Career Center

7th and 8th Grade Science Teacher

Friends Community School (FCS) is a progressive co-ed Quaker K-8 day school serving a diverse student body from the greater Washington, D.C. area. FCS offers a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity, and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage. Faculty and staff are highly engaged and enjoy flexibility, autonomy, and creativity. FCS’s LEED-certified building is situated on 17 acres surrounded by Greenbelt National Park, nine minutes from the University of Maryland, College Park, and thirty minutes from Washington, D.C. Now in its 35th year, FCS serves 257 students with 54% self-identifying as people of color. 

FCS seeks a full-time 7th and 8th Grade Science Teacher.  The qualified candidate will be a member of the Middle School faculty and should possess and demonstrate an understanding of child development and progressive pedagogy and have appreciation and respect for adolescents and their development. We seek an individual who is knowledgeable and experienced with the teaching of science to upper elementary and middle school students and who has the ability to provide project-based and experiential learning to students. The curriculum for 7th Grade focuses on physical science and 8th in the life sciences. 

The qualified candidate will possess strong classroom management skills and the ability to create a welcoming and supportive classroom environment using Responsive Classroom or Developmental Designs. Every day the Science Teacher will lead advisory for a small group of 7th or 8th Grade students using the FCS Habits of Being Curriculum. We seek an individual who respects and understands issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion and incorporates them into their practice and the curriculum. 

 The 7th and 8th Grade Science Teacher teaches 16-18 students within a team of four other teachers in a multi-disciplinary program of Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies. The teacher is expected to collaborate on, design, and create curriculum. The successful candidate should have experience with designing curriculum including units of study and assessment tools. 

Responsibilities include:

• Possessing and demonstrating optimism toward teaching and student learning
• Assessing needs of students and implementing effective lessons using anecdotal observations and formal assessments
•  Evaluating, assessing, and enhancing curriculum and materials
• Providing differentiated instruction and designing project-based and experiential units of study 
• Creating a safe and respectful learning environment that reflects Quaker values and supports diverse learning styles
• Utilizing conflict resolution, Responsive Classroom or Development Designs, and other developmentally appropriate methods of classroom management
• Maintaining an attractive, welcoming, and organized classroom environment conducive to learning
• Seeking professional development opportunities which will be paid by the school, in order to enhance knowledge and practice of teaching
• Organizing and facilitating e classroom field trips related to curriculum and the School traditions
• Documenting curriculum annually using Rubicon Atlas (training will be provided)
• Supervising lunch and recess for students
• Communicating with parents on a regular basis via email, telephone, or in-person
• Writing detailed progress reports and conducting two parent-teacher conferences each school year as well as a Back-to-School Night presentation

Qualifications and experience:

• 4-year college degree; a master’s degree preferred
• A minimum of 3 years of teaching experience
• Familiarity with reading/writing workshop model from Teacher's College and Guided Reading, and Understanding by Design
• Strong classroom management skills and knowledge of Responsive Classroom or Developmental Designs
• Effective and strong oral and written communication skills
• Knowledge and  skill using technology (such as Google Suite, Blackbaud)

To apply, please address a cover letter to Aimee Farley, and submit via email the cover letter, your resume, and the contact information of three professional references to aimeef@friendscommunityschool.org.

FCS is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational community and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, gender, gender identity, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.