Middle School ELA Guide

Job Description

Job Description

Middle School ELA Guide (Grades 7–8): A Call for Creative Architects

Location: Mi Escuela Montessori | Lakeland/Bartow, FL

Projected Start: 2026–2027 School Year (Inaugural Year at our New Facility)

Compensation: $48,000-60,000.

In many traditional settings, the teacher is the "Sage on the Stage," delivering a pre-packaged curriculum at a predetermined pace. At Mi Escuela Montessori, we invite you to step off the stage and into the role of a Collaborative Guide. Here, you are not just teaching a subject; you are designing an experience.

We believe that healthy kids are prepared to learn, and the adolescent years are a time of profound creative awakening. We are seeking an ELA Guide who wants to use literature and language as a laboratory for inquiry, reclaiming their professional agency from "cookie-cutter" manuals and rigid district pacing guides.

You won’t teach in a silo. You will collaborate daily with Math, Spanish, Social Studies and Science teachers to build immersive units where ELA is the "connective tissue" of the student’s world.

• Thematic Explorations: Partner with Social Studies to explore the "Rhetoric of Resistance" through dystopian literature, focusing on freedom of speech and digital ethics.

• Multi-Genre Mastery: Guide students in building portfolios that tell a single story through a blend of poetry, investigative reporting, podcasts, and persuasive essays.

• The Art of Voice: Lead a daily "Poetry of the Day" ritual and teach real-world rhetoric, coaching students to write speeches on topics ranging from local issues to global change.

• Targeted Support: Provide intentional interventions and enrichment to meet students where they are, ensuring every learner is appropriately challenged.

• Inclusive Advocacy: Work alongside ESE, Gifted, and ESOL specialists to help our neurodiverse and multilingual learners thrive in a dual-language environment.

The Traditional Experience

The Mi Escuela Experience

"Sage on the Stage": Centered on teacher-led lectures.

"Collaborative Guide": Centered on Socratic seminars & workshops.

Isolated Instruction: English happens in a silo.

Interdisciplinary Art: ELA is woven into Science, Math, and Civics.

Pacing Guides: Following a script regardless of student interest.

Curriculum Design: Building a "Changemaker" toolkit with agency.

Standardized Prompts: Writing for a grade.

Authentic Voice: Writing for impact, speech, and publication. Collaborating with peers for writing workshop and publications.

We are looking for a visionary educator who is ready to evolve. While you do not need a Montessori credential to apply, we seek a candidate committed to becoming a fully MACTE-accredited Adolescent Guide within 3 years.

• $3,000 Tuition Sponsorship: Upon successful completion of your first year of service, Mi Escuela Montessori will contribute up to $3,000 over the next three years toward your enrollment in an approved MACTE-accredited adolescent training program.

• Professional Agency: You select the program that best fits your learning style, and we provide the "seed money" to help you obtain a prestigious international credential.

• Certification: Valid Florida Professional Teaching Certificate in English (Grades 5-9 or 6-12) and Reading Endorsement or ability to obtain

• Bilingualism: While not required, bilingual (Spanish/English) candidates are highly prioritized in our immersion community.

• The Facility: Work in a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility with dedicated collaborative planning blocks, a staff refuel station, and a culture of "Grace and Courtesy."

Schedule: Follows the 196-day school calendar (summers and holidays off).