Teacher High School Instructor for English Language Learners (ELL)
Job Description
High School Instructor for English Language Learners (ELL)
- Are you a passionate, and talented teacher?
- Do you love working in urban schools?
- Are you looking for a high school culture that strikes the perfect balance of structure and freedom, where academic rigor drives all other aspects of school life, and where positive reinforcement for hard work and effort is the norm?
- Do you constantly strive to improve your craft through coaching, incorporation of data, and whatever other resources you can find?
- Do you thrive in the company of equally committed, driven, and gifted teachers?
MESA Charter High School might be the right place for you!
Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School is a community high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We opened our doors on August 19, 2013, and we now have 465 students in grades 9-12. We graduated our first class of seniors in June 2017 and our graduate rate is 92%. Our students come from more than forty different middle schools, including public, parochial, and charter schools. Some are advanced students coming from magnet schools; others are beginning English Language Learners. What they all have in common is a desire to succeed. MESA students come to school every day, ready to work—we have a 95% attendance rate and a 97% punctuality rate, both significantly higher than other high schools in our district! When it comes to regents pass rates, MESA outperforms its peers by a rate of 20-30%!
Some key aspects of MESA’s design are:
- Smart teaching—MESA uses a Standards-Based Grading system, which makes data understandable and accessible. This enables teachers to create targeted, focused instruction, and helps students understand and track their own progres MESA teachers love data (or at least aren’t afraid of it!).
- Smart support—MESA teachers have a minimum of rote administrative duties in order to better focus on planning, instruction, and assessment. Teachers receive ongoing coaching and feedback. MESA is committed to collaboratively developing and growing its teachers. Dedicated time for professional development and collaborative planning is built into the calendar.
- Smart scheduling—MESA’s school day starts and ends later than most DOE schools, as research indicates that a late start helps high-school students succeed.
- Smart culture—MESA provides students with a separate effort grade each week, which will lead to rewards for students. MESA also emphasizes positive reinforcement for student effort and performance. All MESA teachers lead an Advisory, and serve as Advisor to 10-13 students.
- Smart relationships—MESA believes that all parents want their children to succeed, and enlists them as partners through phone calls, workshops, and frequent contact. More than 85% of MESA parents attended parent-teacher conferences, a number generally unheard of in unscreened urban high schools
- Smart calendar—MESA’s calendar has 187 days of instruction, as well as dedicated PD and grading days. MESA’s calendar and earlier start allow for “Intersession,” during which students receive enrichment, skill remediation, or Regents preparation.
Specific Responsibilities:
- Teach and provide services to all of MESA’s English Language Learners, both through push-in and through sheltered instruction pull-out.
- Lead or assist with administration of NYSESLAT and all other assessments, including those that may be necessary to identify ELL students.
- Assist subject-area teachers with adapting lessons to needs of ELL students, and provide ongoing training on best practices for reaching ELL students.
- Build relationships with all students. MESA teachers believe that rapport is key to student engagement and motivation.
- Attend, participate in, and facilitate team meetings and professional development opportunities, as well as common planning times. MESA believes that good professional development is interactive, practical, and teacher-driven.
- Communicate regularly with parents about both positive and negative interactions with students, making a minimum of two positive contacts (phone, email, or text message) with parents per week.
- Teach one week of Intersession enrichment program based on teacher interest (additional stipend provided).
- Maintain duties as Advisor.
- Other duties, as assigned by the Principal.
Qualifications: (1) Minimum Bachelor’s degree in subject area to be taught, Master’s Degree preferred; (2) Experience in an urban public high school or charter school setting; (3) Proven track-record of high achievement in the classroom and commitment to accountability; (4) Belief in and alignment with MESA’s core beliefs and educational philosophy; (5) Valid New York State Certification preferred; (6) Fluent Spanish-Speaker required.
Salary: Highly competitive, commensurate with experience.
To apply: Please email your resume and cover letter to Arthur Samuels, Executive Director, at info@mesacharter.org with the subject heading “High School ELL Instructor.” Cover letter should specifically indicate why you want to work at MESA. APPLY BY EMAIL ONLY. Due to the nature of the position and the volume of applications received, MESA will not be able to reply to all submissions. MESA will contact candidates with next steps.
