Julia Morgan School for Girls is seeking a 6^th grade Humanities Teacher who can guide students to understand their unique time and place in human civilization. We wish our students to learn to make meaning through active, project-based learning and rich reading and writing experiences. We seek a storyteller who can knit together the past, present, and future and instill the literacy habits that undergird a lifelong love of language.

This is a full time position for the 2019-20 school year teaching two sections of humanities combining language arts and social studies. Currently, each section has approximately 22 students and meets for nine 45-minute periods a week (several are back-to-back).

We are a small, close-knit, hardworking community. An ideal professional for this role is someone who brings curricular expertise, a highly flexible and collaborative approach, strong rapport with students, and an understanding of middle school girls’ development. Being a ready communicator and staying on top of emails are also very helpful.

Julia Morgan School for Girls is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, or family composition in administration of its hiring or employment policies. People of color are encouraged to apply.

If you are interested and believe this position would be a good match, please send the following items to Sandra Luna, Head of School at sluna@juliamorganschool.org.

1.     Cover letter
2.     Resume
3.     Three references

Title:                            6^th Grade Humanities Teacher

Date Modified:             January 2019

FLSA Class:                  Exempt

Supervisor:                  Head of School

Job Objectives:

• To inspire and support students to become the confident, capable, creative and compassionate women of tomorrow
• To inspire students to see the scholar within each of them

Job Functions:

• Demonstrating to students high levels of enthusiasm and excitement for teaching/learning of humanities
• Working collaboratively with members of the grade level team to monitor the academic and the social/emotional well-being of the students
• Working collaboratively with members of the grade level team to integrate humanities across disciplines
• Serving as a grade-level advisor
• Fulfilling Teacher/Staff responsibilities as defined in the JMSG Employee Handbook and Employment Agreement
• Performing additional duties as needed

Minimum Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or significant higher education coursework in a humanities discipline
• Demonstrated expertise in humanities
• Successful experience in teaching humanities
• Successful experience in teaching middle or high school students
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Qualifications of a Strong Candidate:

• A deep understanding of girls’ education, the relational model and adolescent development
• An understanding of the unique needs of middle school girls
• Excitement about working specifically with middle school girls
• Familiarity with the multiple intelligences
• A student-centered orientation
• Flexible and collaborative team player
• Partnership with parents that supports students
• A sense of humor is essential when working with middle school girls

Physical Requirements and Work Environment:

• Operate in a stressful environment dealing with a wide variety of challenges, deadlines and a varied and diverse array of contacts
• May work at a desk and computer for extended periods of time
• Ability to occasionally lift up to 30 lbs
• Work primarily in a traditional climate-controlled classroom environment
• Work intermittently in outside weather conditions, including extreme heat and cold

More about Julia Morgan School for Girls:

The Mission of Julia Morgan School for Girls is to prepare our students to be the confident, capable, creative, and compassionate women of tomorrow.

Julia Morgan School for Girls is committed to a challenging and inspiring academic program that encourages each girl to recognize and meet her potential through individualized attention, cooperative learning, and the guidance of expert teachers. We are dedicated to the intellectual, creative, social, and emotional growth of girls during their critical middle school years. Our goal is to provide educational opportunities and positive role models not fully afforded girls in coeducational institutions.

Julia Morgan School faculty have developed a rich and engaging curriculum in every subject area, with classes taught using a collaborative, project based approach, designed when possible to integrate disciplines that have traditionally been separated. The relational model is core to what we do at Julia Morgan School and therefore cooperative learning, creative expression, and valuing each girl is emphasized. In academic classes, girls are engaged in explorations of culture, as well as environmental, economic, and ethical issues.

JMSG believes girls should graduate with a deep sense of social responsibility. The JMSG program nurtures each girl’s compassion and sense of social justice in every area of school life. We also take time to intentional develop interpersonal connections and a positive school culture during Community Time every day. Weekly advising check-ins and activities, cross-graded groupings called Families, all-school meetings, along with social-emotional learning classes, develop girls’ personal and social awareness, teaching them to empathize, to give support within a community, and to tackle the complex moral issues that arise during adolescence.

Central to the JMSG Mission is the commitment by every member of the Julia Morgan School for Girls community, including students, parents, guardians, faculty, and staff, to do her/his part in creating a positive, respectful, and supportive community.

Current Humanities Course Description:

In 6th grade humanities, we encourage girls to see themselves as vital participants in cultural dialogue and to form unique relationships to texts, history, and society. Emphasis is placed on developing critical thinking, analysis, and voice as vehicles for understanding and communication. We approach ancient world history as social scientists, investigating and speculating on the problems that our ancestors faced, and connecting their struggles to our modern world. Projects embrace a variety of learning approaches, and emphasize group work, inquiry, and note-taking skills.

We strive to read as much as possible, cultivating practices that facilitate passionate reading in middle school and beyond. Students reflect on what they’ve read via journaling and guided inquiry. We ask why authors make the choices they do, consider how our own experiences inform our interpretations of literature, and plumb texts for social contexts.

In 6th grade, we also begin teaching the writing process--how to generate and test ideas, experiment with strategies and literary devices, revise, and edit--through a range of rhetorical styles. Girls study and create personal narratives, thesis statements, literary essays, and works of fiction. We stress grammar and mechanics as necessary skills for the Information Age, and we develop girls’ language proficiency through the analysis of “mentor sentences” from popular young adult novels.

 The Advisor Role at Julia Morgan School for Girls

Advisory places an emphasis on supporting girls academically, socially, and emotionally through their three years of middle school. Advisory complements the academic and RISE (Resilience, Identity, Self-awareness, Empathy) programs by providing an opportunity for girls to take ownership of their personal growth in a more intimate setting. Girls meet weekly in small groups, composed of an adult advisor and grade-level peers. Advisory groups explore topics such as community, tolerance, and respect. In addition, the groups discuss upcoming school events and participate in a number of team-building activities throughout the year.

A girl's advisor acts as her academic and social advocate, offers advice and support, and encourages each girl to advocate for herself. Advisors communicate purposefully with girls’ teachers and parents/guardians and help their advisees prepare for student-led conferences twice a year. Advisory is a core element defining how students and teachers relate at JMSG, creating an atmosphere in which girls respect and feel close to their teachers and peers.

As such, advisors:

• facilitate group advising sessions that are meaningful and support students’ social-emotional development;
• establish a one-on-one relationship between Advisor and advisee that fosters a sense of trust and belonging;
• act as a liaison between parent/guardian and school, where consistent and timely communication is valued; Advisors communicate purposefully with girls’ teachers and parents/guardians to create a network of support for each student;
• ensure that each girl is encouraged, supported, and valued for her individual strength and areas of growth. A girl's Advisor offers support and coaching for her academic and social growth, and encourages each girl to advocate for herself. Advisory is a core element at JMSG, defining how students and teachers relate, creating an atmosphere in which girls respect connect with their teachers and peers.