Computer Science instructor

CATE SCHOOL:

For over 100 years, Cate has been combining the best of East Coast tradition and West Coast energy and innovation in the service of highly motivated, independent-minded kids. Residential life is structured to develop well-being and leadership through the practice of self-discipline and service. In addition to an inquiry-driven curriculum designed to elicit the greatest possible growth in every student, all students participate in an extracurricular program that includes athletics, drama, music, dance, community service, and an extensive outdoor program. With more than 50 honors and advanced courses, the Cate curriculum can meet the demands of the most ambitious students. A typical applicant to Cate has impeccable character, a history of high academic achievement, is mature, curious, and adventurous, and willing to assume responsibility and independence.

At Cate School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work are integral to our mission because we recognize that academic excellence and productive citizenship are impossible without intercultural competency. While DEI work at Cate has historically focused on increasing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity amongst students and faculty, today’s efforts must also provide the skills and competencies that will allow all stakeholders to thrive in increasingly diverse environments, beginning with the one we are constructing at Cate.

 Cate’s approach is to “meet students where they are,” and ensure, through education and practice, that they graduate with the foundational skills necessary to excel in institutions of higher learning and in the 21st Century workplace. This approach embodies Cate’s mission as an educational institution rooted not only in character development, but in skill building. Likewise, faculty cultural competency is evaluated during the hiring process and then supported and evaluated at regular intervals as part of Cate’s ongoing professional development. Continually honing these skills is essential to ensuring that each member of the Cate community feels a genuine sense of belonging and is able to achieve their greatest growth.

 To that end, Cate’s curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular programming relies upon a community-wide, skills-based framework that acknowledges the centrality of DEI competency to teaching, professionalism and collaboration, and, for students, meaningful interpersonal connections and post-secondary success. This framework is important because one can value difference immensely and never become interculturally competent. Put simply, awareness and sensitivity must be augmented with greater knowledge of myriad cultures, ideologies, faiths, and ways of living and the practical tools that will enable the most proactive and inclusive behaviors.

 At Cate, we often talk about the deep sense of community that attends the “spirit of this place.” While the “spirit” manifests in many ways, it is rooted in the full recognition of the dignity of each person. We encourage all members of the Cate community to share their background, interests, identities, and beliefs so that we can collectively work to broaden our perspectives, deepen our capacity for empathy, and strengthen our resilience. In doing so, we can continue the daily work of creating and building community

Cate School is committed to a policy of Equal Opportunity Employment and nondiscrimination in the treatment of employees or applicants for employment without consideration of race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, gender or gender identity.

POSITION PURPOSE:

Job Description for Science Instructor 

Cate School is committed to attracting and retaining a highly talented and diverse community.  We seek applications from candidates who are eager to live among and teach young men and women from all over the world. A small co-educational boarding school on the Central Coast of California, Cate School offers a career opportunity for educators whose priorities and purposes mirror the four pillars of our mission statement--commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service.  A small co-educational boarding school, Cate School anticipates and encourages work with our students well beyond the classroom, as faculty members serve as advisors, dorm parents, coaches, and mentors. 

Position Overview

Cate School is currently seeking highly qualified teaching candidates to advance, coordinate, and support the integration and threading of computational thinking throughout the Cate curriculum, particularly in mathematics and science.  The position would include teaching advanced computer science and either math or science.  The position will formally begin in August of 2021.  The teacher will instruct four sections in the Math and/or Science Departments, oversee or assist during two extra-curricular seasons, fulfill a residential commitment, attend department and faculty meetings, and report to Annalee Salcedo, Chair of the Math Department and/or Craig Bouma, Chair of the Science Department.  

Course Description:

Advanced Computer Science- Scientific Programming (Science/Math)

5 units/trimester. Year Course. This advanced course in scientific problem-solving will provide students with the programming skills to ask and answer a broader range of questions than can be addressed by conventional means. Using concepts from physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science and mathematics, students will design, code, and run computational models to conduct virtual experiments. Using the open source Python programming language and the rich set of free scientific, mathematical, and graphical packages built for it, students will learn to think like a programmer as they work through case studies and classical algorithms. They will deepen their understanding of population dynamics by modeling a zombie apocalypse. They will appreciate the subtleties of random numbers and probability by constructing a blackjack simulator. They will develop techniques for numerical integration and data visualization as they analyze the record-breaking Red Bull Stratos jump. At the end of the course, students will own a toolkit of transferable problem-solving skills applicable to any discipline at the college level. 

Specific responsibilities also include: 

Vision 

An exploration of basic ideas of computational thinking focusing on the perspectives, thought processes, and skills that underlie computational approaches to problem formulation and problem solving. Application of computational toolds to investigate complex, large- scale problems in a variety of knowledge domains. Examination of the societal and political implications of computational systems.

Computational thinking skills are versatile approaches to problem solving that include:

• Gathering and organizing data to investigate questions and communicate findings
• Expressing procedures as algorithms (that is, a series of logical, precise, repeatable steps that delivers an expected result) to reliably create and analyze processes
• Creating computational models that use data and algorithms to simulate complex systems
• Using and comparing computational models to develop new insights about a subject
• implement courses and curriculum consistent with school-wide and departmental skill/content objectives and institutional scholarly aspirations;
• see to the productive evolution of all materials pertaining to course purposes and descriptions; 
• partner with peers and colleagues in all departments, and help Cate to build paradigmatic programs throughout the School. 
• The art of coding

Responsibilities 

• Teach the equivalent of four classes in computer science and mathematics or science, 
• Develop and support computational thinking activities and projects across the curriculum,
• Skillfully work with students from different backgrounds and levels of computer science proficiency, to increase computational thinking proficiencies across the campus

Collaboration 

• Advance computational thinking in all disciplines that will give students the skills to model and represent phenomena, set up and solve problems, and ask and clarify questions that make a contribution when used"
• work effectively with other teachers within your discipline and department in order to develop courses that are consistent at grade-levels and coordinated across the four-year Science curriculum; 
• develop a professional development plan appropriate to your needs, in consultation with the department chair, and consistent with the needs of the department; 
• maintain a growth mindset in considering all manner of pedagogical ideas, evaluative feedback, and evolving school needs.

Teaching 

• Experience in teaching programming using Python 
• For example, interpret and visualize stats in math
• Use algorithms to study intervals, rhythm, and composition in music
• Predict movement of species in biology
• Create simulations to model motion in physics
• Create models to represent equations, functions, and statistical phenomena in math
• Use primary source data to study patterns of voting in social science
• Designs and supports efforts to integrate coding across the curriculum
• plan, prepare, and design science activities and labs that engage students in scientific inquiry and facilitate active learning experiences
• be knowledgeable of and incorporate national standards and best practices
• identify and select different instructional resources and methods to meet students' varying needs
• guide and monitor student learning and growth through formative assessment and appropriate feedback
• assign and grade class work, homework, tests and assignments in a timely, fair, and consistent manner
• maintain accurate and complete records of students' progress and development
• participate in department and school meetings, parent meetings
• communicate necessary information regularly to students, colleagues and parents regarding student progress and student needs
• keep updated with developments in subject area, teaching resources and methods and make relevant changes to instructional plans and activities, and be willing to grow professionally and attend conferences

Key Competencies

•    self motivation
•    high energy level
•    verbal and written communication skills
•    attention to detail
•    high work standards
•    problem solving
•    decision making
•    organizing and planning
•    learning orientation
•    critical thinking
•    stress tolerance
•    flexibility and adaptability
•    initiative

Interested candidates should send a CV and two letters of reference to Jay Dorion, Assistant Headmaster, at [email protected]