Lead Grades Teacher

IMMEDIATE
- Lead Grades Teacher 2025-26 School Year Opening Statement

The Grades Teacher nurtures the development and unique capabilities of each child within the context of the whole class and according to Waldorf Pedagogy and curriculum. They are an integral part of the whole Faculty for the pedagogical and administrative aspects of the school, and bring into practice the shared vision of the Waldorf School of New Orleans
.

The Waldorf School of New Orleans (WSNO) is a private, non-profit, independent school that integrates academics with the arts, culture, and community. Our mission is to awaken and draw out each child’s individual strength and integrity, allowing them to become a free thinker; a courageous seeker of truth and knowledge; and an empathetic, enthusiastic participant and innovator in local culture and global society.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

CLASSROOM RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Class Teaching

• Prepare Block Schedule, as well as all daily classes for students guided by the Waldorf Curriculum.
• Document student progress for each block and insist on the highest standards in all student work.
• Develop and maintain a safe, harmonious social environment for the students.
• Develop and maintain a clean, orderly learning environment, both within the classroom and throughout the school campus.

2. Parent Meetings and Communication

• Prepare and hold a minimum of 2 class meetings per year 1 to 2 hours in length, in addition to the parent orientation evening at the beginning of the year.
• Conduct parent‑teacher conferences each November and February / March as scheduled on the school calendar.
• Arrange and participate in conference(s) with parent(s) and a support faculty member, as needed, to discuss student academic or disciplinary concerns.
• Write weekly emails to the parents containing short summaries of the class’s progress throughout the week as well as any important announcements.

3. Reports and Student Progress Documentation

• Document observations of each student at the end of each Main Lesson Block related to successes and challenges of presented curriculum, and then distribute these in a formal format to the students and parents, and in the older grades, to the students as well.
• Complete Mid-Year Report narratives covering student’s progress in main lesson work, behavior and social development.
• Complete End of Year Report narratives covering student’s progress in main lessons, behavior and social development. Reports are to be submitted by assigned deadline date to be reviewed for suggested edits by an assigned peer.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintaining and striving for an openness to understand and work with the Anthroposophical underpinnings of Waldorf Education and child development.
• Attendance and participation in weekly faculty meetings, as well as work days throughout the academic year as scheduled.
• Make themselves available, as appropriate and applicable to their schedule, to offer extra help to students and their parents. This availability will be communicated to the families in the class.
• Attendance and participation in weekly section meetings.
• Service on at least one (1) Faculty committee or serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the school.
• Attendance/assistance at major all‑school activities and open houses in accordance with the Faculty Handbook.
• Attendance at the All School Meetings called by the Board of Directors.
• Preparation of a yearly class play or presentation as indicated by the curriculum.
• Create grade appropriate aesthetics in classrooms including chalkboard drawings, nature tables and seasonal displays.
• Participate in enrollment process of new students in areas such as, but not limited to, student interviews, parent interviews, student skill assessment and arranging for perspective student three‑day class visits.
• Maintain and make readily available a lesson plan that can be given to a substitute teacher in the event of an absence.
• Assist in teacher searches and make the decision to hire or fire faculty with the input of the administrator.
• Interview, hire, train, and supervise classroom assistant (if applicable).
• Participate in a professional development and accountability plan.
• In the…