions that strengthen community.

Collaboration & Professional Learning

• Engage in weekly professional learning , including coaching, co‑planning, department work, and grade‑level collaboration focused on strong science instruction and deeper learning.

• Collaborate with colleagues to build a positive, high‑performing adult culture centered on continuous improvement and shared responsibility for student success.

• Give and receive feedback to refine instructional practice, strengthen lab and classroom routines, and improve student outcomes.

Leadership & Contribution Beyond the Classroom

• Lead Innovation Lab experiences —clubs, project‑based enrichment, showcases, or community‑based projects—that extend learning beyond the classroom and give students authentic opportunities to apply their scientific thinking.

• Support common school routines (arrival, dismissal, lunch, recess, transitions) to ensure safety, consistency, and a positive, identity‑affirming school culture.

• Lead a homeroom/advisory that builds community, fosters authentic relationships, and supports students’ social‑emotional development and sense of belonging.

• Help design and implement schoolwide systems, rituals, and traditions , including exhibitions, performances, and public demonstrations of learning that strengthen ECPA’s emerging identity and celebrate student voice.

Founding Years Responsibilities

• Shape and refine school-wide systems —academic routines, culture practices, community rituals, and enrichment structures—as ECPA grows into a full 5–8 middle school.

• Embrace feedback and adapt with flexibility , modeling a growth mindset as the school evolves.

• Take ownership of school-wide initiatives and contribute to special projects that advance the mission in a dynamic, early‑stage environment.

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While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher

• Valid teaching certification or eligibility to obtain required CT certification through reciprocity

• 2–3 years of successful teaching experience, with a demonstrated track record of strong student achievement

• Ability to build a safe, affirming, and intellectually challenging classroom where young men feel supported and pushed to engage deeply in meaningful work

• Reflective practice and personal accountability for student growth, achievement, and overall experience

• Genuine excitement for working in a Founding Years environment and in a single‑gender, all‑boys school community

• Demonstrated commitment to educational equity, youth development, social‑emotional learning, restorative practices, and culturally responsive pedagogy

• Deep alignment with the mission and values of ECS and ECPA, including an unshakable belief in the potential of every student to learn, grow, and achieve at a high level

Preferred Qualifications

• 3-5+ years of teaching experience with a strong record of student achievement

• Experience in an urban, high‑expectations, or charter school setting

• Experience in a single‑gender and/or founding school environment, ideally with middle‑grade learners

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Mindsets We Value

Our team is passionately committed to the vision and values of Elevate Charter Schools and Edmonds Cofield Preparatory Academy for Young Men The ideal candidate will have a positive mindset, a very strong work ethic, an inner drive for excellence and will thrive working in an entrepreneurial and results-driven environment

Additionally, we deeply value, and are actively seeking candidates who demonstrate, the following mindsets and beliefs:

• Mission-Driven : In addition to deeply aligning and embodying the mission and values of ECS and ECPA, you believe in the brilliance and promise of all students, particularly young men and young men of color, and want to be part of their success story.

• Growth-Oriented : You welcome feedback, are deeply reflective on your personal practices, and are constantly seeking to improve your craft.

• Entrepreneurial : You are flexible, solutions-focused, and energized by the opportunity to build something from the ground up.

• Collaborative : You thrive in a team-based culture and believe that collective effort drives school success.

• Commitment to Excellence : You hold yourself, and others, to the highest of standards and have a student-centric, “whatever it takes” mentality to create a learning community where all students and stakeholders can grow and thrive.

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At Elevate Charter Schools, we are committed to ensuring fair and equitable compensation based on the skills and qualifications required for the role. Our salaries are set through a lens of equity, and based on an individual’s skills, education, and years of experience relevant to the role.

The salary range for the Founding Years Middle School Science Teacher position is $50,500 to $90,000, commensurate with experience and qualification, and reflective of the responsibilities and expertise needed to succeed in this position. Final salary may be adjusted based on experience and qualifications.

In addition to competitive compensation, Elevate offers a range of comprehensive benefits packages to all regular, full-time employees at a competitive value.

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Elevate is a non-profit charter management organization serving charter schools in Connecticut's inner cities. Our scholars are 99% Black and brown, and Elevate greatly values inclusion and diversity in our staff.

Elevate Charter Schools is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment for all stakeholders. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to apply, especially those who share a similar background to the communities we serve.

Elevate Charter Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Elevate is a non‑profit charter management organization serving public charter schools in Connecticut’s urban communities. Our scholars are 99% Black and Brown, and Elevate deeply values inclusion, representation, and diversity across our staff.

Elevate Charter Schools is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment for all stakeholders. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to apply, especially those who share a similar background to the communities we serve.

If you have questions about the application process, experience any challenges, or need support completing your application, please reach out to our talent team at View email address on ziprecruiter.com. We are committed to ensuring an accessible and welcoming experience for all candidates.

Compensation Range: $50.5K - $90K