Upper School Music Teacher

Carolina Friends School (CFS) seeks a full-time Upper School Music teacher and advisor to join our staff for the  School year. The teacher will join an Upper School team committed to continually developing a rigorous, student-centered, and mission-driven curriculum. CFS offers teachers an opportunity to engage with students in and out of the classroom, and utilizes a narrative-based approach to student evaluation instead of letter or number grades.

The Upper School

The Upper School at CFS strives to be a learning community rooted in Quaker philosophy and values where teenagers can find and can help create a safe place for the exploration of themselves and the world. Students and teachers address one another without titles as an expression of the equality we see in one another. We believe that a child’s secondary education experience should challenge them to develop the critical thinking, reading, and problem-solving skills that not only prepare students for life beyond graduation but also for participation in the world as active agents right now.

We require students to have a wide variety of curricular experiences, from traditional academic requirements to extensive work in the arts and community service. Upper School students are asked to see themselves as stewards of the whole Community.

The Position:

This teacher’s responsibilities will include:

• Teaching a minimum of 4 electives per trimester in the Upper School in music and related electives
• Potentially teaching an elective in the Middle School in music as one of the 4 electives in one or more trimesters
• Serving as the Musical Director for the Upper School’s spring musical production (included in the electives offerings)
• Potentially leading or co-leading an advisee group of approximately 10 students, which includes:
• Supporting advisees’ intellectual, social, and emotional well-being by serving as their primary advocate
• Maintaining frequent contact with advisees and continually monitoring their progress and development
• Providing individualized support to advisees and their families, as well as fostering a safe, inclusive environment for their advisory group as a whole
• Providing audio technology support across the School, including at the Performing Arts Center
• Participating in the Upper School End of Year (EOY) experience, which may require travel
• Participating in at least one all-school committee after the first year of employment and, for the first two years of employment, an extensive staff orientation and mentoring program

Skills & Abilities:

• Demonstrate an ability to teach instrumental music through flexible ensembles that include non-traditional instrumentation and students of varying skill levels
• Demonstrate an ability to teach vocal music, which may include traditional chorus, a cappella groups, and/or musical theater
• Demonstrate an ability to provide music direction (vocal and instrumental) for Upper School musical productions, including but not limited to traditional/ golden age, rock musicals, musical reviews, contemporary musical, jukebox musical, and Theater for Young Audiences
• Demonstrate an ability to offer creative electives that would be open to all levels of musical skill
• Demonstrate an appreciation for and knowledge of a variety of music styles and traditions, and an appreciation of the cultural context of various forms of music
• Knowledge of, or capacity to learn, the Dante network platform, in addition to a Yamaha QL series console
• Enjoyment in working with, mentoring, and supporting teenagers in a variety of ways
• Demonstrate an ability to help students make music a positive part of their lives
• Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrate a willingness and ability to collaborate on curriculum development and pedagogical approaches
• Demonstrate an affinity for and interest in the Quaker values as embodied in the CFS community
• Demonstrate commitment to understanding and exploring how power and inequality, influenced by factors such as race, class, gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, and different physical abilities, impact our students, families, and colleagues
• Understand the primacy of relationships in teaching…