Teacher High School Teacher (all content areas)
Job Description
Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School
High School Teacher (all content areas)
- Are you a passionate and talented teacher?
- Do you constantly strive to improve your teaching through coaching, feedback, incorporation of data, and whatever other resources you can find?
- Do you seek to be in a diverse and inclusive environment dedicated to equity and anti-racist practices in and outside of the classroom?
- Do you want to work in a public charter school that serves almost exclusively students of color and encourages enrollment of students with disabilities and ELL students?
- Are you looking for a high school culture that strikes the perfect balance of structure and freedom, where academic rigor drives all aspects of student life, and where constant recognition for hard work and effort is the norm?
If your answer is YES to all of the above, 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 in August 2013 and we now have 496 students in grades 9-12. We graduated our first class of seniors in June 2017 and our cumulative graduation rate is 94%. Our students come from more than forty different middle schools, including traditional 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 93% attendance rate and a 93% punctuality rate, both significantly higher than other high schools in our district! When it comes to NYS Regents pass rates, MESA outperforms its peers by a rate of 20-30%!
Some key aspects of MESA’s school model are:
- Intentional 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 progress. MESA teachers love data or at the very least, aren’t afraid of it!
- Intentional Support—MESA teachers have a minimum of rote administrative duties in order to better focus on planning, instruction, and assessment. Dedicated time for co-teaching, department and grade team planning is built into the school schedule.
- Intentional PD—MESA has a comprehensive professional development calendar that includes sessions on instructional practices, school culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Teachers are also encouraged to seek out PD opportunities outside of the school building.
- Intentional Culture—MESA’s advisory model connects small groups of entering freshmen with a teacher-advisor for all 4 years of high school. Advisors provide guidance on academic progress and are mentors, facilitators and positive influencers. Students are recognized by their teachers regularly for academic achievement and effort. Students are incentivized to meet school expectations around attendance, punctuality and preparedness. MESA uses the Love and Logic model to address disciplinary concerns.
- Intentional Relationships—MESA knows that all caregivers want their children to succeed. MESA enlists families as partners in their childrens’ education through regular communication, meetings, workshops, and access to student attendance information and grades. More than 85% of MESA caregivers attend the initial parent-teacher conference of the school year.
- Intentional Scheduling—MESA’s school day starts later than most DOE schools, as research indicates that a late start helps high-school students succeed. Our Block Schedule allows teachers to delve deeper into content and help develop critical thinking skills. The calendar and earlier start allows for “Intersession,” during Spring Break where students receive enrichment, skill remediation, or Regents preparation.
Specific Responsibilities:
- Design and teach five periods each day (two periods daily of prep time). Utilize Universal Design for Learning method of planning and instruction to reach all learners.
- Build relationships with all students. MESA teachers believe that strong 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 caregivers about both positive and negative interactions with students, making a minimum of two positive contacts (phone, email, or text message) with families per week.
- Hold office hours before or after school, at least once per week, to provide extra help and opportunities for reassessment.
- 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) Minimum of three years teaching experience in an urban public or charter school setting, or similar background; (3) Proven track-record of high achievement in the classroom and commitment to accountability; (4) Belief in and alignment with MESA’s core values, educational philosophy and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; (5) Valid New York State Certification strongly preferred; (6) Spanish-speaker a plus.
Salary: $60,000 – $100,000 based on experience.
