Grade 2 Teacher, Bates Elementary 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 School teachers are responsible for preparing all students for personal and academic success. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure a high-quality program for all students. The elementary teacher will effectively manage a partnership with families including regular communication informing of students’ success towards mastering content and personal learning habits.   The elementary teachers will participate in ongoing professional learning to deepen knowledge of rigorous engaging curriculum and pedagogy in both academic content and social-emotional learning.

Role Responsibilities: 

• Teaches reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, by using the district curriculum and other appropriate learning activities reflecting a deep understanding of state frameworks and use of the workshop model.
• Plans and uses appropriate instructional and learning strategies, activities, materials, and equipment that reflect understanding of the learning styles and needs of students assigned.
• Provides structure in the classroom by promoting a positive classroom environment that is conducive to learning.
• 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 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.

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 innovative curriculum. 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 organization that is striving to be embrace anti-racist/anti-bias values. We value diversity 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.
• 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.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree Required; Master’s Degree preferred
• Required Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement (Required within 1-year of start date)
• Dual Certification (content area) a plus
• 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.
• 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
• Second language (Spanish and/or Portuguese) proficiency a plus
• Bilingual candidates and candidates of color 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.