Common Ground is Seeking An Environmental Science Teacher

Common Ground Is Seeking An Environmental Science Teacher

About Common Ground High School 

Common Ground High School is the nation’s longest-running environmental charter high school, founded in 1997. Our 230 students form an inclusive, powerful community of learners and leaders. These students benefit from a unique learning environment: an urban farm and 20-acre site, home to state of the art school facilities, adjacent to West Rock Ridge State Park, and located in the City of New Haven. We strive to create a learning environment grounded in foundational building blocks: rigor, responsive relationships, relevance that’s rooted in the local community and environment, and real roles & rights. Common Ground’s graduation rate consistently surpasses the state average, and between 97 and 100% of our students are accepted to college each year. 

Common Ground High School is part of a community nonprofit organization that also operates an urban farm and community environmental education center. As a whole, Common Ground is a center for learning and leadership, inviting people across ages and identities to connect to their urban environment, build community, grow into their full potential, and contribute to a just and sustainable world. We work toward this mission through active, authentic learning rooted in justice and our environment: a farm, in a forest, in a city. 

 About the Position

We are seeking a passionate, creative, effective environmental science teacher to join our team. This is an immediate opening, with a preferred start date of December 1. We will consider exceptional candidates for later start dates, and are open to both permanent and short-term hires.  

The environmental science teacher will:

• Teach as part of Core 10 — a unique, interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates environmental science, social studies, English, 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. Science themes include earth science/geosciences, environmental science and environmental justice, energy and climate change, and public health. The 10th grade core meets for four of Common Ground’s eight periods allowing students and teachers to engage in extended field experiences, use time flexibly to meet students’ needs, etc. 
• Starting in the spring semester and continuing in future school years, teach an 11th & 12th grade environmental science elective course (e.g., oceanography, AP Environmental Science, or another course), or take on another teacher leadership role that’s the equivalent of one period of teaching responsibility. 
• Co-teach a 9th grade guidance (advisory) group, which meets 3 times each week for 50 minutes. 

Common Ground started the year in a hybrid schedule, where most classes meet for 2-3 80-minute blocks, 2-3 times per week. All students are currently in remote learning mode. 

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

• Understanding of and experience with Next Generation Science Standards 
• Science classroom and out-of-classroom teaching experience 
• Experience in and commitment to interdisciplinary, project- and place-based learning, where students do real work and investigations 
• Background in environmental science, environmental justice, food justice, and environmental issues broadly. 
• 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.
• Connecticut teacher certification, or the ability to establish certification for the coming school year.
• 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; masters preferred.

We are also excited to consider candidates who have:

• Background in the themes at the center of the 10th  grade core: New Haven Stories,  Justice, Power, Public Health
• Experience with and passion for the arts and arts education (including videography, visual fine arts, theater, photography, spoken word). 
• 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.

Please send cover letter and resume to:

Applications@Commongroundct.org 

Please specify the job you are applying for in the subject line of your email.

Equal Opportunity Employer 

Common Ground is particularly eager for candidates who can help us to 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. 

Common Ground is committed to the recruitment and retention of staff that is reflective of the communities we work with. We strongly encourage applicants from people of color, immigrants, women, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community, people whose native language is something other than English, and other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. 

It has been the policy and will continue to be the strong commitment of the Common Ground and all contractors and subcontractors who do business with Common Ground to provide equal opportunities in employment to all qualified persons solely on the basis of job-related skills, ability and merit. Common Ground will continue to take Affirmative Action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, mental disorder (present or past history thereof) age, physical disability (but not limited to blindness), marital status, intellectual disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and criminal record. Such action includes, but is not limited to, employment, promotion, demotion or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation, and selection for training, professional development, attendance at conferences or other opportunities for advancement. Common Ground, its contractors and subcontractors will continue to make good faith efforts to comply with all federal and state laws and policies which speak to equal employment opportunity. The principles of Affirmative Action are addressed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the United States Constitution, Civil Rights Act of 1866, 1870, 1871, Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VI and VII of the 1964 United States Civil Rights Act, Presidential Executive Order 11246, amended by 11375, (Non-discrimination under federal contracts)< Act 1, Section 1 and 20 of the Connecticut Constitution, Governor Grasso’s Executive Order Number 11, Governor O’Neill’s Executive Order 9, the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Law (Sec. 46a-60-69) of the Connecticut General Statutes, Connecticut Code of Fair Practices (46a-7081), Deprivation of Civil Rights (46a-58(a)(d)), Public Accommodations Law (46a-63-64), 

Discrimination against Criminal Offenders (46a-80), definition of Blind (46a-51(1)), definition of Physically Disabled (46a-51(15)), definition of Intellectual Disability (46a51(13)), cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (46a-77), Sexual Harassment (46a-60(a)-8), Connecticut Credit Discrimination Law (360436 through 439), Title I of the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972. This Affirmative Action Policy Statement re-affirms Common Ground’s commitment to equity in the workplace and the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity