Job Description

Position:  Elementary School Chinese Lead Teacher (Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2)

Rate:  Up to $50 per hour

Overview:

The elementary school classroom lead teacher is a key stakeholder, profoundly influencing the lives of children. These lead teachers are dedicated to fostering a student-centered learning environment that honors the culture and identity of each child, enabling them to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

In early childhood, students engage in all content areas taught in the target language for approximately 90% of the school day, while early literacy and math skills are taught in English for about 10%. As students progress into elementary school (Kindergarten through 5th grade), the school implements a 50/50 model where standards-based instruction aligned with the Common Core State Standards is delivered in both the target language and English for equal portions of the day. The lead language teacher is responsible for teaching all content areas in the target language—either Mandarin Chinese or Spanish—and serves as an instructional model. Meanwhile, the lead English teacher focuses on literacy and math instruction.

Together, these educators collaborate to create a warm and inviting learning environment, build strong relationships with students and families, design and implement effective lessons, analyze data, and engage with the broader school community. Under the direct supervision of the Director of Teaching & Learning, lead teachers work closely with leadership team members to understand and respond to student and family needs while developing plans that align with the mission, vision, and pillars of the school, all while ensuring high-quality instruction is delivered effectively.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to :

School Mission and Vision

• Implement a shared school mission and vision to promote each student’s social, emotional, and academic development
• Actively participate in data-driven instruction and methods of continuous improvement to ensure we meet the needs of each student
• Reinforce the mission with students and families, inspiring them to act on the mission every single day
• Reflect on instructional practices and adjust behavior and systems accordingly: ask regularly for feedback; model humility and admit mistakes; seek out thought partners; and, engage in professional learning
• Collaborates with support teachers and other staff to ensure proper and consistent implementation of our instructional program

Equitable and Inclusive School Culture

• Model ethical, equitable, and professional behavior and acts with integrity, fairness, cultural competence, and empathy with students and colleagues 
• Contribute to a professional school culture focused on developing relational trust with colleagues and building each other's capacity to promote each student’s social, emotional, and academic development; serve as a mentor teacher for support teachers
• Set personal and professional learning goals to promote wellness and enhance professional practice; attend summer institute and weekly professional development sessions
• Participate in professional development and coaching cycles led by the Director of Teaching & Learning other instructional leaders
• Encourages open, productive, collaborative, and trusting working relationships among administrators, teachers, and staff to promote an environment of continuous improvement
• Mentors support teachers and develop a strong classroom culture
• Develop a supportive and positive learning environment focused on uplifting student voice and using student data to drive student development, growth, and achievement

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

• Develop lesson plans and teach all core subjects - English Language Arts (and Social Studies), Mandarin Language Arts (and Culture), or Spanish Language Arts (and Culture), as well as math and science
• Utilize culturally sustaining and anti-bias/anti-racist practices (along with data) to inform and guide daily instruction; incorporate student cultures, interests, and experiences into lessons and activities
• Set clear and measurable goals throughout the year for every student in all areas of study; regularly assess the progress of each child and provide differentiated, child-centered instruction to meet the needs of each child daily
• Actively participate in data-analysis cycles and protocols to evaluate and increase rigor, coherence, impact, and equity of curriculum, instruction, and assessment
• Collaboratively plan weekly with teaching teams to develop holistic lesson plans that foster self-directed learning
• Ensure that each student has equitable access to classroom materials, texts, learning resources and opportunities, academic and social-emotional supports, and other resources in the target language

Equitable and Inclusive Student Support

• Improve and sustain a school environment that is inclusive, equitable, caring, and culturally competent (and meets the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of each student)
• Maintain positive, fair, and unbiased student behavior policies that emphasize relationship reconciliation and behavioral change
• Work with Special Education Teacher and English Learner Teacher to plan for and support all learners’ needs
• Use student performance and placement data, as well as school culture data, to promote greater inclusiveness, caring, equity, and closure of opportunity gaps
• Serve as a member of the Student Support Team (SST) and implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to meet the needs of all children, including special populations

Family Engagement 

• Maintain open, welcoming, and ongoing communication with families regarding student progress that values inclusiveness and builds trust
• Provide routine, two-way communication with families about school activities and culture, student performance and development, and school initiatives
• Build and sustain positive, collaborative, and productive relationships with families to ensure student success
• Engage parents and families in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s social, emotional, and academic development
• Participate in parent conferences and school-wide events and contribute to the broader school community

Lead Teacher Requirements :

• Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree in Education or Curriculum and Instruction
• At least two years of combined experience as a teacher preferred
• Teaching license is preferred, but not required
• Deep experience and knowledge of learning standards and student-centered curriculum
• Fluent in speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Chinese or Spanish
• An energetic, flexible, creative, innovative individual who can develop strengths-based, student-centered support plans that support learning for students of various abilities, including those with variously identified exceptionalities
• Ability to excel as a member of a multidisciplinary team and an instructional team
• Ability to work in a multicultural, multilingual environment
• Ability to collaborate and teach through a lens of diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion
• Strong communication skills (both oral and written)

The ideal candidate is highly knowledgeable in the following :

• Effective bilingual and language acquisition strategies
• Research-based, tiered instructional strategies
• Elementary curriculum, instruction, & development
• Data analysis protocols
• Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
• Anti-racist beliefs and practices
• Responsive Classroom/Restorative Justice/Conscious Discipline
• Readers and Writers Workshop & Play-Based Centers

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