Organization: Ceiba College Prep
Job Title: Middle School Founding Teachers
Location: Santa Cruz County

Posted: 3/10/08

CEIBA COLLEGE PREP
MIDDLE SCHOOL FOUNDING TEACHERS IN ELA, MATH, SCIENCE, AND HISTORY

THE BACK STORY
Cirenia was an incoming student at a public high school in Santa Cruz. She was excited and nervous to be meeting with her guidance counselor. Cirenia’s mother was at her side. The weight of a better life was upon her shoulders, as Cirenia intended to be the first member of her family to attend college. The conference had been scheduled to discuss her interests and plan an academic program. Within minutes everything changed. The counselor glanced casually at her record. “You don’t need to worry about the college track, honey,” he said, “you’re going to cosmetology school.”

Stories like Cirenia’s incited the creation of Beacon schools. We are driven by the belief that all students, if given adequate preparation, are capable of succeeding in college and beyond. Tom Brown and James Reinhart founded Beacon in 2006. Tom had served as the Board President of Pacific Collegiate School (PCS), named top charter school and second overall in U.S. News and World Report’s list of “America’s Best High Schools”, and listed in Newsweek’s top 20 public schools nationwide. James had been a teacher at PCS before becoming the Development Director. He’s now spreading the BEN story at Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government.

Beacon Education Network (BEN) was born from their shared belief that more needs to be done for historically underserved students falling through the cracks in public schools. As the result of myriad economic and social barriers, thousands of Santa Cruz County students are dropping out of high school. For those who manage to graduate, inadequate preparation, guidance and support often prevent students from transitioning between high school and college. Those who successfully enroll are often left stranded in remediation.

On October 10th, 2007, Beacon’s first school was approved by Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) to open in August 2008. It will be the first of at least four BEN schools, and will begin serving sixth and seventh grades, laddering up one additional grade per year. We believe that education is the most important policy issue facing the Pajaro Valley. Beacon plans to assemble a diverse coalition of groups and individuals with the goal of transforming PVUSD into a district of high performing schools.

We need a founding team of teachers with an interest in creating the top performing charter school in California.

REQUISITE CHARACTER TRAITS

• Love kids
• Think parents are part of the solution, not part of the problem
• Committed to preparing EVERY student for college
• Willing to engage in constant efforts to improve personal instruction
• Passionate about developing an extraordinary classroom environment
• Confident that data driven instruction can be an effective tool for bolstering student achievement
• Ready to work in an entrepreneurial environment
• Exhibit compassion, resilience and no-excuses attitude
• Excited by the prospect of having a BEN Corps member assisting in the classroom. BEN Corps is our team of recent college graduates who have committed ten months to serve as mentors and teaching assistants in our school.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Belief in Beacon’s mission and educational philosophy
• Mastery of and enthusiasm for subject matter, including California State Standards
• Experience and willingness to use data and assessments to inform instruction
• Bachelor’s degree
• Demonstrated commitment to underserved communities preferred
• Spanish language proficiency preferred
• Master’s degree and Valid California Teaching Credential preferred
• Minimum of two years working in a classroom preferred

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop a positive and effective classroom culture with high expectations for all students
• Implement curricula and classroom activities to meet Beacon’s high academic standards
• Identify unique student needs and respond accordingly, collaborating with other teachers and outside service providers when necessary
• Lead a student advisory group
• Utilize assessments to recalibrate instructional practices
• Communicate constantly and effectively with students and families
• Be a team player—collaborate with colleagues in order to align curriculum and share best practices
• Participate in professional development activities
• Demonstrate an unremitting drive to improve the minds and lives of students

COMPENSATION
We are committed to excellence, which is predicated upon building an excellent team. Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications, experience and performance.

TO APPLY
Please visit our website: http://beaconed.org.