High School Humanities 

Reports to: Assistant Head of School ---- Start Date: August 2023

The School...

Vistamar School is an independent college preparatory day school serving grades 9-12. The founders’ vision was to tap into the diversity of Los Angeles to bring together students who could learn from each other the skills and attitudes necessary for global citizenship. The Vistamar experience is guided by its core values and its mission which rests on three pillars: challenging academics that engage and inspire students; an intimate atmosphere that supports students with caring relationships; and a diverse community that encourages the authentic exchange of perspectives and leads students to be comfortable crossing cultural boundaries. Vistamar believes there’s a better way to do high school.

Vistamar School serves a highly diverse population of students in grades 9-12, supported by a generous program of Moderated Tuition. Approximately 33% of our students participate in our Moderated Tuition program, and approximately 50% of our students identify as students of color.  We seek to attract a faculty and student body who bring a diversity of thought and culture to our school community, and who will be committed to ensuring that we provide an inclusive environment for the respectful exchange of multiple perspectives. Vistamar is located in the easternmost section of El Segundo.  The school is close to major freeway interchanges and is well serviced by public transportation, including a commuter rail station.

Since our opening in 2005, enrollment has grown steadily to 260 students. Vistamar attracts and enrolls one of the most diverse student bodies in the greater Los Angeles area, with students from over 60 zip codes and more than 80 schools. We will add faculty and classrooms incrementally as we approach our target enrollment of 300.  Both tuition and salaries are competitive with other Los Angeles - area independent schools. Vistamar is fully accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and holds institutional memberships in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Council of International Schools (CIS).

The Opportunity...

You will be joining us as a teacher in the Humanities Department. The Humanities Department seeks to broaden students’ understanding of the interdependent relationship of history, geography, politics, and cultural production; to build nimble and skilled communicators who understand how knowledge is constructed and who are empowered to create their own narratives; to value learning about the lives and stories of others, across time and space, as a life-long process that enriches both the self and the community as a whole.

Our Humanities curriculum takes an interdisciplinary approach. We believe human experience, witnessed through history and expressed through literature, is most effectively studied as an integrated whole. In the 9th and 10th grade students explore contemporary and ancient societies and cultures from around the globe. Underclassmen take two complementary courses, referred to as Core and Project, which take best practices from both traditional, teacher-guided learning and project-based learning respectively. In 11th and 12th grade, required and elective courses allow for deeper dives into discipline-specific studies, including interdisciplinary topics in American and World Literature, U.S. History, Psychology, Applied Economics, Government, and more.

A typical week would include the preparation and teaching of four courses, each meeting four times per week, serving as a student advisor, assisting with student activities, and engaged participation in faculty and team meetings. Additional responsibilities include maintaining active communication with students & families, active participation in admissions/development events, and other important community gatherings.

Qualifications…

The Vistamar School community seeks candidates who can fulfill our Four Attributes of Excellent Teaching. Successful candidates will also commit to multicultural educational practices and working in a diverse community.   Additionally, Vistamar School seeks candidates who engage in professional development opportunities to further develop inclusive teaching practices.

Ideal Candidates...

• Practice culturally responsive pedagogy.
• Cultivate strong and collegial relationships with all community members in a culturally responsive manner.
• Embrace working with high school students with enthusiasm.
• Seek to know, understand and serve the social-emotional needs of the whole child
• Use strong pedagogical skills and depth of content expertise to design meaningful learning experiences that foster a passion for learning in students
• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the reflective, iterative nature of teaching and thus seek continuous growth and development as a lifelong learner.
• Embrace the school’s culture as an engaged, energetic, and thoughtful community member.
• Teaching experience at the high school level, a deep knowledge of the subject matter, and familiarity with student-centered approaches to teaching that promote critical thinking and help to make students’ thinking visible.
• Can design learning experiences toward performance-based assessments using a “backward planning” model.
• Embrace the school’s culture as an engaged, energetic, and thoughtful community member.
• Have teaching experience in teaching in integrated humanities programs or in teaching History and English at the high school level .
• Experience designing curriculum and lesson plans as part of a team with creativity, collaboration, and organization.
• A master's degree and teaching credential are preferred. 
• Must be available to engage fully with our onboarding process.

How to Apply...

Additional information about Vistamar School is available on the school’s website: https://www.vistamarschool.org. Applicants should submit a complete résumé and cover letter by email to: positions@vistamarschool.org. No calls, please.