ETS, Orchestra Strings Instrumental Music Teacher, CSUS

Cambridge Public Schools Visual & Performing Arts - Cambridge, Massachusetts Open in Google Maps

Starting Date: Immediately

Position:
Extended Term Substitute, Orchestra String Instrumental Music Teacher

Available October 2026 through December 2026

Visual & Performing Arts Department/Cambridge Street Upper School

Overview of Cambridge Public Schools:

Cambridge Public Schools, in partnership with our families and community, will provide all students with rigorous, joyful, and culturally responsive learning as well as the social, emotional, and academic support each student needs to achieve their goals and postsecondary success as engaged community members. CPS students and staff, as members of a learning organization engaged in continuous improvement, will demonstrate a growth mindset and embrace risk taking and innovation.

About 7,000 students choose Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) each year, and our diverse student enrollment continues to rise. Over 30% of CPS students speak a language other than English at home, and over 65 languages are spoken by our families. Among the most common are Spanish, Haitian Creole, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, and Portuguese. Our schools proudly embrace this diversity.

The structure of our school system supports the developmental growth of students over time. Twelve cozy elementary schools feed into five “Upper School” programs, bringing together enough students to allow for greater choice and differentiation without sacrificing the safe feeling of a relatively small environment. The Upper Schools then feed into one high school, the eclectic and innovative Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

The Opportunity:

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts seeks a confident, creative, and compassionate Extended Term Substitute (ETS) Strings Orchestra teacher to enhance the vision for the strings and orchestra and music programs for Cambridge Street Upper School (6-8).

The ETS Strings and Orchestra Instrumental Teacher will teach 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to play the violin, viola, and cello, working collaboratively with the band director at the school, as well as the other music and theater teachers. The ETS Strings and Orchestra Instrumental Teacher will also co‑teach the adaptive instrumental music program for students with special needs as part of the SCALE program.

The SCALE program is a substantially separate program where students develop social, communication, academic, and life skills. The music team will be responsible for developing school ensembles, presenting concerts, and distributing and collecting school‑owned instruments. In addition to advanced instrumental proficiency, the candidate must possess classroom management skills, use appropriate authentic assessment strategies to monitor student progress, have the ability to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners, and employ pedagogical methods that motivate students to pursue instrumental study.

The selected candidate must be computer literate, organized, able to responsibly meet professional obligations, willing to participate in school, district, and state level music performances, contribute to department and school‑wide curricular projects and other initiatives, and be able to steward the careful use of supplies, equipment, and teaching resources.

Key Responsibilities:

• Teach strings and orchestra music to grades 6-8. You will lead both ensembles and pull out classes.
• Co‑teach an instrumental music program in a substantially‑separate setting with adaptations for students with special needs.
• Im…