ENL Teacher

VOICE Charter School (http://www.voicecharterschool.org/) is an elementary and middle school located in Long Island City, Queens that serves about 650 students across grades K-8.  We are located just minutes from Manhattan (two stops outside of Manhattan on the F, N, and W train lines) and Long Island City’s growing waterfront district, thriving arts community, and rapid residential growth. We are looking to identify extraordinary educators and administrators committed to urban education who wish to join a dynamic professional learning community.

Our mission is to create a safe and healthy learning environment that will nurture, motivate and challenge all of our children to achieve the highest level of academic excellence and to develop into mindful, responsible, contributing participants in their education, their community and the diverse society in which we live.

What makes VOICE different?

At VOICE, it’s not just about the music. It’s about the people. It’s about what you can be. It’s about using your passion. It’s about relationships. It’s about having the opportunity to choose. It’s about caring enough. It’s about each individual child and adult.

We believe in efficacy. At the core of our academic culture is the idea that all students are capable of doing well in any discipline. At VOICE, all students will learn – being smart is not something that you are, it is something you become.  At VOICE, you will be pushed to become more.

We support and develop the effectiveness of our teachers. We believe that teachers need time to collaborate to build their practice, so we provide our team with over two hours of planning time a day as well as additional days for collaborative thought partnership and planning during the school year.  

We promote participation in music and the arts. As music and art help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills and open children's imaginations, all VOICE students participate in and learn from daily activities in the arts including rigorous choral training. We design our arts-integrated curriculum to bring joy and wonder to the lives of our children, providing them with the skills necessary to forge their own path.

All Staff at VOICE:

• Love and nurture all of our students as they become deeply caring and responsible individuals;
• Take personal responsibility and work collaboratively to ensure that all students achieve and grow, understanding that the performance and progress of our students is directly under our control;
• Ask questions and empower students to exercise curiosity and wonder about the world around them;
• Hold themselves to the highest standards;
• Push and support themselves, their students, and their colleagues;
• Proactively seek and incorporate feedback;
• Help each individual child gain the opportunity to choose what his or her future will be.

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Position Responsibilities:

The ENL Teacher provides Middle School students (6-8) with a safe and healthy learning environment that will nurture, motivate and challenge all children to achieve the highest level of academic excellence and to develop into mindful, responsible, contributing participants in their education and communities.

Coordination

• Support with the identification of ELL services
• Ensure that VOICE is in compliance with the requirements and regulations relating to English Language Learners
• Coordinate the case management system of students who are being provided with ELL services
• Coordinate the testing and assessment programs for students who qualify for ELL services
• Conduct NYSITELL and NYSESLAT assessments

Curriculum and Planning

• Learn new content and skills in order to best support students
• Collaborate with colleagues in developing purposeful, rigorous, and engaging daily and long-term plans aligned to standards, and supporting classroom teachers to include language scaffolds in daily instruction
• Create, administer, and analyze meaningful and frequent assessments from which reteaches are planned
• Maintain the necessary records of student progress toward academic goals

In the Classroom

• Develop and implement push-in and pull-out lessons that scaffold ELL students towards grade level expectations
• Modify ELA instruction to provide additional support to ELL students
• Infuse VOICE values, rigor, and joy into lessons
• Integrate feedback and goal-setting into lesson delivery
• Provide the differentiation and accommodations needed for the growth and success of all students
• Lead small-group work with students to build language acquisition
• Review and comply with guidelines of students’ IEPs, attend IEP meetings, follow IDEA reporting requirements, and provide information about student performance and services received

Communication and Collaboration

• Fully embrace VOICE’s mission and values and promote them to students, parents, and colleagues
• Provide consultation, trainings, and support to colleagues in work with ELL students
• Keep families well-informed of student performance and progress
• Provide feedback and guidance to classroom assistants

Professionalism and Work Day Expectations

• Participate in meetings, designated school functions outside of school hours, and opportunities for individual and school-wide professional development
• Supervise out of classroom settings such as arrival, transitions, lunch, recess, dismissal, and field trips

Position Qualifications:

Attitude and Focus

• Unwavering humility, patience, and kindness
• Professional demeanor with the ability to influence and facilitate decision-making among multiple, diverse parties
• Perseverance to create clarity while allowing for complexity and nuance
• Openness to work collaboratively to solve problems
• High sense of urgency, demonstrated ability to successfully handle multiple projects concurrently in a fast-paced environment, and ability to be self-directed and take initiative
• Organized and systems driven
• Fastidious and attentive to detail

Skills and Knowledge

• Basic principles of curriculum design
• Child learning theory and behavioral approaches
• Differentiation strategies (conferencing; small group work)
• Elements of effective classroom environment and management
• Analyzing data using defined but different processes in order to inform student progress

• Building strong and effective collegial relationships as part of a team, including but not limited to co-teachers and grade teams; be able to effectively manage an assistant
• Communicating effectively and frequently with staff and families
• Prioritizing tasks appropriately; meeting deadlines

Educational Background and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university required
• New York State teaching certification in TESOL, Childhood Education, or Students With Disabilities. VOICE will also consider (a) strong candidates who are completing or have recently completed a NY State teacher training program and who can show that they will be fully certified by the first day of employment, and (b) strong candidates with teacher training or credentials/licenses from another state who can demonstrably commit to working toward and achieving NY State teaching certification by a reasonable deadline
• Teaching or student teaching experience in a school required
• Experience with and interest in working with high needs students preferred
• New York State teaching certification in Students with Disabilities, Special Ed, or ESL preferred

[Please note: All offers of employment are contingent upon the employee meeting all prerequisite job qualifications by the first day of employment.]

Compensation and Benefits: Compensation is competitive and based on experience.  We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including participation in a pre-tax commuter benefits program and partial reimbursement for monthly commuting expenses, gym reimbursement, cultural enrichment reimbursements, participation in the Teachers Retirement System pension program, and many opportunities to get to know your VOICE colleagues!

VOICE Charter School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In its employment decisions, VOICE does not discriminate on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law.