Certified High School Teachers for 2022-2023, The Workshop School

Posted by The Workshop School on March 15, 2022

The Workshop School is looking to hire certified high school teachers to start at the end of August 2022.

The Workshop School is a project-based, public high school in West Philadelphia. Academic learning and skill-building at the Workshop School revolve around authentic, real-world work. This takes different forms, including interdisciplinary projects, school-based businesses, internships, consultancies (projects with external partners or clients), and dual enrollment programs. Our school day is broken into two parts. Project block runs the entire morning and focuses on community building and interdisciplinary project work. Seminars run in the afternoon and have a topical or thematic focus. At the Workshop School, we call our teachers “Advisors”.  The experience of teaching at the Workshop is unlike any other school.

You will develop deep relationships with students. You will spend more than half your work day with an advisory (a small group of 20-25 students) building community and doing project work. You will spend a lot of time together, 4.5 hours straight each morning. Relationship building with this much time together often looks and feels like case management+teaching.

You will do work that is real and relevant. One question you will seldom hear is “why do we need to know this?”

Projects are interdisciplinary and cover all subject areas. Real-world problems don’t fall neatly into one subject. Some projects will be in content areas you are comfortable with, but in others, you and your grade team will collaborate to build interdisciplinary projects that draw on each other’s areas of expertise or explore an area outside of everyone’s expertise. To some degree, you will always  be learning alongside your students.

Advisors/Teachers are leaders. You establish yourself as the leader in your classroom and create a safe community that values students and inspires them to do their best.

• You project strong expectations: what students are capable of and should do.
• You create and sustain systems of accountability for work and behavior.
• You check in with students frequently, both formally and informally.

Advisors/Teachers are community builders. You build relationships with every student in your classroom (based on honesty, accountability, and forward progress), build strong family relationships, advocate for your students, and hold them accountable.

• You run/support circle every day.
• You praise/celebrate strengths, good work, good community.
• You use community challenges as learning opportunities
• You set and hold norms in your advisory.
• You maintain frequent contact with parents.
• You employ restorative practices when things break down.
• You set high expectations for relationships in advisory and match those expectations with high support in reaching them

Advisors/Teachers are facilitators of learning. You ensure student learning for every student in your classroom and set the direction of your Advisory’s progress based on their needs and engage them in a constant process of development and growth. You take a holistic approach to teaching, both in the many roles you play for students, and in the interdisciplinary projects you lead.

• You ask questions to stimulate student thinking and problem solving.
• You provide effective and timely feedback.
• You help students manage projects and track progress.
• You design, plan and run projects
• You help students reflect and set goals through individual meetings.
• You facilitate and support student exhibitions every trimester.
• You set high expectations for project work in advisory and match those expectations with high support in reaching them

Skills and Qualifications

This position requires a Secondary certification in either English/Language Arts, Social Science/History, Mathematics or Science. We prefer candidates who have at least three years of experience working with students facing social and economic disadvantage (either in a school or a community-based organization). This work also requires you to be mentally tough (there are lots of ups and downs in this work), willing to step up and help lead work when needed, and capable of adapting to an organization that is constantly evolving.

While not required, expertise and/or experience with restorative practices, positive youth development, trauma-informed practices, and project based learning are strongly preferred.

Salary and Benefits

The Workshop School is a public high school in the School District of Philadelphia. As such, pay is determined by the PFT contract based on years of experience and education level. The pay scale and benefits can be found on this page.

Learn more and apply. Submit a cover letter and resume to staffing@workshopschool.org.