Our Mission

We inspire highly capable, creative learners to lead with curiosity, compassion, and courage in a diverse and dynamic world.

About the Organization

Located just north of Seattle in Shoreline, Washington, The Evergreen School has been educating highly capable, creative learners for over 50 years. Our students love to ask questions, and our teachers use that natural curiosity to craft engaging lessons and spark thought-provoking conversations. Evergreen’s program infuses challenging academics with foundational support for social skills, emotional well-being, a multicultural perspective, and empathy for others. Our students think deeply, take intellectual risks, and tackle complex problems. They learn how to self-advocate, collaborate with others and understand and respect differences. Evergreen graduates move on to high school and beyond with confidence, ready to contribute to a diverse and dynamic world. 

Community

Our community members at Evergreen value and embrace the dignity and diversity of all people. We actively seek and support students, families, faculty, staff and trustees who bring a diversity of identity into our community. Our mission makes it essential that we skillfully deliver an inclusive educational program that teaches respect for others, empowers students of all backgrounds equitably, encourages social responsibility, and prepares students to be leaders in an interdependent global community. At Evergreen, our goal is to curate a culture where every family feels fully welcomed and encouraged to participate in every aspect of the community.

The Opportunity

The primary division art teacher is responsible for teaching a disciplined-based preschool through third grade culturally responsive art curriculum. The successful candidate will have a collaborative approach to teaching design and teach an engaging and challenging program to highly capable students with individual learning styles and needs, and utilize a wide range of instructional tools, technology, and resources, including project-based and experiential learning opportunities. 

The school seeks candidates who demonstrate a commitment to anti-bias and anti-racism work and to fostering a diverse and inclusive learning community that is responsive toward all differences including but not limited to race, ethnicity, national origin, geography, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, learning styles and marital, parental or economic status.

This is a salaried, part-time (.8 FTE) benefits-eligible position for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a discipline-based primary division art curriculum for preschool through third grade. This includes creating a cohesive culturally responsive curriculum and lesson plans, identifying and selecting instructional resources and methods to meet students’ needs, and preparing and breaking down classroom activities.
• Write individualized narrative student evaluation reports twice during the academic school year (January and June).

• Organize, lead, set up, and break down student art shows and/or projects, either in person or virtual.

• Regularly assess students’ progress by observing and evaluating performance and development, and providing appropriate feedback to students, their parents, and colleagues.
• Consistently communicate and document clear objectives for all learning activities to maintain accurate and complete records of students’ progress and development in compliance with laws, school policies, and independent school regulations and accreditation standards.
• Communicate and collaborate regularly with the relevant people (advisors, learning support specialist, counselor, division head, and parents) about students’ progress.
• Establish and enforce school rules for students with a positive style and strong classroom management skills.
• Attend school, department, team, and parent meetings.
• Participate in certain extracurricular events, such as social and sporting activities, admission events, clubs, overnight camps, and student group activities. This could include working some evenings and weekends.
• Maintain knowledge of and competency in relevant classroom technology and have a passion for recent developments in teaching resources and methods with the flexibility to incorporate changes into instructional plans and activities.
• Be strictly vigilant about confidentiality, student health and safety.
• Other duties as assigned.

Experience, Education and Desirable Skills

The ideal candidate for this position has:

Experience

• 2-3 years experience as an art educator for students in preschool through third grade
• Experience with a wide variety of arts disciplines and mediums including ceramics  
• Experience working with highly capable learners preferred

Education

• A bachelor’s degree 
• A degree in discipline-based studio art preferred
• A teaching certificate is preferred.

Personal Qualifications of a Successful Candidate

• Possess a high degree of cultural competency and demonstrated success in working with people from diverse backgrounds.
  
  
• Driven to teaching excellence with a firm grasp of teaching responsibilities and reflective about personal teaching practices.
  
  
• Positively supports the school’s mission while managing the demands of curriculum and lesson planning, teaching, collaboration, and parent communications.

• Establishes a healthy rapport with preschool through third grade students while motivating and facilitating students’ growth and love of art.

• Empowered by a collaborative approach to working with a team of colleagues, sharing with and learning from one another.

• Draws from a variety of curriculum sources and skilled in differentiating among students with clear methods to appropriately challenge highly capable students.

• Able to communicate clearly, effectively, and comfortably with the independent school community including students, parents, and colleagues both inside and outside  of the classroom.

• Technologically inclined; utilizes education applications in the classroom.

• Respectfully maintains a high degree of confidentiality and integrity while exhibiting a professional manner and building constructive working relationships.

• Can report to work at the scheduled time and seldom be absent from work.

• Completes work in a timely, accurate, and thorough manner and is conscientious about assignments and deadlines.

• Comfortable using Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace.

• Able to lift up to 35 pounds and walk and stand for long periods of time. Duties can also include moving carts of art supplies between classrooms and buildings in inclement weather.

Equipment Used

• Computer (PC), copier, and fax.
• Educational technology, such as SMARTboard.

Compensation will be commensurate with the candidate’s background and experience and will be competitive with similar positions in Seattle area independent schools. 

Applicants should submit the following:

• A cover letter outlining their interest in and qualifications for this position
• A current resume
• A completed Evergreen Employment Application

All materials should be sent to jobs@evergreenschool.org. Please include “Primary Division Art Teacher” in the subject line. The deadline to apply is April 1, 2021.

Any applicant scheduled for an interview will be asked to submit a 500 word (max.) answer to the following question:

At Evergreen, our mission calls us to “inspire highly capable, creative learners to lead with curiosity, compassion, and courage in a diverse and dynamic world.” Reflecting on your current or previous experiences, describe a time in which you moved diversity and inclusion efforts forward in that role. How did you approach this effort and what did you learn about yourself during this process? (Please limit your response to 500 words or less).

Additional School Information:

The Educational Experience

At Evergreen, we believe learning isn’t a one-way path. Our highly capable students delight in exploring ramifications and digressions, gaining strength from setbacks and successes alike. At the same time, Evergreen’s insightful teachers help students uncover and develop their own unique perspectives on every subject. Through “planned exploration,” teachers carefully design the curriculum and lessons, while building in time and resources for students to pursue unexpected discoveries and long standing interests. From preschool through 8th grade, Evergreen’s hands-on curriculum encourages experimentation. In our extensively equipped BIG Lab (Build Imagine Grow), on overnight trips, during Adventure Days, and on the month-long 8th grade Global Studies trip, students expand their curiosity and put their classroom discoveries into practice. Equally important, we intentionally interweave academic subjects with social and emotional learning and an active commitment to equity, inclusion and diversity—so that as students grow intellectually, they also become increasingly self-aware, build ethical relationships with others, and continually strive to improve the wider world.

Head of School

On July 1, 2020, Halsey Bell became Evergreen’s fifth head of school.

Enrollment

Total: 493

Grade Levels: Preschool through 8th grade 

Class Size: 14-17 students

Ratio: 7:1 (students to full-time faculty)

Faculty and Staff

112 faculty and staff, including 56 full-time faculty, 6 part-time faculty, and 17 teaching assistants. Faculty includes 2 counselors and 2 learning resource coordinators. Approximately 60% of teaching faculty hold an advanced degree.

Campus

Evergreen occupies four and a half acres that include forested area typical of the Pacific Northwest, as well as distinct wetlands and native vegetation. A recent renovation and addition added significant new classroom and administration buildings, including the BIG Lab, our state-of-the-art makerspace, as well as beautiful outdoor gathering areas and courtyards.

Student Diversity

• Students come to Evergreen from 38 zip codes and a wide variety of schools and daycare programs.
• 46% of Evergreen students identify as students of color, including African American, Asian American, Latino American, Middle Eastern American, Multiracial American, and Native American

Financial Aid

16% of Evergreen families receive need-based financial aid, totaling approximately $1.2 million.

Accreditation & Membership

The Evergreen School is fully accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Puget Sound Independent Schools (PSIS), National Association for Gifted Children, Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 

Environmental Certifications

The Evergreen School is proud to be a Platinum-Certified Washington Green School and a Sustaining Green School in the King County Green Schools Program. 

For more information about The Evergreen School, please visit our website at www.evergreenschool.org.

Notice of Non-Discrimination

The Evergreen School strives to provide equal opportunity to all employees. The school's policy is not to discriminate in employment based on race, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status or any other status protected under applicable local, state or federal law. The School is committed to administering employment decisions, including hiring, promotions, compensation benefits, transfers, layoffs, return from layoffs, terminations, training, sabbaticals, tuition assistance and other programs, without regard to an employee's protected status.