Job Description: BDS Lead

Summary:

At Bennett Day School, we are unapologetic believers in the values of a progressive education. We believe students must always be at the center of the process of learning. Students learn best what they learn deeply, and own their learning when adults mentor, coach, and teach in collaboration with them. The city and region of Chicago, indeed the entire world, is an incredible, diverse learning laboratory to be embraced. “Family”, “culture”, “student”, “learning”, and “school” are integral parts of a beautiful puzzle, not separated pieces in children’s’ lives. It is upon these unwavering beliefs that we center our school, community and approach to learning.

Due to high demand, the Bennett Day School will be opening an Upper School in the Fall of 2019. We are currently seeking two dynamic, experienced leaders to be our founding teachers. These teachers will form the foundation for our future staff and take on leadership responsibilities in the building of our new upper school.

Upper School founding teacher positions are for professionals eager to participate in the development of a model-breaking, innovative learning incubator for adolescents that builds on the strong Reggio Emilia inspired program in the Bennett Day lower and middle schools. Bennett Day School teachers understand that the craft of teaching is dynamic; they adapt to and integrate this belief in their daily work in all learning spaces and throughout the school community. During the 2018-2019 school year, founding upper school teachers will work closely with the Director of Upper School to design the essential elements of the upper school, building upon and revising materials produced for the upper school over the last two years. Once the Bennett Day Upper School opens to students in the fall of 2019, these teachers will work in a collaborative team to advise and teach a cohort of high school students in a multi-year loop that incorporates project-based, traditional, and online learning. Founding teachers will be expected to mentor new colleagues as we hire additional teachers in the first several years of the upper school.

Premier candidates will have successful experience in designing large-scale project-based learning experiences for students, ideally in Deeper Learning schools. Additionally, they will have a deep passion for building and designing essential elements of a new school, including (but not limited to) a competency map, a student learning library complete with digital, analog and human resources, and a schedule and school calendar.

Successful candidates will also have a passion for learning, a history of overcoming challenges as a student within the traditional field of education, and a willingness to collaborate in the creation of a school model whose overriding primary focus is the needs of each student.

Required Qualifications

Successful experience designing project-based learning curricula in an upper school setting
Interdisciplinary teaching experience
Interest in/Experience working in teams, especially design teams
Interest in/Experience designing project-based learning experiences
Interest in/Experience in competency-based learning
Successful Experience working as a mentor/advisor to an adolescent within an academic setting
Interest in/Experience designing innovative and experimental curriculum in a collaborative setting
Academic achievement in and passion for at least one major academic discipline
Commitment to continual development of one’s cultural competence
Commitment to ongoing professional development

Strongly Preferred Qualifications

Experience teaching in a competency-based program
Comfort in a startup culture
Experience or education in, or professional passion for, multiple content areas across traditional silos (Math and History, for example)
Experience designing online learning experiences
A minimal fluency in Spanish
Interest in learning science/science of the adolescent brain
Working knowledge of the field of design in education, especially design and systems thinking