Lower School Science Teacher & STEM Coordinator

Sacred Heart Greenwich has been empowering girls and young women since 1848 in a stimulating and developmentally appropriate educational environment in accordance with the Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education. This mission provides opportunities to develop spiritual, cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills. Sacred Heart Greenwich integrates technology into the learning process through enhanced collaboration, exploration, discovery, and creativity.

We aim to form students of faith, intellect, and awareness who will use their gifts to serve others. Relationship and mentoring are at the heart of the student experience, which is grounded in student centered learning, inquiry, problem solving, interdisciplinary connection, collaboration, and an understanding of social justice. Student leadership and well-being are connected to every academic discipline, as all full-time teachers are also grade level advisors.

The school offers a coed program for young children at the Barat Center for Early Childhood Education and then an all-girls experience from K-12 on our 110-acre campus in Greenwich, Connecticut. We are proudly part of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools.

We are currently seeking a Lower School Science Specialist for the  school year.

Job Summary

The Lower School Science Teacher & STEM Coordinator is responsible for providing a stimulating and developmentally appropriate educational environment in a way that is in accordance with the Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education and the philosophy that implements it. This philosophy includes providing children opportunities to develop spiritual, cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills. The Lower School Science Specialist is expected to provide expert science instruction, facilitate differentiated learning experiences, and foster environmental stewardship, as well as help develop and contribute to a STEM strand in the curriculum.

The Lower School Science Specialist reports to the Head of Lower School and is expected to be in school from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. (4:30 p.m. 1x per week all-school and division-specific meetings).

• Embrace and effectively communicate the mission, vision, and philosophy of the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart
• Enthusiastically interact with all members of the SHG school community, exhibiting flexibility in thought and action
• Demonstrate an ability to multitask with attention to detail and organization
• Enthusiastically model and exemplify the behaviors and positive attitudes expected of all members of the SHG community
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with all faculty and staff members

• Teach a wide variety of science topics, including environmental science, force and motion, embryology, geology (rocks and minerals), electricity, and earth science
• Work closely with all the Lower School grade level teachers to teach students in two sections of Kindergarten - Grade 4 with classes 2x per week
• Plan and prep an engaging, hands-on Science curriculum that is developmentally appropriate for Lower School students and promotes inquiry-based learning
• Develop and integrate a STEM strand into the Lower School Science curriculum and coordinate with other specials teachers, specifically in Technology, to build out STEM opportunities for students
• Investigate new programs and research in Science education to determine if they should be used to enhance the curriculum
• Communicate with parents on students’ academic progress, social growth, and learning needs at designated times of the year, and meet with parents as necessary
• Assess student progress in science and provide feedback to classroom teachers and parents for report cards and conferences 2x per year
• Research, plan, set up, and coordinate grade level Science field trips to reinforce the concepts being studied
• Maintain lab and other science facilities inside and outside the building; this may include coming to school when it is not in session to maintain plants, feed animals, monitor the aquarium, tend to the garden, etc.
• Coordinate the ordering and receiving of living materials (acclimate organisms in the lab when they arrive)
• Coordinate peer collaborations with Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School faculty
• Support, coordinate and communicate recycling efforts in the School; use Science classes to educate students to ways they may make a difference by saving energy at school and at home
• Participate in Lower School curriculum planning and professional development opportunities on and off campus, including contributing to the design of a forthcoming brand new campus STEM building.

• To assume serious collaborative responsibility for the educational environment of the School by conducting themselves at all times in a responsible, ethical, and professional manner
• To be…