El Centro: Certified Math Teacher, Full-time

El Centro High School is seeking advisors (we call our teachers, advisors) who are eager to work in a progressive, student-centered, project-based high school. Specifically, El Centro is looking for a Math advisor.

El Centro, a Big Picture Philadelphia alternative high school in the Kensington section of North Philadelphia, is seeking passionate, committed, resilient advisors (teachers). As a part of the nationally acclaimed Big Picture Learning network with more than 70 groundbreaking schools nationwide, El Centro operates on the Big Picture school design. For more information on Big Picture and El Centro please check the following website: www.bigpicture.org.

An El Centro advisor (teacher) is a three-pronged position. An advisor is a social and emotional leader, an academic teacher and project developer, and an internship manager. First and foremost, the advisor is the “point person” for their 18 students and those students’ families. The successful advisor creates a safe, trusting, and collaborative learning environment that enables students to learn through school and community experiences and develop as mature, able, knowledgeable, and responsible individuals. An advisor is often responsible for a multi-year educational journey of 18 students, including their successful graduation and transition to a meaningful post-secondary activity.

Key “personalization” (social, emotional, and relational) responsibilities: an advisor (teacher):

• Builds a strong, supportive small community of learning within their advisory and celebrates students’ accomplishments.
• Asserts students’ educational and social progress through periodic narrative reports, phone calls to parents, and regular student meetings.
• Is accessible to students and parents for education-related purposes outside normal school hours as negotiated with students and their families.
• Actively enlists parents and family members in the life and learning of their children.
• Creates learning plans with students and their families that encompass the individual student’s personal interests and developmental needs.
• Facilitates learning plan meetings with each student and their family, plus their internship mentor when applicable.
• Updates and modifies students’ learning plans every term.

Key academic and in-school responsibilities: an advisor (teacher):

• Teaches students how to learn, and gather and filter information through personal interaction, print, and web-based sources.
• Plans a program of instruction that challenges students and meets the individual needs, interests, and abilities of each student.
• Guides students into learning experiences and activities that focus on the mastery of the specific content area.
• Provides supplemental and educational resources in order to support students’ growth.
• Employs a variety of educational techniques in pursuit of educational goals and establishes clear objectives for each student.
• Attends advisor and peer meetings to plan and work collaboratively to share best practices and critique each other’s work, and to view all the students in the school as their own.
• Creates a safe and healthy learning environment and responds to emergencies in accordance with established safety and emergency policies and guidelines.
• Actively participates in all staff meetings, retreats, and summer training sessions.
• Shares the leadership role with other staff members in organizing and conducting new student and new staff orientations.

Key real-world learning responsibilities: an advisor (teacher):

• Facilitates student learning outside of the school building via internships and its attendant preparatory work, service learning, group internships, and real-world learning experiences.
• Incorporates formal Learning Plans and Learning Through Internships (LTI) experiences into each student’s learning journey.
• Works collaboratively with the Internship Coordinator to ensure each student has an internship by following the determined LTI path.
• Monitors students’ internships through regular site visits, phone calls, and mentor meetings.

Other qualifications – education and/or experience:

• Pennsylvania Department of Education High School Teaching Certification.
• Baccalaureate degree in Secondary Education or relevant field required.
• Master’s degree (MA/MS/MBA) or equivalent preferred.
• Two or more years related experience and/or training a plus.
• All required clearances.
• Sense of humor.
• Enjoy working with youth.

El Centro is presently looking for dynamic educators. If you are a highly organized, hard-working individual, interested in joining our learning community, please email your resume and a cover letter to Nina Bilynsky at [email protected] and explain why you are interested in El Centro and the Big Picture school design.

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $45,000.00 to $80,000.00 /year