Elementary & Middle School Elective Teacher

Job Description

Job Description

Who We Are

New Paradigm For Education (NPFE) is a non-profit Charter Management Organization (CMO) composed of educational practitioners, community advocates, and business leaders who have dedicated years of service to children. NPFE serves 2,100 students in Detroit, Michigan. We specialize in maximizing student learning potential through proven education practices and managing all phases of school design, planning, and program implementation. 

Why New Paradigm for Education 

NPFE is on a mission to ensure that all students in Detroit achieve at the highest levels, supporting educational transformation through increased student achievement, fiscal responsibility, and community support. NPFE’s Mission is to provide a quality education through shared responsibility in a safe supportive environment for all students to meet the needs of a global society. We are committed to excellence and strive to offer a new educational paradigm evident by increased student achievement, fiscal responsibility, and community support.

New Paradigm for Education seeks educators who have a relentless belief that all students, regardless of their race and economic or social circumstances, can perform at high levels, deserve a quality education, have access to high quality instruction and curriculum, and can attain post secondary success. Educators who are driven bv academic achievement, continuous growth, and excel working in a rigorous and supportive environment. We seek culturally responsive educators who have experience working with diverse communities and strong relationship-building skills that they apply to understand their students, families, and communities.

What You’ll Do

The Elementary & Middle School Elective Teacher will develop and maintain high-quality instruction for all students. Possible electives include fine arts or academic games. To achieve this, the teacher will utilize a high-quality curriculum, implement strong instructional practices, culturally responsive teaching practices, and effective classroom management skills. The Elementary & Middle School Elective Teacher will build strong and lasting relationships with students and families, identify and apply best practices in instruction and student achievement, and continuously implement feedback and seek growth.

• Must possess a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in education or in related field 

• Must have - or be on a path to - a valid Michigan Teaching Certificate

• Prior classroom experience is also highly preferred

• Strong commitment to, belief in, and alignment with the school's mission and goals. 

• Demonstrate an ability to develop a positive, achievement-oriented, culturally responsive, supportive, and collaborative culture of high expectations that motivates and inspires students to learn.

• Have a relentless belief that all students, regardless of their race and economic or social circumstances, deserve a quality education and can attain postsecondary success. 

• Have strong interpersonal, communication and relationship-building skills with both children and adults

Duties & Responsibilities

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

• Possesses and implements knowledge of teaching pedagogy.

• Writes and implements lesson plans grounded in our curriculum, regularly incorporating constructive feedback 

• Keep and use up-to-date data to monitor student progress and drive instructional choices

• Effectively integrates solid content knowledge into the curricula, makes connections between the content and other parts of the student discipline(s), and develops relationships among topics and concepts in teaching plans and practices.

• Integrates current best practices, and research, into the teaching plans and practices to assure the most effective educational program for our students.

• Identifies and integrates instructional goals that are valuable, clearly stated, measurable, suitable for diverse students, and that create opportunities for different types of learning.

• Designs coherent instruction (including learning activities, instructional materials and resources, instructional groups, lesson and unit structure and the like) that reflect network curriculum and current best practices in the field and support the instructional goals.

INSTRUCTION 

• Effectively utilizes questioning and discussion techniques in the classroom to promote student participation and to successfully engage students in the discussion.

• Effectively and appropriately engages students in learning to maximize student comprehension of the lesson through representation of content, activities and assignments, instructional groupings, instructional materials and resources, structure and pacing, and the like.

• Provides accurate, substantive, constructive, specific and timely feedback on student progress and performance to students, parents, and other professionals as needed or required.

• Demonstrates flexibility and responsiveness to student needs by effectively making minor adjustments to the lesson, persistently seeking thoughtful alternative approaches, strategies/resources, and successfully accommodating students’ questions or interests to enhance student learning.

• Accurately and thoroughly assess student learning using instructional goals; clearly communicates assessment criteria and standards to students; and effectively utilizes assessment results to plan for individuals and groups of students.

• Uses student assessment information to assist the Special Educator in developing an effective standards-based Individual Educational Plan (IEP) for those students who qualify for such services.

• Accurately and thoroughly assess a lesson’s effectiveness and the extent to which it achieved its goals, and effectively modifies the lesson plan for future use to enhance student learning.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

• Provides a safe learning environment for all students and creates and maintains an environment of respect and rapport.

• Establishes a culture for learning that incorporates the importance of the content, student pride in high quality work, and high expectations for student achievement.

• Effectively and efficiently manage classroom procedures including instructional groups, transitions, materials and supplies handling, and the performance of non-instructional duties.

• Assures productive, effective, and efficient use of instructional assistants and volunteers in the classroom.

• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of students including: intellectual, social, and emotional characteristics of age group; students’ varied approaches to learning; student skills and knowledge; student interests and cultural heritage; student economic influences; and student family, school and community context.

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION 

• Solicit and utilize constructive feedback received from administrators and instructional coaches

• Work in teams to plan problem solve, and support one another on a daily basis