3rd Grade Teacher

Third Grade Teacher

The Northwestern Academy of Visual and Performing Arts seeks a passionate and creative Third Grade Teacher to join our innovative educational community. Our curriculum prioritizes the academic with the arts to nurture essential character skills critical for personal and professional success. Arts integration is embedded across all subjects, fostering critical thinking, promoting student engagement, and supporting equity and empowerment, while cultivating empathy, cultural competency, and other vital personality traits.

Our transformative K-8 arts-integrated curriculum engages students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The ideal candidate will deliver a dynamic, arts-integrated curriculum that combines language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and technology with creative expression and exploration through theatre, music, movement, visual art, and digital tools. This role requires a commitment to fostering a nurturing, inclusive, and engaging learning environment where students build holistic academic and social-emotional skills, critical thinking abilities, creative self-expression, cultural awareness, and collaborative skills.

Position Responsibilities:

• Arts-Integrated Instruction:
  Plan and implement engaging, arts-integrated lessons that connect academic concepts with creative expression.
• Student-Centered Learning:
  Create a flexible, student-centered classroom environment that supports exploration, individual learning styles, curiosity, collaboration, and inquiry.
• Differentiated Instruction:
  Tailor lessons to meet diverse student needs, ensuring that all students have meaningful, accessible, and challenging experiences in academics and arts.
• Foundational Skill Development:
  Support early literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional growth through interactive arts activities.
• Cultural Awareness and Global Connections:
  Promote global awareness and empathy by exploring theatre, music, dance, and art from various cultures.
• Technological Integration:
  Introduce basic digital tools to students as a medium for creative expression and storytelling.
• Portfolio Development:
  Guide students in creating portfolios showcasing personal growth, goal setting, and social responsibility through arts integration, reflective journaling, and project documentation.
• Assessment and Reflection:
  Develop assessments that evaluate students' understanding of academic and artistic concepts. Guide students in analyzing their projects through self-reflection and peer critiques.

Classroom Culture and Environment:

• Classroom Management:
  Establish a supportive, inclusive, and well-organized studio-like classroom where students feel safe to express themselves and actively engage in hands-on learning experiences.
• Safe and Inclusive Space:
  Create and provide an inclusive and safe space where students feel empowered to take ownership of their creative process, building empathy, adaptability, and social responsibility.
• Encourage self-expression, respect, and collaboration, supporting artistic growth and personal development through exploration and experiential learning.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or a related field.
• Master's degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field preferred.
• Valid Michigan Department of Education Certification with one of the following endorsements:
  Elementary K-8 All Subjects (ZC) General Elementary K-6 (ZE) Elementary K-5 All Subjects (K-8 All Subjects in Self-Contained Classroom) (ZG) Upper Elementary Education (3-6) (ZP)
• Familiarity with Michigan Early Childhood Education Standards and Arts Standards
• Experience with interdisciplinary or arts-integrated teaching
• Experience in early childhood education, preferably in an elementary urban setting
• Enthusiasm for using arts and technology as a tool for student learning and creative expression
• Prior experience in culturally responsive teaching, social-emotional learning (SEL), and trauma-informed practices
• A practicing artist with a passion for arts education and student-centered learning

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Comfort with performing arts-based instruction across theatre, dance, music, visual arts, and media.
• Knowledge of or willingness to adopt the Studio Habits of Mind framework and CASEL's social-emotional learning competencies.
• Demonstrated ability to engage the interest of school-age children.
• Ability to engage in hands-on activities and experiments with students.
• Commitment to all students' well-being and success, including adaptability in lesson planning and teaching to support students with diverse needs and skill levels.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development, eagerness to learn, and effectively collaborate with colleagues, arts partners, and community members.
• Excellent verbal/written communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
• Patience, flexibility, and a willingness to take risks.

Core Values and Professional Standards:

• Commitment to School Vision:
  Align instruction and…