Spanish & French Teacher

Full-Time Founding Teaching Position Reports to the Principal Bachelor’s degree required;
Master’s preferred in Spanish and French language, literature, or education Spanish and French fluency required Illinois Professional Educator License in high school Spanish and French preferred and National Board Certification a major plus; you can teach entirely in Spanish and French 3+ years of teaching experience required College-preparatory, independent, Jewish day or faith-based school experience is a plus. Being Jewish is not a requirement for this role.

Fewer years but exceptional craft? We hire for mastery, not seat time.

Are you a passionate educator who believes language is the gateway to culture, identity, connection, and belonging? Do you inspire students to communicate confidently in Spanish and French while fostering meaningful engagement with Spanish and French cultures, heritage, and the broader world? Are you excited to help build dynamic, student-centered Spanish and French language programs within a rigorous college-preparatory environment? If so, Davis School Chicago wants to hear from you.

Davis School Chicago is a proudly Jewish, college-preparatory high school opening in fall 2027 in downtown Chicago, in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of a great city for learning. Every adult at Davis is an educator and a culture-builder. We hold two expectations at the same time: deep human warmth and uncompromising intellectual excellence. High health and high results, never one at the cost of the other.

This is a summary of the characteristics that describe our dream team.

To thrive here you are:

• Warm and intellectually formidable. Genuinely kind and seriously bright. We hire for intellectual horsepower; only sharp minds grow students to their full potential.

• You bring the room to life. Passion people feel, loud or quiet, with the range to teach, support, and lead.

• A builder who owns it. Startup grit, a real growth mindset, open about mistakes, gives the gift of feedback, and the drive to create what doesn't exist yet.

• Teach how to think, not what to think. Rigor, evidence, and a love of hard questions, including the controversial ones. Students reach their own conclusions.

• Rooted in tradition, built for what's next. Ancient wisdom and modern tools, AI included, aimed at today's problems.

• Unapologetically Jewish. Israel has a right to exist; that is not up for debate. Everything else is fair game, including spirited debate about Israel's actions. You're excited to help build a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel school.

Davis is hiring a dual-fluent, dynamic world-languages teacher to build high quality Spanish and French programs.

• Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.

• A Proficiency-Driven Language Teacher – 90 percent target language is your comfort zone, not a stretch.

• A Bridge to the Wider World – Brings language and culture together across the Spanish- and French-speaking worlds.

• An Entrepreneurial Builder – Thrives in ambiguity, solves problems, and creates programs, systems, and traditions from the ground up.

• A Curious and Courageous Thinker – Embraces learning, evidence, critical thinking, and meaningful debate.

• Rooted and Forward-Looking – Honors tradition while embracing innovation, technology, and AI.

• Committed to Jewish Life and Community – Values Jewish identity, the diversity of Jewish thought, and meaningful engagement in Jewish life.

• A Collaborative Culture-Builder – Balances accountability, care, and results while elevating everyone around them.

The Spanish & French Teacher is responsible for helping students in grades 9–12 communicate in culturally appropriate ways and achieve sophisticated language proficiency that allows them to understand how language functions and how ideas are conveyed across cultures. This educator will develop students' proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in both Spanish and French while integrating culture, literature, current events, and contemporary issues into the curriculum.

The successful…