Dayton, Ohio Lower School Teacher
The Position
MVS is seeking a dynamic and innovative upper grade lower school teacher for the 2017-2018 school year. The candidate must possess a passion for working with lower school students, work well within a collaborative team, have excellent communication skills, and demonstrate a teaching proficiency and comfort with a variety of different teaching and learning styles. The ideal candidate will have the ability to contribute to the community through after school club sponsorship in an area of interest or passion and/or coaching a sport of interest to the school. Additionally, a good candidate for this position should be an experienced educator with a background in reading and writing workshop, Guided Reading and differentiated instruction.
Mission y The Miami V The Miami Valley School challenges young people of promise to become self-sustaining learners and compassionate global citizens.
Vision For half a century, MVS has provided a unique learning option for families in the Dayton region. Today, MVS has established a truly differentiated educational opportunity and has become a nationally recognized leader in academically rigorous, experience-based learning. Our vision includes: • • • • • •
Providing Tools for Self-Navigation Advancing The Miami Valley School Immersion Method Expanding Opportunities in Applied Math and Science Forming Healthy Relationships Embracing our Community and World Aligning Resources, Organizational Structures, and Systems
Full vision statement: Imagining the Future of MVS Core Values We practice INTEGRITY in all that we do to build an environment of honesty, honor, and trust that affirms the dignity of our work and of our fellow human beings. We CELEBRATE individuality and encourage acceptance and open-mindedness, nurture diversity, and ensure equality for all. We demonstrate GRIT, both in and out of the classroom, as we persevere, move forward, and pursue our goals. We practice KINDNESS, and treat ourselves and others with empathy and compassion.
School History
The Miami Valley School was founded over fifty years ago and remains the only independent school in the Dayton region accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). Members of the Mead family were among the first founders of the school and donated the land now occupied by the school’s campus. The school has a heritage of academic excellence balanced with attention to the social and emotional needs of each student. Students and teachers work closely as co-learners in an environment that fosters innovation and self-discovery. Alumni often speak about the way teachers helped them explore new ideas and discover personal interests and passions that have been formative in their development as self-sustaining learners and compassionate global citizens. The close relationship between teachers and students is at the heart of the school’s heritage. The “Immersion Program” in the upper school is unique nationwide. The program creates opportunities for all upper school students to spend an entire month focused on studying one topic in-depth, often in far-flung places around the globe. MVS is one of the few schools in the nation to devote this amount of time and resources toward student experiential learning. Lower school students also travel outside the boundaries of the campus, and last year the lower school faculty launched a new interdisciplinary, project-based program of “mini-immersions” that occur twice during the school year.
Fast facts Campus: picturesque 24-acre campus Total enrollment: 462 Early childhood: 26 Lower school: 146 Middle school: 103 Upper school: 187 Student diversity: 38% students of color 3500+ hours of community service a year 3 languages studied starting in Early Childhood Voted #1 high school in Dayton
(niche.com)
The School Today
This small school in Dayton is quickly emerging as one of the most innovative schools in the nation. The school’s vision statement, Imagining the Future of MVS, has gained national attention at the NAIS annual conference and through social media. Building on this foundational document, a team of teachers, parents, and students spent a year in collaboration designing a philosophy of teaching and learning called the “Immersion Method.” This statement is unique in the way it was allowed to grow from the bottom up, rather than top down, and in the way that it provides a framework for teaching and learning that doesn’t limit or restrict teacher freedom or autonomy but rather encourages greater teacher innovation and risk-taking. Building on the school’s historic commitment to immersive learning, this document now helps to provide critical direction to efforts to empower students to take greater ownership of their own learning, from Early Childhood through twelfth grade.
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The Lower School
The lower school division is small enough (averages 150 students) that each student is well known and cared for. The student body is diverse in many ways, including economics, culture, religion, race, learning style, and more. Lower school children are bright, joyful, eager to arrive at school each day, and naturally embrace a warm spirit of caring and community. The entire lower school assembles once a week as a community in “morning meeting,” and each classroom practices responsive classroom strategies daily. The school has a well-developed social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, as well as training in “love and logic” to support thoughtful and effective classroom management. This year the lower school has implemented all of the components of a balanced literacy program that emphasizes process writing and guided reading. Teachers recently went through renewed training in Singapore Math (Math in Focus) and updated all teaching resources. The educational program in lower school lends itself well to differentiation of all subject areas, and staffing in lower school includes a learning specialist and intervention specialist as resources for students and teachers. Innovation is created through a spirit of collaboration among a very talented faculty, including the recent creation of a “miniimmersions” program from K-5. Technology is woven naturally into the curriculum and an elective in “coding” was started this year. Lower school students have access to excellent facilities, including a fully-equipped lower school science lab, instrumental music classroom, choral music classroom, visual art studio, and a gymnasium used primarily by lower school. Significant outdoor space is dedicated to lower school students, including an Outdoor Exploration Center (OEC), outdoor science pond, woods, playgrounds, and athletic fields. Classes are small (averaging 14 students per class). The teachers are flexible and willing to work as a team, and open to change and progress in ensuring best practices in lower school education. MVS is looking for unique educators who are ready to help refine a truly differentiated educational opportunity as MVS becomes a nationally-recognized leader in experience-based learning. Come be a part of designing a school of the future.
The Dayton Community
Metropolitan Dayton is home to more than 840,000 people. The primary drivers of the area’s economy are healthcare, education, defense, and aerospace. Research and development in Dayton has led to significant technological innovations, primarily in association with Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the largest military research facility in the U.S. With a reasonable cost of living and a “can-do” attitude, Dayton is truly a community of entrepreneurship and optimism. Dayton is also known for its arts and culture. The rich cultural scene is exemplified in the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Opera, Dayton Playhouse, and Dayton Ballet. Dayton is also home to two major universities: The University of Dayton and Wright State University. More than 35,000 acres of parks, nature preserves, bike paths, and river corridors are available for outdoor activities. In addition, Dayton is uniquely situated in the Midwest with an easy drive to three other major cities: Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis.
The Physical Campus The Miami Valley School is located south of Dayton in an area known for beautiful neighborhoods, high-achieving public schools, and attractive shopping options. The school campus is nestled by trees and attractive neighborhoods in a quiet suburban setting. The 24-acre campus provides ample space for athletic fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, and areas designed for outdoor education, including a natural pond environment. A unique aspect of the campus is several beautiful outdoor courtyards as well as a state-of-theart greenhouse and gardens, known as the Z-Lab. The school’s most ambitious building project was completed this past summer, resulting in new facilities that are architecturally stunning and significantly improve school programs. The new facilities added this summer include the Soin Early Childhood School, Cleary Gallery, Schear Library, Rose Theater, and Zorniger Colonnade. School facilities also include updated science labs in all divisions and two full-size gymnasiums.
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College Enrollment Following are some of the colleges and universities at which Miami Valley School graduates were recently accepted: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Baylor University Boston College Brandeis University Brown University Case Western Reserve University College of William and Mary Centre College Columbia University Connecticut College Dartmouth College Davidson College Denison University Dickinson College Georgia Institute of Technology Georgetown University Grinnell College Hampton University Harvard University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Kenyon College Macalester College Northeast Ohio Medical University Northwestern University Oberlin College Occidental College Miami University, Oxford Middlebury College New York University Rochester Institute of Technology Santa Clara University Simmons College Skidmore College Tulane University University of Rochester Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Opportunities for Lower School Teachers • Small class sizes (averaging 14 students) • Two classes at each level allowing for a supportive partnership with another teacher • A small division that support collaboration between teachers in different • curriculum areas • Freedom to create innovative and immersive curriculum • Opportunities to be very connected with students and teachers • A Lower School Director who focuses solely on Grades K-5 • A Technology department that encourages and supports technology use in the classroom • Opportunities for professional development encouraged
Qualifications Desired in a Lower School Teacher • • • •
A commitment to grow in best practices through professional development A commitment to incorporate the Immersive Method in curriculum development Experience in creating curriculum that uses best practices in Writing Workshop, Guided Reading, Singapore Math and integration of technology A commitment to incorporate SEL (Social Emotional Learning) practices throughout the day including a Responsive Classroom morning meeting
The Immersion Method The MVS Immersion Method reflects our shared beliefs of how all students learn best. It is our articulation of the best practices of the Progressive Era of education, founded on the principles of deep student experience and tailored to meet the needs of the individual learner. It dispels the notion that the principal role of a teacher is to provide information and it confidently proclaims that students learn more thoroughly via actual experience than throughteacher-centric content delivery. Building upon a positive learning environment, the driving forces of the Immersion Method require that we create opportunities to: EXPLORE: mentally, physically, and virtually venture from where students and teachers are today, to expand the footprint of their collective experience and comfort zone; to connect to those big ideas and themes that really matter in the world today
CONNECT: link frequently, closely, and authentically to the past and future, to one’s own background, perspective, and goals; collaborate in learning with and from a wide range of other people, places, backgrounds, and experiences
SHARE: design, create, build, make, comment on, publish, present and otherwise contribute original and derivative work in real time to the collective body of human knowledge and experience
REFLECT: make a point of frequently stepping away from the everyday habits at school; seek understanding about the WHY, HOW, and WHAT IF of the learning process and our positions within it
Attributes of an Excellent Lower School Teacher An excellent teacher at MVS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Compassionately engages, inspires and nurtures students. Demonstrates passion for teaching and learning. Is an effective communicator who demonstrates a collaborative and collegial spirit. Enthusiastically and actively supports the school community, its mission and core values. Demonstrates knowledge and expertise in teaching methodology and content Is respectful and values diversity in its broadest meaning.
...in and out of the classroom.
How to apply
Candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and employment application (found on the school’s website - www.mvschool.com) to: Jay Scheurle, Head of School The Miami Valley School 5151 Denise Drive Dayton, Ohio 45429
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5151 Denise Drive Dayton, Ohio 45429
. 937-434-4444 . mvschool.com