Position FILLED-Grade 10 Interdisciplinary Methods Lab Instructor

Common Ground — the nation’s oldest environmental charter high school, part of a community organization that also operates a community environmental education center and urban farm — is seeking a passionate, creative, effective, inclusive Interdisciplinary Methods Lab Instructor. This is a unique opportunity to be in on the ground floor of an interdisciplinary, place-based, social justice-oriented, standards-aligned academic experience, at a school that’s committed to growing the next generation of powerful environmental leaders and successful college students.

Core 10 is a new integrated curriculum consisting of English, Science, Social Studies, and Integrated Methods. Over the course of this year-long experience, students will dive into four interdisciplinary units: New Haven Stories, Justice, Power, and Community Health. Students will use the city of New Haven as a learning laboratory and take part in numerous off-site field experiences with community partners. Additionally, the Core 10 has a commitment to exposing students to the arts through photography, drama/theater, various visual arts media, and videography. The 10th grade core meets for four of Common Ground’s eight periods — from 12:47 to 3:05 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and from 8-1:17 on Wednesdays — allowing students and teachers to engage in extended field experiences, use time flexibly to meet students needs, etc.

The Core 10 Interdisciplinary Methods Lab Instructor — a full-time, salaried position — plays a critical role in rolling out this new educational experience for all of our 10th graders:

• Facilitate four 65-minute lab sections for students (approximately 15 students/section, each section meeting 3 days/week) in 10th grade interdisciplinary core classes
• Establish a productive workspace to support student completion of key assignments
  Support student development of soft skills that will help them to work productively and efficiently (e.g. time management; organization; planning and chunking assignments)
• Help to schedule, host, and support partners working with students arts integration opportunities and culminating projects (e.g., artivism, Theater of the Oppressed, etc.) during lab sessions
• Attend and support the Core 10 field experiences — taking place primarily on Wednesdays, and also in some cases on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons
• Assist the Core 10 interdisciplinary team with data collection
• Participate in the Core 10 interdisciplinary team weekly planning meeting
• Manage the Core 10 after school academic lab
• Take on teaching or teaching assistant responsibilities during up to two other class periods

This is a full-time, salaried position. This is an ideal learning experience for applicants who are classroom teachers or interested in pursuing a teaching career. The Lab Coordinator will be collaborating with three experienced teachers, and will have the opportunity to work both independently in their own classroom and as part of a strong interdisciplinary team in creating a new and innovative classroom experience.

We are looking for candidates who demonstrate some or all of the following:

• Experience working directly with racially and economically diverse high school aged young people, and with low income young people and people of color in particular.
• Experience and skills teaching, providing one on one support, and building productive relationships with high school age young people.
• The ability to collaborate, communicate, and work effectively within a team that includes multiple teachers and community partners.
• A passion for and experience with work at the intersection of environmental, social, and food justice.
• Knowledge about and passion for working for an organization that is committed to social justice, the dismantling of systems of oppression, and creating a just, equitable, and inclusive culture.
• Creativity, sense of humor, and commitment to collaboration and relationship building
• Excellent communication skills.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.

We are also excited to consider candidates who have:

• Background in the themes at the center of the 10th grade core: storytelling, justice, power, public health.
• Experience with and passion for the arts and arts education (including videography, visual arts, theater, photography, spoken word).
• Connecticut teacher certification (or participation in/credits toward a certification program).
• Experience developing and sustaining relationships with community partners.
• Understanding of the history and present-day dynamics of the city of New Haven, as well as connections/social networks within our city.
• Experience in trauma-informed work, restorative justice, social emotional learning/literacy.
• Background in experiential, place-based, and/or project-based learning.
• Experience working with Google applications, online course management platforms, and other online learning tools.
• Spanish language proficiency.

This position begins in mid-August 2018. To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to jtolman@commongroundct.org. Applications accepted until position is filled.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY STATEMENT

Common Ground is particularly eager for candidates who help us fulfill our commitment to building a racially and culturally diverse faculty and staff. Common Ground has a commitment to examining the intersection of social, environmental, and food justice issues; how systems of oppression, including white privilege, impact the organization’s work; and how resistance to those systems can offer windows into a more sustainable society.

It is the policy of the New Haven Ecology Project, Inc. and Common Ground High School that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise discriminated against under any program, including employment, because of race, color, religious creed, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, sexual orientation, mental retardation, and past/present history of mental disorder, learning disability and physical disability.

It is the policy of the New Haven Ecology Project, Inc. and Common Ground High School to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to age, color, marital status, civil union status, national origin, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender in all personnel actions, including recruitment, evaluation, selection, daily interactions, promotion, compensation, training and termination.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, it is the policy of the New Haven Ecology Project, Inc. and Common Ground High School not to discriminate against protected qualified applicants and employees with disabilities in all aspect of employment.