Middle School Lead Teacher (2024-2025 SY)
AVAILABLE OPENINGS:
- 5-8th Grade EL Teacher
- 8th Grade Science
- Special Education
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Employment Type: Full-time, in-person teaching position for the 2024-2025 school year.
Salary: Valor's certificated teacher salary scale ranges between $55,000 to $77,000+ and placement on the scale is based on years of lead teaching experience in a K-12 school. Pre-licensure candidates will start with a salary of $44,520 and transition to the certificated salary scale once their Tennessee teaching license is active.
About Valor:
Founded in 2014, Valor Collegiate Academies is a top-performing, public charter school network in Nashville, Tennessee, serving 1900 students in Grades 5-12. We operate two middle schools, Valor Flagship and Valor Voyager, that feed into our high school, Valor College Prep. Our mission is to create a community where diverse students of all backgrounds have equitable access to a high-quality education that prepares them to live inspired and purposeful lives. This mission is made possible through an innovative school model that balances rigorous academics and whole-child education in an intentionally diverse environment. Learn more about Valor here: https://valorcollegiate.org/our-model/
Core Responsibilities Include:
Planning & Instruction (75%)
- Prepare, internalize, and plan daily lessons that are built on Valor’s curriculum scope and sequence to meet the needs of all students
- Partner and collaborate with EL teachers and Special Education teachers to ensure all students are receiving appropriately accommodated grade-level content and academic support
- Prepare materials for class activities, do nows, exit tickets, and homework assignments
- Implement assessments that measure progress towards academic standards and identifies gaps in learning; use scholar work and data to inform instruction and intervention strategies
- Collect, enter, and analyze academic data to provide targeted instruction and interventions that promote a culture of learning
- Engage in weekly 1:1 coaching meetings to deepen content expertise and develop instructional mastery
- Submit lesson plans weekly for feedback and review by instructional coach
- Engage in weekly collaborative curriculum meetings (known as Intellectual Preparation) with a planning partner and instructional leader
- Update scholar gradebook regularly and proactively communicate academic progress with parents/guardians, other teachers, administrators, and/or school counselors
Student Mentorship & Family Engagement (12.5%)
- Facilitate student Circles once a week to guide a group of student’s academic, behavioral, and social-emotional success
- Implement activities and SEL lessons daily during structured Mentor time, as well as provide academic coaching for students in mentor group
- Respond to students' behavior in real-time using school-wide intervention systems and classroom management practices
- Track and input student behavior feedback and data through Kickboard by the daily school deadline to share with families, school leaders, and the Compass Team
- Maintain a 4:1 positivity ratio to strengthen school culture and student relationships
- Serve as the main point-of-contact for families to communicate any student-specific, grade-level, or school-wide information
School-Based Responsibilities & Faculty Engagement (12.5%)
- Enforce, uphold, and exhibit school’s values, student management policies, and culture
- Willingly, kindly, and actively upholding Valor’s organizational commitments
- Own an arrival duty, recess or lunch duty, transition, and/or dismissal duty
- Participate in and prepare for school events that occur outside of normal school hours, such as parent-teacher conferences, grade level student trips, IEP meetings, report card conferences, and new student orientation. The estimated time commitment per school year is approximately 25 hours.
- Engage in ongoing professional development, which includes attending 3 weeks of faculty training in the summer and participating in weekly professional learning sessions throughout the school year (i.e. weekly academic PL, culture PL, State of School meetings)
- Engage and participate in faculty Circle once a week, and complete and present 2-3 pieces of faculty Badge Work per school year
Certification Requirements:
In compliance with Tennessee Department of Education’s requirements for teacher licensure, candidates applying for this position must:
- Have an active Tennessee teaching license
- Have an out-of-state license that can be transferred to Tennessee by July 2024, or
- Pre-licensure candidates must be eligible and willing to enroll in a TDOE-approved job-embedded licensing program to obtain your certification during the 2024-25 school year
Qualifications and Experience:
We believe diversity is what makes us strong and we are committed to building a team of educators with diverse skills and experiences. We invite you to apply if you:
- Have authorization to work in the United States without requiring visa sponsorship
- Have an active teaching license or are eligible and willing to pursue licensure
- Have strong content knowledge and instructional pedagogy
- Have a proven track record of high achievement in the classroom
- Have an unwavering belief that all students can succeed in school and beyond
- Have a relentless drive to develop your practice to sharpen your skills as an educator
- Set ambitious goals for yourself and others and are not afraid of putting in the hard work it takes to achieve them
- Have the passion and commitment to serve a culturally and socioeconomically diverse community of students and families
- Have experience or willingness to quickly learn and adopt school-wide tech platforms, i.e. Kickboard, Infinite Campus, Google Suite, Google Classroom
- Enjoy cultivating meaningful relationships with students, families, and staff
- Are able to model, live, and reinforce our school’s core values, commitments, and policies
Interview Process:
- Resume Review
- Phone Interview
- Teacher Performance Task
- Virtual Sample Lesson & Leadership Interview
- Reference Checks
- Offer Extension
Compensation and Benefits:
- Valor's certificated teacher salary scale ranges between $55,000 to $77,000+ and placement on the scale is based on years of lead teaching experience in a K-12 school. Pre-licensure candidates will start with a salary of $44,520 and transition to the certificated salary scale once their Tennessee teaching license is active.
- We offer opportunities for teachers to earn stipends for taking on additional teacher-leader roles, athletic coaching positions, and/or doing project-based work that's outside of your core role
- Receive a Years of Service bonus for completing 3, 5, and 7 years of classroom teaching as a Valor teacher
- Comprehensive health (medical, dental, and vision) and retirement benefit, including a hybrid pension plan and 401K with 5% company contribution
- Have priority waitlist access to enroll your child at Valor
- 8 days of PTO (prorated based on start date for anyone onboarding after July 1, 2024)
- 8 weeks of fully-paid maternity and paternity leave
- Receive an employee laptop and unlimited classroom supplies
- Grow from more than 100 professional development hours each year and individualized coaching
- Free access to an on-campus strength & conditioning facility, Vanderbilt Health Clinic, retirement counseling, and mental health support and resources
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
Valor believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization that enables students and staff to thrive. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We actively seek applications from people of all backgrounds to strengthen our community and the perspectives needed to thrive in a diverse world.