Director of Humanities

Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School is a community high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We opened our doors in August 2013 and we now have 498 students in grades 9-12. We graduated our first class of seniors in June 2017 and our cumulative graduation rate is 94%. Our students come from more than forty different middle schools, including traditional public, parochial, and public charter schools. Some are advanced students coming from magnet schools; others are beginning English Language Learners. What they all have in common is a desire to succeed; MESA students come to school every day, ready to work.

As an organization, MESA is entering a new phase. Based on its success, MESA is proud to be entrusted with opening a second school in District 20. Serving the diverse families of Borough Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Sunset Park, and Dyker Heights, MESA 2 will be the first public 9-12 school built in the area in over 80 years.

What makes us different is our staff. This year, 42% of staff will be in at least their fifth year at MESA! MESA teachers believe…

• that the greatest contribution we can make to social justice is to give a young person control of their destiny
• committed people, when given autonomy, will find innovative and creative ways to make change
• that being a great educator takes intellectual preparation and a strong sense of personal accountability to produce high quality work.

What makes us different is our model:

• Intentional Grading—MESA uses a standards-based grading system, which makes data understandable and accessible. This enables teachers to create targeted, focused instruction, and helps students understand and track their own progress. MESA teachers love data or at the very least, aren’t afraid of it!
• Intentional Support—MESA teachers have a minimum of rote administrative duties in order to better focus on planning and instruction. Teachers receive ongoing coaching while dedicated time for co-teaching, department and grade team planning are built into the school schedule.
• Intentional Professional Development—MESA has a comprehensive professional development calendar that includes sessions on instructional practices, school culture as well as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
• Intentional School Culture—MESA’s advisory model connects small groups of entering freshmen with a teacher-advisor for all 4 years of high school. Advisors provide guidance on academic progress and are mentors, facilitators and positive influencers. Students are recognized by their teachers regularly for academic achievement and effort and are incentivized to meet school expectations around attendance, punctuality and preparedness.
• Intentional Relationships—MESA knows that all caregivers want their children to succeed. MESA enlists families as partners in their child’s education through regular communication, workshops, and access to student attendance information and grades. More than 85% of MESA caregivers attend the initial parent-teacher conference of the school year.
• Intentional Scheduling—MESA’s school day starts and ends later than most DOE schools, as research indicates that a late start helps high-school students succeed. The calendar and earlier start allows for “Intersession,” during Spring Break where students receive enrichment, skill remediation, or Regents preparation.

Job Responsibilities

The Director of Humanities is an experienced teacher and leader with at least five years teaching experience and two years of leadership experience. This position supports MESA’s humanities departments and is a school-level administrative position at the Bushwick campus.

• “Own” all aspects of Humanities departments. This includes systems and quality control of Lesson Plan submissions, scopes and sequences, strategic Regents supports, and analysis of benchmark data. Hold ultimate accountability for student learning in ELA and Social Studies departments.
• Support teachers and maintain a consistent “pulse” on teacher performance across the humanities departments in all three domains of the MESA Teaching and Learning Framework.
• Collaborate with Principal to guide staff-wide professional development and faculty supports.
• Teach one class in subject area of candidate’s expertise.
• Serve as co-advisor to group of students.
• Provide direct coaching and support to humanities Department Leaders to highlight long term literacy growth goals for students, as well as short term instructional adjustments in the classroom.
• Build relationships with all students. MESA teachers believe that rapport is key to student engagement and motivation.
• Collaborate with Principal to manage all aspects of Summer Institute with setting up teacher supports and building staff morale.
• Take a lead on or play major supporting role in all school-wide administrative initiatives at MESA. These may include but are not limited to: Summer Institute, Summer VISTA orientation program, student office hours, after school conferences, student and staff recruitment initiatives, staff wide PD and PD days, school-wide or external facing events, and any other administrative responsibilities as assigned by Principal or Executive director
• Strategize and create plans Support Plans for struggling teachers utilizing the MESA Teaching and Learning Framework.
• Conduct and coordinate all diagnostic, interim benchmarks, mock Regents, and Regents testing. This includes quality control and Regents-alignment analysis and working closely with humanities department leaders.
• Analyze all testing data to guide humanities teachers with instructional decisions and adjustments.
• Communicate regularly with parents about both positive and negative interactions with students, making a minimum of two positive contacts (phone, email, or text message) with parents per week.

Qualifications: (1) Minimum Bachelor’s degree, Master’s Degree preferred; (2) Minimum of five years teaching experience and two years leadership experience in an urban public high school or charter school setting; (3) Proven track-record of high achievement in the classroom and commitment to accountability; (4) Belief in and alignment with MESA’s core beliefs and educational philosophy; (5) Valid New York State Certification strongly preferred; (6) Spanish-speakers a plus.

Salary: $100,000 - $125,000 based on experience.

To apply: Please email your resume and cover letter explaining specifically why you would be a good fit for MESA to Arthur Samuels, Executive Director, at hiring@mesacharter.org with the subject heading “25-26 Director of Humanities APPLY BY EMAIL ONLY. Due to the nature of the position and the volume of applications received, MESA will not be able to reply to all submissions. MESA will contact candidates with next steps.

MESA is committed to attracting, hiring and retaining a diverse and inclusive staff. It is MESA’s policy to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status, uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.