Upper School Humanities Instructor | Fall 2025

Description

At The Mount Vernon School, students are empowered to discover, explore, learn, design, create, and effect change. With a commitment to Identity, Diversity, Equity, and Action (IDEA), we welcome the opportunity to engage in honest, vulnerable, and courageous conversations that challenge our biases and assumptions. Our goal is to design a better world, so we choose to equip students with the knowledge, skills, attributes, and relationships they need to be impact-ready.

The Team

The Upper School Faculty is a collaborative and forward-thinking community of education professionals who are consistently looking for ways to create real-world, project-based experiences that help their students connect content in a relevant and impactful way. This team models what it means to be inquisitive, nurturing, flexible, and creative. While they customize and personalize the learning for each course, this team is united in using an inquiry-based model and a mastery approach to teaching.

The Role

The Mount Vernon School seeks an innovative and collaborative Upper School Humanities teacher with an emphasis on developing literacy skills for the 2025-2026 school year. Versatility, collaboration, and openness to innovative instructional practices are essential. 

Role & Responsibilities

• Facilitating classroom experiences for students in Grades 9-12 with an emphasis on literacy development
• Designing an innovative curriculum with the Humanities Team that incorporates reading, writing, and critical thinking strategies to support literacy skills 
  • Designing courses with an emphasis on American, British, and World literatures for students in Grades 9-12
  • Designing & teaching courses with an emphasis on theatre and drama 
• Creating real-world/interdisciplinary connections through interactions with experts and off-campus expeditions
• Maintaining comprehensive records of performance, progress, and goals using MV tools
• Communicating with families, learning coaches, and outside providers to meet student needs
• Actively participating in professional growth opportunities
• Meeting the needs of the division by helping with weekly coverage and participating in weekly meetings
• Caring for and nurturing the social and emotional needs of each student by customizing/differentiating the learning experience
• Maintaining an organized, inviting, and student-centered learning environment

Core Competencies

• Ability to cultivate respectful and affirming environments 
• Culturally proficient & equity literate
• A track record of giving high-quality, responsive feedback 
• Understanding of competency-based assessment/mastery approach to learning
• Knowledge of inquiry-based learning pedagogies
• Proficiency in Google Suite & Mac/Apple OS

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Humanities education, English, History, or a related field
• Experience in American, British, & World Literature as well as Theatre/Drama 
• Classroom experience (preferably in a high school or independent school setting)
• Deep knowledge of literacy development strategies, including reading comprehension, writing instruction, and text analysis (preferred)
• Specialized training in literacy programs or interventions (preferred)
• Teaching Certificate (preferred)
• Availability to sponsor arts/theatre extracurriculars (preferred)

This job description is intended to describe the basic elements of the job and should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions associated with the job. This job description does not constitute a contract. It may be modified or amended at any time as determined in the School’s discretion.

Start Date | July 29, 2025

The faculty and staff of The Mount Vernon School believe the fair and equitable treatment of employees is critical to fulfilling its mission and purpose. It is the policy of The Mount Vernon School is to conduct business and provide equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, age, gender, religion, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws