Language Arts - Middle School

Our Mission

We inspire highly capable, creative learners to lead with curiosity, compassion, and courage in a diverse and dynamic world.

About the Organization

Located just north of Seattle in Shoreline, Washington, The Evergreen School has been educating highly capable, creative learners for over 50 years. Our students love to ask questions, and our teachers use that natural curiosity to craft engaging lessons and spark thought-provoking conversations. Evergreen’s program infuses challenging academics with foundational support for social skills, emotional well-being, a multicultural perspective, and empathy for others. Our students think deeply, take intellectual risks, and tackle complex problems. They learn how to self-advocate, collaborate with others and understand and respect differences. Evergreen graduates move on to high school and beyond with confidence, ready to contribute to a diverse and dynamic world. 

Community

Our community members at Evergreen value and embrace the dignity and diversity of all people. We actively seek and support students, families, faculty, staff and trustees who bring a diversity of identity into our community. Our mission makes it essential that we skillfully deliver an inclusive educational program that teaches respect for others, empowers students of all backgrounds equitably, encourages social responsibility, and prepares students to be leaders in an interdependent global community. At Evergreen, our goal is to curate a culture where every family feels fully welcomed and encouraged to participate in every aspect of the community.

The Opportunity

The Language Arts teacher in our 6th-8th grade program will have the opportunity to develop and deliver a curriculum that engages our highly capable students in learning to value multiple perspectives, reflect upon their own identities, and develop skill in reading, writing, and analyzing various types of texts. The teacher is responsible for teaching either 6th, 7th, or 8th grade Language Arts classes in addition to either a middle school advisory class or middle school arts electives. The successful candidate should also have a collaborative approach to teaching, ability to teach an engaging and challenging program to highly capable students with individual learning styles and needs, and the ability to  utilize a wide range of instructional tools and resources, including project-based and experiential learning opportunities. They will also have experience using a variety of culturally responsive instructional strategies, such as drawing upon student experiences, incorporating a diversity of voices into the curriculum, and building relationships with students. The school seeks candidates who demonstrate a commitment to anti-bias and anti-racism work and to fostering a diverse and inclusive learning community that is responsive toward all differences including but not limited to race, ethnicity, national origin, geography, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, learning styles and marital, parental or economic status.

This is a salaried, full-time, benefits-eligible position for the 2021-22 school year, beginning August 19, 2021.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a Language Arts curriculum that focuses on developing strong readers, writers, and critical thinkers and exposes students to a range of literature representing diverse backgrounds, cultures, and voices. 

• Support 8th grade students in their high school exploration, including writing letters of recommendation.

• Develop and implement a culturally responsive curriculum for either a middle school arts elective or middle school advisory class for students at varying levels of progress from grades 6 through 8. This includes creating schemes of work and lesson plans, identifying and selecting instructional resources and methods to meet students’ needs, and preparing the classroom for activities.

• Write individualized narrative student evaluation reports twice during the academic school year (January and June).

• Regularly assess students’ progress by observing and evaluating performance and development, assigning and grading classwork, homework, tests and assignments and providing appropriate feedback to students, their parents and colleagues.

• Consistently communicate and document clear objectives for all learning activities to maintain accurate and complete records of students’ progress and development in compliance with laws, school policies and independent school regulations and accreditation standards.

• Communicate regularly with the relevant people (advisors, learning support specialist, counselor, division head, and parents) about student progress.

• Establish and enforce school rules for students with a positive style and strong classroom management skills.

• Attend school, department, team and parent meetings.

• Participate in certain extracurricular events, such as social and sporting activities, admission events, clubs, overnight camps and student group activities, occasionally on weekends.

• Maintain knowledge of and competency in relevant classroom technology and have a passion for recent developments in teaching resources and methods with the flexibility to incorporate changes into instructional plans and activities.

• Be strictly vigilant about student health and safety.

• Other duties as assigned.

Experience, Education and Desirable Skills

The ideal candidate for this position should:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree in English or a related field from an accredited college or university with teaching credentials.  A master’s degree and teaching certificate (preferred).

• Have 2-3 years in a lead teacher role, preferably in Language Arts at the middle school level.

• Have a demonstrated record of developing one’s own cultural competency.

• Have demonstrated success in working with people from diverse backgrounds and learning styles.

• Have experience working with highly capable children (preferred).

• Have experience crafting a multicultural and inclusive curriculum.

• Positively support the school’s mission while managing the demands of curriculum and lesson planning, teaching, collaboration and parent communications.

• Establish a healthy rapport with students ages 11 to 14 while motivating and facilitating students’ growth and love of learning.

• Be empowered by a collaborative approach to working with a team of colleagues, sharing with and learning from one another.

• Draw from a variety of curriculum sources and be skilled in differentiating among students with clear methods to appropriately challenge highly capable students.

• Communicate clearly, effectively and comfortably with the independent school community including students, parents and colleagues both inside and outside the classroom.

• Be technologically inclined; utilize education applications in the classroom. Be proficient with current educational technology, especially blended learning platforms and strategies.

• Respectfully maintain a high degree of confidentiality and integrity while exhibiting a professional manner and building constructive working relationships.

• Report to work at the scheduled time and seldom be absent from work.

• Complete work in a timely, accurate and thorough manner and be conscientious about assignments and deadlines.

• Be comfortable using a Learning Management System, Gmail and Google docs.

• Be able to lift up to 35 pounds and walk and stand for long periods of time. 

Equipment Used

• Computer (PC), copier and fax.
• Educational technology, such as SMART board and LMS.

Compensation will be commensurate with the candidate’s background and experience and will be competitive with similar positions in Seattle area independent schools. The position will begin in August 2021.

Applicants should submit the following:

• A cover letter outlining their interest in and qualifications for this position
• A current resume
• A completed Evergreen Employment Application

All materials should be sent to [email protected] Please include “Middle School Language Arts Teacher” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Any applicant scheduled for an interview will be asked to submit a 500 word (max) answer to the following question:

Our Evergreen mission calls on us to be self reflective learners. Please give us one or two examples of times when you were asked to work with a group of students who were different in ways in which you had little experience. How did you alter your practice to meet the needs of those students? How would you evaluate your success? What might you do differently?

Additional School Information:

The Educational Experience

At Evergreen, we believe learning isn’t a one-way path. Our highly capable students delight in exploring ramifications and digressions, gaining strength from setbacks and successes alike. At the same time, Evergreen’s insightful teachers help students uncover and develop their own unique perspectives on every subject. Through “planned exploration,” teachers carefully design the curriculum and lessons, while building in time and resources for students to pursue unexpected discoveries and long standing interests. From preschool through 8th grade, Evergreen’s hands-on curriculum encourages experimentation. In our extensively equipped BIG Lab (Build Imagine Grow), on overnight trips, during Adventure Days, and on the month-long 8th grade Global Studies trip, students expand their curiosity and put their classroom discoveries into practice. Equally important, we intentionally interweave academic subjects with social and emotional learning and an active commitment to equity, inclusion and diversity—so that as students grow intellectually, they also become increasingly self-aware, build ethical relationships with others, and continually strive to improve the wider world.

Head of School

On July 1, 2020, Halsey Bell became Evergreen’s fifth head of school.

Enrollment

Total: 493

Grade Levels: Preschool through 8th grade 

Class Size: 14-17 students

Ratio: 7:1 (students to full-time faculty)

Faculty and Staff

112 faculty and staff, including 56 full-time faculty, 6 part-time faculty, and 17 teaching assistants. Faculty includes 2 counselors and 2 learning resource coordinators. Approximately 60% of teaching faculty hold an advanced degree.

Campus

Evergreen occupies four and a half acres that include forested area typical of the Pacific Northwest, as well as distinct wetlands and native vegetation. A recent renovation and addition added significant new classroom and administration buildings, including the BIG Lab, our state-of-the-art makerspace, as well as beautiful outdoor gathering areas and courtyards.

Student Diversity

• Students come to Evergreen from 38 zip codes and a wide variety of schools and daycare programs.
• 46% of Evergreen students identify as students of color, including African American, Asian American, Latino American, Middle Eastern American, Multiracial American, and Native American

Financial Aid

16% of Evergreen families receive need-based financial aid, totaling approximately $1.2 million.

Accreditation & Membership

The Evergreen School is fully accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Puget Sound Independent Schools (PSIS), National Association for Gifted Children, Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 

Environmental Certifications

The Evergreen School is proud to be a Platinum-Certified Washington Green School and a Sustaining Green School in the King County Green Schools Program. 

Notice of Non-Discrimination

The Evergreen School strives to provide equal opportunity to all employees. The school's policy is not to discriminate in employment based on race, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status or any other status protected under applicable local, state or federal law. The School is committed to administering employment decisions, including hiring, promotions, compensation benefits, transfers, layoffs, return from layoffs, terminations, training, sabbaticals, tuition assistance and other programs, without regard to an employee's protected status.