Lead 4th Grade Teacher 2023-2024

ABOUT US

The Primary School is creating a new school model that brings together all of the adults in a child’s life, including parents, educators, and medical and mental health providers, starting from a very early age. We recognize the entrenched racism that exists within our public systems and the unjust impact this has had on families of color. Our aim is that children and families most impacted by systemic poverty and racism receive the multidisciplinary support they deserve to be well, learn, and thrive. 

Long-term, we hope to create a game-changing school model that can be replicated across the country. As we continue to learn and grow, we plan to share what we’ve learned and pursue policy and systems change on a local, state, and national level. We are supported by a growing coalition of philanthropic partners, building on the generous support of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Our approach has three defining characteristics:

• We start early. We start working with children as young as 18 months and provide full-time school starting at age three to reach them at a critical stage in development. 
• We partner with parents. We believe that when parents thrive, children thrive, so we support the wellness and growth of parents alongside the growth of their children.
• We integrate services. Our unique model unites health care and education, building a multi-disciplinary team and holistic system of care around a child’s full needs.

In 2016, we opened our flagship school in East Palo Alto, California, with our first class of four year olds. We have grown to serve over 300 children and their families through a birth to three program, parent wellness program, full-day preschool, and elementary school, which will grow through eighth grade. In 2021, we opened our second site in the East Bay.

ABOUT OUR EAST PALO ALTO SITE

We are continuing to grow our East Palo Alto site and are excited to launch 6th grade for our 2023-2024 school year. In our school program, we currently serve over 350 students across two preschool grades (3 and 4 year olds) and kindergarten through fifth grade. Integrated into our program are the other core components of our model including our parent program - partnering closely with parents throughout their child’s development and providing wellness programming for caregivers; our birth to 3 program - coordinating early developmental screenings and intervention services; and our medical home partnerships - working with existing health care providers in the community to coordinate care for children.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Lead Teacher reports to the Principal and is responsible not only for leading their own instruction, but also supporting junior teachers on their team in developing and executing comprehensive, integrated units across all parts of a student’s day. Lead Teachers are tone setters for the school and are responsible for high quality instruction, culture building within and across classrooms, and strengthening home-school connections through deep engagement with families. Lead Teachers also serve as our models for how to deeply integrate academics, socio-emotional learning, and health into our classrooms on a daily basis.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Lead teacher will be responsible for:

• Annual, weekly, and daily instructional planning tailored to the needs of each child
• Instructional delivery in large group, small group, and individualized formats
• Regular assessment and analysis of quantitative and qualitative student data with the goal of tailoring responsive instruction and support
• Ongoing, informal support and coaching of the Associate Teacher and Assistant Teacher that make up your Grade Level Team
• Collaboration with other teachers to practice skills and jointly problem solve
• Partner with special education teachers, behavioral support staff and related service providers to provide personalized supports for students with special needs 
• Regular meetings with and outreach to families, including daily documentation and notes
• Proactive collaboration and frequent engagement with The Primary School Parent Coaches and staff, and external health practitioners and partners
• Participation in reflection and coaching, both 1:1 with your Instructional Coach and in group context with colleagues
• Active participation in the ongoing design and implementation of the TPS model through research, curriculum development, engagement with school and organizational leadership, and focused professional development
• Partnering with families and facilitate ongoing opportunities for family engagement

The critical features of this role are described above but are not all encompassing; as our school grows and evolves your responsibilities may shift accordingly.

QUALIFICATIONS

• You have a Bachelor's degree
• You have a minimum of 3 years of experience as a classroom teacher (ideally within two grades of your desired position) and hold deep and diverse instructional competence
• Your work demonstrates a practice of creating transformative classroom culture for all kids. You are committed to social justice and take proactive steps to build an equitable classroom practice
• You enthusiastically utilize data to understand what a student needs and to personalize instruction accordingly
• You have a parent- and family-centered mindset
• You recognize the multidimensional needs of children and families, because in your own way, you’ve been trying to weave education, health, and family support services together for your students
• You get that starting a new school and organization is no easy task and are not scared - in fact, you’re energized - by the idea of putting in the hours and deep commitment needed to bring The Primary School to life
• You are unafraid of diversity and engage confidently across differences.
• You are kind, humble, and collaborative

A Plus If

• You have an understanding of early childhood education and child development
• You speak fluent Spanish or Tongan
• You have ties to the East Palo Alto or East Bay community

PHYSICAL DEMANDS 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.

COMPENSATION

Annual salary range begins at $73,000 (Y1) - $101,725 (Y25). Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health benefits (health, dental, and vision), 401k retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), dependent care FSA, and generous paid time off, including a competitive paid parental leave benefit. TPS will cover 93% of the total premium cost for individual team members in our HMO and PPO plans, and 95% for individual team members in our HDHP plan. TPS also covers 50% of enrolled partners and/or dependents' costs on all three of our medical plans (HMO,PPO, HDHP). 

To ensure fair and equitable compensation for all of our employees, The Primary School has a no-negotiation policy on all offers extended. Final offers are determined using role descriptions, job market data, internal parity, and semi-annual benchmarking. We hope that this policy, paired with ongoing transparency in our compensation process, will make TPS a more fair, inclusive, and diverse culture.