Social Studies Teacher - IHSCA

COMPANY DESCRIPTION
Instituto Health Science Career Academy along with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has set ambitious goals to ensure that every child-in every school and every neighborhood—has access to a world-class learning experience from birth, resulting in graduation from high school college- and career-ready. In alignment with CPS/ISBE, our school strives to provide high quality and specially designed instructional supports and services for all students with disabilities within the least restrictive environment. We work collaboratively with the goal of improving the academic achievement of all students with disabilities by ensuring they receive meaningful and relevant access to grade level core instruction within the school. Teachers provide appropriate, effective, and culturally relevant instruction for grades 9-12 aligned to SAT, AVID College Readiness, and state standards. IHSCA ensures that students are provided a safe learning environment that supports student social-emotional growth as well as academics.


POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Social Studies teacher reports to the principal and is responsible for teaching history courses to high school students. The teacher provides effective and culturally relevant instruction to grades 9-12 that meets both SAT and AVID College Readiness standards and Common Core standards in order to prepare students to graduate from IHSCA with an effective grasp, while incorporating applications of reading, writing and critical thinking skills to post-secondary experiences. The social studies teacher presents concepts with varying research based teaching strategies to ensure student comprehension, while applying hands-on activities, and being actively aware of multiple intelligences in the student body when preparing differentiated curriculum and lessons. In addition the teacher should demonstrate mastery of using research based and effective classroom management techniques. Ultimately, the teacher is responsible for developing civic minded students who are capable of mastering the subject to be fully prepared for the rigors of demanding college curriculum and success as future medical professionals.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively work with fellow department members to develop appropriate curriculum and lesson plans for 9th to 12th grade students
• Instruct students in geography, historical themes, perspective analysis, reading comprehension, and in the development of writing and speaking skills found in the Common Core Standards
• Incorporate into the curriculum the school-wide focus on social-emotional wellbeing and student experience, with an emphasis on incorporating the No Non-Sense Nurture framework and health science-related materials into the classroom on a regular basis
• Collaborate with teachers in other departments in order to ensure synergy between the social studies program and others
• Integrate the social sciences curriculum with applications to health sciences, and ensure that social studies and reading comprehension skills are developed to be ready for college
• Fulfill instructional goals with an emphasis on remediation, the development of academic skills conducive to college acceptance and completion, and social and emotional wellness
• Create well-rounded, socially skilled critical thinkers who are fully prepared for the rigors of demanding college curriculum and success as future medical professionals
• Use all resources made available by leadership team and actively seeking out new sources of material to share with other department members
• Continually follow best practices to create a safe and inviting classroom environment that fosters both academic and social/emotional learning for all students
• Work in concert with instructors in other departments to successfully address the varied learning styles of different students in the interdisciplinary curriculum
• Complete IHSCA weekly lesson plans in a timely manner and making adjustments as recommended by department head and/or administration
• Create lesson plans for all grades and courses being taught by the teacher
• Uses STAR, AVID and Khan Academy data to accurately track student progress on both large scale standardized tests and course-specific tests and quizzes
• Design projects that are rubric-based, rigorous, and applicable to a competency-based health sciences-focused curriculum
• Ensure that all students receive appropriate accommodations/modifications as stipulated on the Students with Disabilities Act
• Collaborate in a timely fashion with the special education department to create integrated learning opportunities in the general education classroom environment
• Guide pupils to develop skills for writing essays and compositions according to state standards
• Participate in professional development workshops to keep up to date with best practices in education and teaching
• Provide students with scheduled office hours on a regular basis in order to assist students in need of extra help; hold regular student/teacher conference and documenting conferences
• Evaluate students and submit grades in PowerSchool
• Take daily attendance and submits it to PowerSchool
• Participate in parent-teacher conferences to update parents on student progress
• Contact parents by phone, e-mail, or in person to address academics and behavior on a regular basis
• Willingness to sponsor and/or support extracurricular activities and clubs
• Follow all IHSCA school-wide standards regarding teacher behaviors
• Adhere to all IHSCA electronic and web-based rules and restrictions
• Follow all guidelines found in the Instituto and IHSCA employee handbooks
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in history/social sciences, or in education with a concentration in history
• Professional educator’s license; Reading and/or ESL/Bilingual endorsement a plus
• Successful completion of some college courses in the content area for which teacher is being hired
• Previous high school teaching experience as a regular teacher in the content area
• Ability to work with a wide variety of people
• Ability to work as a team player and as an individual with minimal supervision
• Exceptional organization and time management skills
• Above average customer service attitude
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to speak Spanish and English fluently, preferred
• Strong telephone skills and ability to maintain composure under pressure.
• Dependability and punctuality
• Strong project management skills, attention to detail, and effective management of multiple projects at one time
• Ability to adhere to deadlines and react effectively to unpredictable events and changes
• Advanced skills with Microsoft Office and the Internet

The above is intended to describe the general conditions of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities and requirements.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
Nature of work requires an ability to operate standard business office equipment. Requires ability to communicate information and maintain work files. Approximately half of time on the job will be spent standing. Lifting of objects weighing less than 30 pounds may be necessary.

WORKING CONDITIONS
Majority of work performed in a general school environment. Extended and weekend hours may be required as necessary to finish job functions. Also requires participation and attendance at organization sponsored events and meetings.