Librarian for Grades One through Five (PT/50%) 2025-2026

Description

Position/Title:  Librarian for Grades One through Five (Part-time / 50%)

Appointment:  School Year 2025/2026

Reports To:  Director of Early Childhood - Grade 5; Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Location: Lyman Campus / Butler Campus

Laurel School seeks talented faculty and staff who will put our students first and strive to make a difference in their lives.  We seek to attract culturally and academically diverse faculty and staff who thrive on being engaged participants in our community and are committed to anti-racist education and the development of young women as authentic learners and leaders. The most successful candidates are solutions-driven, are willing to listen to learn, embrace iteration and practice as a necessary part of the product, see opportunities before problems, and thrive in a fast-paced, forward-thinking educational environment. Laurel lives our mission: to inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world. 

Position Summary:

The Librarian for Grades One through Five is responsible for assessing and meeting the information needs of students and faculty and develops and delivers programs to stimulate student interest. This individual is part of the Primary Division and is a member of the Technology & Library Services Department. Grades One and Two are located at the Lyman Campus in Shaker Heights, while Grades Three through Five are located at the Butler Campus in Novelty; approximately 15 minutes is between both campuses. Strong interpersonal and organizational skills are required to work effectively. The following goals are crucial to the Librarian’s work:

• To ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information 
• To empower students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information 
• To instill a love of learning and reading in all students and ensure equitable access to information 
• To collaborate with classroom teachers and specialists to design and implement lessons and units of instruction
• To integrate the school’s commitment to diversity, equity, and belonging into curricula
• To provide the leadership and expertise necessary to ensure that the school library program is aligned with the mission, goals, and objectives of Laurel School, and is an integral component of the learning/instructional program

Duties and responsibilities include:

• Creating and maintaining in the school library a teaching and learning environment that is inviting, safe, flexible, and conducive to student learning 
• Planning and teaching weekly sessions with Grades 1-5
• Sharing expertise by presenting at faculty meetings, parent meetings, and school board meetings 
• Creating an environment that is conducive to active and participatory learning, resource-based instructional practices, and collaboration with teaching staff
• Joining with teachers and others to plan and implement meaningful experiences that will promote a love of reading and lifelong learning 
• Managing the Lake Library budget with the Librarian for Early Childhood & Kindergarten and the CTO.
• Collaborating with the Librarian for Early Childhood & Kindergarten, the librarian of the Middle and Upper Schools, and Technology & Library Services colleagues
• Developing and maintaining a collection of resources appropriate to the curriculum, the learners, and the teaching styles and instructional strategies used within the school community 
• Understanding copyright, fair use, and licensing of intellectual property, and assisting users with their understanding and observance of the same 
• Organizing the collection for maximum and effective use in collaboration with the Librarian for Early Childhood & Kindergarten
• Compile summer reading lists for Laurel students in collaboration with classroom teachers
• Working with the students on the following:
  • reading for understanding, for exposure to a diversity of viewpoints and genres, and for pleasure 
  • using information for defined and self-defined purposes 
  • building on prior knowledge and constructing new knowledge 
  • embracing the world of information and all its formats 
  • working with peers in successful collaboration for learning 
  • constructively assessing their own learning and the work of their peers 
  • becoming their own best critics
• Ensuring that school library program goals and objectives are aligned with school long-range strategic plans and library policies
• Supervising parent and student volunteers
• Continuing ongoing professional development in library-related field
• Coordinating author visits, virtually and in-person
• Collaborating with local and national librarians
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

The ideal candidate will hold a MLS, MLIS, or related degree by an ALA accredited program, or a bachelor’s or graduate degree with majors and/or extensive coursework in English, History and/or Education and have at least 3-5 years teaching experience. The successful candidate will also possess a positive attitude, excellent written and verbal skills, strong organizational skills, and proven success within a work setting that requires open collaboration, cooperation, and collegiality. The candidate must possess or acquire and maintain a State of Ohio issued teaching certificate.

Salary:

Laurel offers competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package.

To Apply:

Please see www.laurelschool.org for further information and a job application.

Work Environment: 

Laurel School is a dynamic, forward-thinking, K-12 girls’ school with a co-ed early childhood division, where every child is well known. As a Facing History and Ourselves School, Laurel is fully committed to equity and inclusion; we actively seek a culturally diverse faculty and staff.

Laurel teachers are committed to:

• The study of research on girls’ education and integration of this knowledge into classroom practice
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
• Anti-racist, multicultural education
• The academic and social development of girls
• Working with each girl to fulfill the school’s mission
• The creation of an inclusive classroom community
• The integration of community-based learning projects at the classroom level and as a part of the whole school community
• Involving parents as partners in the educational process
• Outdoor education and sustainability
• Flexibility and openness to new ideas

Laurel enjoys an outstanding local and national reputation and is home to the Laurel Center for Research on Girls. In a highly competitive school landscape, Laurel is fortunate to be a school of choice in Cleveland. Our emphasis on the whole child and our legacy of excellence in the teaching of girls set us apart. Located in Shaker Heights, OH (15 minutes from downtown Cleveland) with an additional rural campus 17 minutes away, the school has a suburban/rural advantage. The work environment is noted for being family-friendly and flexible. The feeling in the school is joyous, collaborative and innovative. Our curricular philosophy emphasizes community-based, interdisciplinary and experiential learning. Collaboration and reflective practice are key to pedagogy at Laurel. The school is fully committed to a culturally diverse faculty and student body. 

Laurel School is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities to all personnel and applicants for employment without regard to race; color; religion; sex; gender identity; national origin; handicap or disability; sexual orientation; or status as a veteran, Vietnam era, or special disabled veteran.