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High School Social Sciences Teacher – Immediate Start
West Seattle, WA
Who We Are
What if all students graduated high school with both the content knowledge and also the habits and skills necessary to successfully navigate college and career? This is the question that guides our mission at Summit Public Schools. Summit is a leading network of public schools that prepare a diverse student population for success in a four-year college and to be thoughtful, contributing members of society. We operate 11 schools serving over 4,500 students in the Bay Area and Washington state. Historically, 98 percent of Summit graduates are accepted four-year colleges, and Summit graduates complete college at double the national average.
We need diverse, driven, and dynamic teachers to join our growing team to help realize our educational vision.
The Summit Model
Teaching at Summit is unlike teaching at a traditional school – our teachers are empowered to meet the needs of every student through a variety of pedagogical methods. Summit teachers use data to support the self-development and academic and social-emotional growth for the students they mentor and teach. At Summit, our teachers also mentor the same group of students each year, which allows them to build strong relationships based on deep trust. As mentors, Summit teachers nurture and develop strong relationships with students as they coach them towards their personal goals. Mentors meet 1:1 with each student at least once a week and meet regularly as a mentor group. In class, teachers teach cognitive skills through real-world projects – using their subject-area expertise to help students apply their knowledge to the world around them. Summit faculty teach via small group workshops, 1:1 targeted interventions, and by supporting students as they work at their own pace using resources on the Summit Learning Platform. We are committed to continual growth at Summit. We prioritize developing leaders from within and have invested in multiple career pathway programs for our teachers and school leaders. With dedicated days of professional development built into the academic year and weekly coaching sessions with a school leader, we equip our teachers with the tools necessary to improve their practice and tackle challenging issues. By design, our schools are small communities where every student is known. Our schools are intentionally heterogeneous and reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate. As a teacher, this will require being culturally responsive and creating equitable learning pathways for all students.
What you’ll do:
- A student school day is around 8-8:30am to 3-3:30pm, depending on the specific school. See sample teacher schedules here.
- Project Time: Teach two to three 90-minute blocks per day of project time. Most teach one course for the entire grade (e.g. 9th Grade Biology), and see each section twice per week. Teachers work with students on projects that develop cognitive skills and apply their content knowledge to real-world situations. Teachers facilitate discussions in the classroom, coach students in applying their cognitive skills, and give students feedback.
- Interventions and Personalized Learning Time: Facilitate daily literacy or math interventions and personalized learning time, which don’t involve lesson planning. During this time, teachers provide student support, monitor progress, and check in with individuals or groups of students.
- Prep Time: Between teaching blocks, teachers analyze student data, build lesson plans, support school culture, and other personal development activities. Summit teachers build lesson plans through a deep understanding of student progress data, which determines the group and individual supports needed for their students to succeed.
- Mentor Time: Build deep relationships and a sense of community when teachers meet with their small group of mentees daily for their entire time at Summit. One day a week, teachers meet for most of the day with their mentor groups, work on habits of success as a group, and check in one-on-one with their mentees. Mentors coach and advocate for their mentees both inside and outside of the classroom, and strive to support them as they develop their sense of purpose as they become self-directed learners.
- Professional Development: Twice a week, teachers participate in all-faculty after-school meetings where community decisions are made, professional development takes place, and faculty collaborates as a grade-level team. Additionally, teachers meet at least twice per month with their faculty mentor to develop as a teacher-leader.
What You Need
- Commitment to uphold Summit’s values, belief that all children deserve a rigorous and equitable education that prepares them for college and for life
- Teaching Credential in California, Washington, or another US state (or a commitment to obtain a credential by completing an educator preparation program within two (2) years of starting at Summit)
- Bachelor’s degree (a Master’s Degree in Education is preferred, but not required)
- Clear health and background check
- Teaching experience in your subject preferred, but not required
Who You Are
- You maintain high expectations for all students and believe all students can find success in school, college, and life.
- You are deeply dedicated to social justice and feel motivated by the challenge and impact of teaching in a heterogeneous community and working to close the opportunity gap.
- You believe in every student, and can maintain and reinforce Summit’s graduated discipline process, recognizing that student growth in all areas—academic, behavioral and community—are an investment and part of the work.
- You lead learning experiences, using a variety of methods: project-based learning, direct instruction, small group and individual tasks, formative and summative assessment, direct teacher feedback, public presentation, and more.
- You are passionate about serving as a mentor and advocate for a group of students that you’ll follow year to year.
- You are empathetic and culturally competent. You design and implement social and emotional learning experiences in all courses, and you’re open to having hard conversations.
- You thrive in innovative environments and are comfortable with the ambiguity that can come with a dynamic and progressive workplace.
- You are a leader and actively participate as a member of weekly faculty meetings.
- You are committed to continuous improvement, see feedback as a positive, and have a growth mindset.
- You thrive while collaborating and are excited to work with colleagues to maintain the academic integrity of planned lessons and learning experiences for students. You find positivity in shared successes.
- You use data to track and provide updates on student achievement to faculty, directors, and families.
- You are excited to learn Summit’s technology platforms that organize instructional materials and data.
What You Get
Summit offers competitive salaries and benefit options, including covering 75% of the health, dental, and vision plan costs. We fully cover life and disability insurance. We have a “take what you need” PTO policy, 11 paid holidays, 4 weeks of vacation during the year, and a summer break. We value our teachers’ Summit experience, offering stipends for teachers who have been with us for three or more years and helping teachers grow with us through designated time for paid professional development and regular coaching.
Summit Public Schools does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to all programs.
Candidates from all diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Spanish language proficiency is a plus.