PLTW K-8 Educator, Saltonstall K-8 School, Salem Public Schools SY2024-2025

About Salem Public Schools, where belonging leads to opportunity.

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students across our 11 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do. Over the next three years (2023-2026), we are committed to the work outlined by the four core priorities in our strategic plan: 1) Elevate Learning; 2) Empower Educators; 3) Center Belonging; and 4) Strengthen Our Foundation. We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. Applicants who have experience working in urban schools and settings and are bilingual are strongly encouraged to apply.

What You’ll Do:

Elementary and Middle School STEM educators will be responsible for preparing all students, grades K-8, for academic and personal success. STEM educators will customize lessons from Project Lead the Way content and adjust activities to engage and meet the needs of all learners. STEM Educators will effectively ensure that we are growing students’ capacity to solve problems. STEM Educators will participate in ongoing professional learning to deepen knowledge of rigorous engaging curriculum and pedagogy in both academic content and social-emotional learning. Successful candidates possess energy and enthusiasm for the content area. Provide hands-on, project-based instruction in a 21st-century classroom that promotes collaboration and teamwork. Access to a laser cutter, 3D printers, robotics kits, various building and design materials, tools and more. These tools will be used to help promote, enhance and educate students about STEM design and innovation.

Role Responsibilities:

• Teaches students to solve problems using the design process, Project Lead the Way curriculum, the state/school curriculum, and other resources reflecting a deep understanding of state frameworks and the science & engineering practices.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
• Responsible for facilitating career awareness activities in STEM occupations for students.
• Collaborates with teachers, coaches, and paraprofessionals to optimize student engagement.
• Plans and uses appropriate instructional and learning strategies, activities, materials, and equipment that reflect understanding of the learning styles and needs of students.
• Provides structure in the classroom by promoting a positive classroom environment that is conducive to learning.
• Builds connections with community members to enhance student connections to content.
• Willing to take educational risks in the classroom using technology, tools and student interests through hands-on investigations and activities.
• Prepares teaching materials and related reports including ongoing data analyses for the purpose of improving instruction, implementing lesson plans, and documenting student progress.
• Participates in in-service programs to enhance the overall educational experience for students.
• Instructs and provides assistance for student learning, individually or in groups, designing engaging lessons that both present and reinforce learning concepts.
• Works under the general supervision of the building principal and other building administrators, manages student behavior, assesses and evaluates student achievement.

Essential Attributes:

• Holds an unwavering belief that every student in Salem can grow and succeed
• Skilled in providing equitable access to the curriculum and digital tools/resources, particularly in underserved populations
• Able to work collaboratively and flexibly as part of a team
• Has a strong work ethic, is self-directed, and has the ability to work independently
• Self-reflects and accepts feedback with a growth mindset 

What You’ll Bring:

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission, and are highly motivated to change children’s lives through education. You’ll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work, and the people around you to the next level. We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.
• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues – You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values, and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.
• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families – You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS. You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.
• Interest in connecting current events in STEM to hands-on classroom learning – You are constantly researching and investigating real world experiences to guide student learning. A passion for building connections between STEM and student lives will be essential.
• Embrace feedback – You are a reflective practitioner who learns from failure, using mistakes and challenges as opportunities for growth. You model persistence and growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.

What We’ll Provide:

Potential STEM candidates will receive a one or two week, paid, virtual training with Project Lead the Way during the summer leading to the start of the new school year. Opportunities for additional professional development and support will be provided through district and school based coaches, the PLTW community, as well as on-going guidance from the building-based STEM Coordinator.

About Project Lead the Way:

Project Lead the Way’s activity-, project-, and problem-based (APB) instructional design centers on hands-on, real-world activities, projects, and problems that help students understand how the knowledge and skills they develop in the classroom may be applied in everyday life. The APB approach scaffolds student learning through structured activities and projects that empower students to become independent in the classroom and help them build skill sets to apply to an open-ended design problem. This approach provides students with unique opportunities to work collaboratively, identify problems, apply what they know, persevere through challenges, find unique solutions, and lead their own learning.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree Required; Master’s Degree preferred
• Required Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure General Science 5-8 and elementary education.
• Dual Certification (ESL or Special Education) a plus
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement (Required within 1-year of start date)
• Proficiency with technology (blended learning, teacher/family communication suites (Remind preferred), Google G-Suite Apps, etc.) desirable.
• Ability to meet the expectations of the Massachusetts Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice
• Maintain professional competence through in-service education activities provided by the District, and/or in self-selected professional growth activities.
• Minimum of 2 years teaching experience and working in an urban public school or charter school setting preferred.
• Proven track record of raising student achievement scores in an urban/turnaround environment highly desired.
• Second language (Spanish and/or Portuguese) proficiency a plus
• Bilingual, candidates of color are strongly encouraged to apply
• Current authorization to work in the United States

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.