POSITION STATEMENT
Health & Human Development Teacher

Start Date: August 2025

OVERVIEW
Brooklyn Friends School (BFS), a thriving Early Childhood - 12th grade school located in vibrant Downtown Brooklyn, seeks a Health & Human Development Teacher  within a dynamic community of colleagues (BFS uses the all-inclusive term, colleagues, to refer to all rather than one that delineates faculty/staff). Founded in 1867, Brooklyn Friends School’s pillars of social justice, service learning/civic engagement, and Quakerism, serve as guideposts for our action-oriented collective work. Our school’s history has been illustrious and reflective of the expansive nature of human experiences. Guided by our mission, BFS provides a dynamic, diverse, and robust social/emotional environment and academic program that cultivates compassionate, intellectually curious, and confident changemakers. As a school, we affirm that human diversity includes, but is not limited to: race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity and  expression, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic class, family structure and physical ability, as well as diversity of thought, talents, and learning style. Brooklyn Friends School does not discriminate based on these characteristics or any characteristic prohibited by law and provides reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified colleagues and applicants. If you need an accommodation related to any part of the hiring process, please send an email to hiring@brooklynfriends.org.

This short video gives you a glimpse into our contemporary experience.

THE POSITION
Reporting to the Head of Middle School, the Health & Human Development teacher will help the learning communities ensure that all BFS students become equipped with the knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to understand their bodies, minds, and emotional responses, and how these elements work together to become whole, self-directed, compassionate and socially directed individuals. Our program is also explicitly designed to increase students’ media literacy skills and teach them how and why to question dominant narrative structures around power, access, race, socioeconomic status, sexuality, and gender.

Applicants should have experience working with and teaching a student-centered health education curriculum. Demonstration of strong classroom management skills, an investment in continued professional growth, comfort using classroom technology, and a commitment to promoting a diverse community is expected. The Health & Human Development Teacher is responsible for ongoing assessment of students and communication with parents and Division Heads about children’s progress. Additionally, all Middle School colleagues serve as co-advisors and are responsible for the overall support and wellbeing of a small group of students in their care. All Middle School teachers are expected to be active community members, sharing supervisory duties and general support and care of the school community.  

Primary Responsibilities Include:

This position reports to the Head of  Middle School. 

• Teach Health classes to students in grades 4 and above.
• Support the academic/social/emotional development of all students
• Collaborate with colleagues to plan, create, and implement curriculum
• Communicate effectively with families with regard to all aspects of classroom life and child development
• Serve as a Middle School Advisor
• Be responsible for ongoing student assessment
• Share supervisory duties and general support and care of the school community  
• Perform necessary routine tasks and daily maintenance of the classroom
• Serves as an active community member that is highly collaborative and partners well with teachers, families, administration, and students 
• Works in partnership and collaboration with learning community heads and colleagues to facilitate the needs and direction of the program.
• Practices shared leadership in the classroom with students and in the learning community with colleagues.
• Keeps abreast of, shares, and applies current research on teaching, learning, and human and child development.
• Teaches for understanding? using multiple modalities, especially experiential and/or project based learning.
• Engages parents through written communication, “Connect and Talk” meetings, and other as-needed conversations
• Examines and uses student learner profiles, in particular those for students with learning challenges, and teaches with an understanding of how to differentiate, accommodate, and modify in ways that benefit a?ll? students.
• Demonstrates attention to detail while keeping an eye on departmental and whole-division vision.

REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES

• Bachelor’s degree in the field or other area required (Master’s degree preferred).

• Has relevant experience in a school setting.
• Professional dedication to progressive education, the division, and the whole school.
• Has strong classroom management skills.
• Has strong classroom management skills.
• Is invested in continued professional growth. 
• Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication.
• Is comfortable working with families.
• Models collaboration and can speak to serving as a member of a team. 
• Approaches work with flexibility, patience, grace, connection, and a willingness to learn. 
• Demonstrates cultural competency and a commitment to diversity, equity, and belonging, and Quaker Values.
• Genuine ability and desire to work across differences and be respectful of them (intellectually and socially).
• A respect for the life of the child.
• Joyful and has a respectful sense of humor.
• Compassion, integrity, and open-mindedness in all interactions.
• Collegiality, approachability, flexibility, and adaptability.
• Interest in and willingness to use new and different educational approaches.
• Consistently strong, respectful, and gracious interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to partner and collaborate across professional statuses, i.e., with all staff, administrators, families, student body, local and national independent school community, and neighborhood community.
• Brings a passion and desire to create a joyful learning environment

Physical Requirements of the Job:

• Must be able to ambulate through a classroom setting, including walking up stairs.
• Must be able to lift and carry small children up to 40lbs in the case of emergency.
• Must be able to lift and carry up to 50 lbs.
• Must be able to work outdoors or in spaces without heat or air conditioning, and which are subject to variable temperatures and humidity.
• Must be able to work in an office environment including prolonged periods of sitting and standing.
• Must be able to stand, bend over, twist and reach to access file cabinets, navigate instrument storage spaces, bookshelves, and office and workstation spaces.

Union Status: Union

Salary Range: $71,601 - $97,540

This salary range represents the expected annual salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we'll consider your education level, experience, and other job-related factors.

• Benefits: Colleagues may be eligible to participate in employment benefits including, but not limited to, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, life insurance and long-term disability insurance. Benefits are subject to change at any time, and are subject to applicable plan documents.

To apply, please provide the following:

1. Cover letter addressed to the Head of Middle School. Along with punctuating your interest and experience, your cover letter should also address how you feel that your professional journey aligns with our school’s Quaker values and pillars of social justice and civic engagement.
2. Resume/Curriculum Vitae
3. List of three references (with emails, phone numbers, and relationship to you).
4. Letters of recommendation are highly encouraged. 
5. Completed online application.

Please email the above attachments (if possible as a single PDF) to hiring@brooklynfriends.org and healthposition@brooklynfriends.org, and put Health & Human Development Teacher in the subject line. Qualified candidates will be contacted after materials have been reviewed. 

Brooklyn Friends School COVID-19 Vaccination Policy:

We appreciate your interest in employment at Brooklyn Friends School. We would like to note that the School has a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, which requires all faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated, and provide proof of vaccination.

About Brooklyn Friends School

Brooklyn Friends School (BFS) is a thriving Preschool-12 grade school located in vibrant Downtown Brooklyn with a dynamic community of colleagues (BFS uses the all-inclusive term, colleagues, to refer to all rather than one that delineates faculty/staff). Founded in 1867, Brooklyn Friends School’s pillars of social justice, service learning/civic engagement, and Quakerism, serve as guideposts for our action-oriented collective work. Our school’s history has been illustrious and reflective of the expansive nature of human experiences. Guided by our mission, BFS provides a dynamic, diverse, and robust social/emotional environment and academic program that cultivates compassionate, intellectually curious, and confident changemakers. As a school, we affirm that human diversity includes, but is not limited to: race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic class, family structure and physical ability, as well as diversity of thought, talents, and learning style.

Connections working at Brooklyn Friends School