Grade Level: 6-8

Start Date: August 2024 (exact date, TBD)

Are you looking to be part of a school where teachers and administrators are energized by their work?

Are you looking for a Principal who is hugely invested in the development, diversification and fulfillment of his teachers and staff?

Do you want to be part of a joyful school with a growth mindset about all students’ unlimited potential?

Do you want to join a team where 80% or more of the staff reflect the identities of the students?

Do you want to be in a school that teaches students the full truth about our American history, that explicitly teaches about systemic injustices in ways that empower students and staff to take action and make change?

At our school, we explicitly address and counteract systemic racism through our hiring practices, our culturally responsive teaching, and our professional development focused on championing students who have historically be underserved and under resourced. We believe that equity lives in teaching rigorous grade-level content and holding students to high expectations. In our school, equity is not a slogan or a buzz word. It is an ongoing commitment to examining how we can best serve all our students (and our staff). As educators we believe that relationships with our students are the foundation on which all social and academic success is built. And, we strengthen our practice through five hours of professional learning per week, built within our 7:20-3:30 school day. Collaboration and peer to-peer learning are central to our growth as educators.

Make no mistake, this work is challenging. But done right, it is incredibly rewarding. If you are up for the challenge, join our team!

This position is available in a substantially separate special education program classroom where methodology and best practices will be provided to support students with Autism, aligned with the goals and objectives outlined in the individual student IEPs. The special education teacher is responsible for lesson planning and implementing tasks to support student learning. Focus of instruction will include functional spontaneous communication, social skills, plays skills, cognitive development, and functional academic skills, along with proactive strategies to decrease challenging behaviors as well as incorporating a multisensory approach to learning. Lessons should be aligned with the Common Core and materials and activities should be presented individually, in small groups, and in large groups. Adult assistance, repetition and reinforcement will be the focus in order to promote success in the independent completion of tasks. Structured, consistent, and systematic approaches to learning will be utilized. Applied Behavioral Analysis approaches, including discrete trial training, incidental teaching, and pivotal response training are teaching methodologies utilized in the LINKS classrooms.

To learn more about our school and view a video with student and staff voice, visit us at https://www.chestnuttag.com

Teaching in SEZP

SEZP is seeking educators who are excited and ready to make an impact in a collaborative, engaging, diverse, and high energy environment. We are seeking educators who believe teachers are activists - promising instructional access, rigor, advocacy, and a tenacious commitment to anti-racism for all students. SEZP teachers are expected to:

Create a safe, purposeful classroom environment that prioritizes learning for all students
Collaborate with other teachers, instructional leaders, and partners to ensure instruction is meeting the needs of all students
Assess students regularly, analyze data, and determine appropriate next steps for instruction
Ensure that instruction meets the needs of all students, including students with special needs, English Language Learners, and students performing below grade level
Build relationships and communicate regularly with students and their families to solicit input and share academic progress
Engage in learning about issues of racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in education to examine your own biases; reflect on how those biases affect you, your students, and their families; and plan and deliver instruction in a culturally responsive way
Participate in and learn from regular professional development opportunities before and during the school year

Qualifications

Experience teaching SPED at the middle and/or high school level preferred
Appropriate content/program area and grade level educator license (Moderate Disabilities) from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education required (Educators who are not yet licensed by MA DESE in the appropriate content/program area and grade level may be eligible for a licensure waiver and are still encouraged to apply.)
Experience as an active anti-racist or advocate for equity preferred
Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred
Bachelor’s degree required

If you meet some of the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply or to reach out for more information. We know that historically marginalized groups – including people of color, women, people from working class backgrounds, and people who identify as LGBTQ – are less likely to apply unless and until they meet every requirement for a job. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.

We encourage you to reach out to SEZP@springfieldempowerment.org if you have questions about the role or your qualifications. We are happy to help you feel ready to apply!

Benefits

SEZP offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience; salaries for new teachers start at $57,396. Teachers in SEZP qualify for benefits (personal/sick days, retirement, health insurance, etc.) offered to other teachers in the Springfield Public Schools.

In addition, there are several opportunities unique to SEZP schools to increase earnings above base salary. While not guaranteed, those opportunities currently include, but are not limited to:

Expanded Learning Time stipends at some schools, based on the yearly schedule
Annual stipends for Capstone Projects associated with national-level professional development opportunities, following an application and selection process
Empowerment Academies: Intervention and instruction opportunities we implement during February, April, and summer breaks, following an application and selection process

Positions will be filled on a rolling basis; applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. Please contact sezp@springfieldempowerment.org with any questions.

About the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership

While Massachusetts is consistently ranked as one of the top states for education results in the country, we have one of the highest and most persistent opportunity gaps. The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP) - established in 2015 as a collaboration between Springfield Public Schools (SPS), the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and the Springfield Education Association (SEA) – seeks to improve the longitudinal life outcomes of the more than 5,000 students in our eleven middle and high schools.

As a “zone” of schools within the city of Springfield, SEZP’s approach draws on a deep and embedded partnership with the school district and local teachers’ union, while harnessing the flexibility and innovation found in autonomous school models. As a result, each school within SEZP is accorded significant school-based autonomies - in curriculum, talent, calendar, schedule, and budget – while being held accountable for realizing achievement gains for historically marginalized students. In all of our work, SEZP is in pursuit of equity and anti-racism – acknowledging the systemic oppression our students and families encounter daily and working to disrupt these provision gaps urgently and courageously.

Nondiscrimination Statement

The Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, age, disability or military service or marital status. The Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate in admission to, access or treatment in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation, disability or homelessness.

Title IX Notice of Nondiscrimination

Springfield Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex in admission, administration of its educational programs or activities or employment. Springfield Public Schools is required by Title IX and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 106 not to discrimination on the basis of sex in admission, administration of its educational programs or activities or employment. The Senior Administrator of Human Resources, Kathleen O’Sullivan, Springfield Public Schools, 1550 Main St. Springfield MA, 011103, 413-787-7100, ext. 55428, has been designated as the employee responsible for coordinating Springfield Public Schools efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX. Inquiries concerning the application of Title IX and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 106 to Springfield Public Schools may be referred to Kathleen O’Sullivan or to U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 400 Maryland Ave., SW Washington, DC 20202-1100, telephone 800-421-3481.