6-8 Writing Task Force: Practices Team, Alignment Team - District  (Internal Candidates Only), 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.

Writing Task Force Members

The goal of the task force is to align research-based writing practices with 6-8 ELA and Social Studies curriculum implementation. The task force will be composed of two teams. The Common Writing Practices Team will meet in March and will develop common practices and graphic organizers for critical writing tasks including, but not limited to: unpacking prompts, summarizing, sentence combining, and planning for compositions and identify where in the curriculum sequence these skills should be taught. The Vertical Expectations Team will define the expectations for mastery in writing for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade and map the vertically aligned writing skills and instruction. Additionally, this team will generate exemplars to drive instruction and support student self and peer-assessment of writing skills.

Salem Public Schools is committed to empowering educators to implement high quality instructional materials using explicit and inclusive practices to meet the needs of all learners. The Writing Task Force will take the lead in identifying the tools and instructional moves to strengthen curriculum implementation in writing. Task Force members will participate in whole group sessions and complete projects asynchronously. Task Force Members can opt in to one or both teams:

Common Writing Practices Team: March $450 - 4 in person hours and 6 hours project completion in between sessions.

Dates: Monday, March 3rd, 17th, 24th, and 31st

Vertical Expectations: April-May $450 - 4 in person hours and 6 hours project completion

Dates: Monday, April 7th, April 28th, May 12th, May 26th

Please indicate in your application whether you would like to participate in one or both teams.

Task Force Responsibilities:  

• Attend in person sessions for Practices Team in March and/or Alignment Team in April and May
• Complete 6 hours of associated projects (ex. Designing a universal prompt unpacking protocol) per team
• Pilot practices or tools as needed to bring feedback to the team
• Analyze data to inform next steps

Essential Attributes:

• Holds an unwavering belief that every student and teacher in Salem can grow and succeed.
• Skilled in providing equitable access to the curriculum, particularly in underserved populations.
• Able to work collaboratively and flexibly as part of a team.
• Has a strong work ethic, is self-directed, and has the ability to work independently.
• Strong knowledge of MyPerspectives, Investigating History, or “Civic Engagement in our Democracy” (DKP)
• The ability to translate research into classroom practice.

Job Requirements:

• Current teacher in Salem Public Schools
• Massachusetts educator certification in Health/Family and Consumer Sciences,

• SEI endorsement or commitment to obtaining the SEI Endorsement

• Ability to work flexibly outside of contractual hours 

Applicant Process

Interested candidates should send a letter of interest to Sonia Lowe: slowe@salemk12.org.

The letter should detail which team - Practices, Alignment, or both - that you’d like to join as well as demonstrated competency in the essential attributes.

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.