Spanish Teacher, Salem High 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 in 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. 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. We invite you to learn more about our strategic plan and core priorities on our website at https://salemk12.org/. 

 

What You’ll Do:
Salem High School seeks a highly Spanish teacher who has native or near-native fluency and a passion for teaching students at all levels of Spanish. Near-native speakers should have experience studying, working and/or teaching abroad. Prospective candidates must have not only the knowledge, but also the capacity to design and implement effective, student-centered high school world language curriculum units. The position consists of teaching several sections of beginning to intermediate Spanish classes to Grades 9-12 and working collaboratively within a growing World Language Department.

We seek a dynamic professional who will bring inclusive, differentiated, and purposeful standards-based instruction to the world language classroom. Applicants must be effective communicators who can articulate what they believe to be the essential ingredients of quality world language instruction. They must be able to deliver lessons in the target language that meet the academic and social-emotional needs of all learners. Successful applicants will be self-starters, skilled at implementing instructional units and Integrated Performance Assessments informed by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and 2017 NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements, 21st Century Skills, Understanding By Design (UbD), and the essential design elements of Project-Based Learning (PBL). Candidates must be comfortable using and implementing a variety of technologies into their practice. Experience with the Seal of Biliteracy, curriculum development, and teaching native and heritage Spanish-speaking students a plus.

 

The successful candidate will also possess an unwavering belief in the power of school communities to make a difference in the lives of children. This individual will work under the general supervision of the principal and assistant principals of the Salem High School as well as the District Director for English Language Learning and Bilingual Education. She/he will be evaluated following the professional standards articulated in the Massachusetts Teacher Rubric.

 

Role Responsibilities:

• Teaches Spanish courses 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 for students of all backgrounds and language proficiency levels.
• Prepares teaching materials and related reports including ongoing data analyses for the purpose of improving instruction, implementing lesson plans, and documenting student progress.
• 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 education. 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, diverse 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
• Native literacy or highly advanced proficiency in Spanish Required
• Massachusetts teaching certification/licensure in Spanish by Massachusetts Department of Education, or in the process of licensure
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement (Required within 1-year of start date)
• Proficiency with technology (blended learning, teacher/family communication suites (Remind preferred), Google G-Suite Apps, etc.) desirable.
• 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.
• 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.