Organization: North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS)
Job Title: Middle School Teacher
Location: Oakland

Posted: 3/6/09

Job Description

About the Position
North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS) seeks a 6th/7th grade core subject matter teacher (language arts/social studies or math/science) to join our dynamic community.

We are currently a K-6 school with 155 students. In the 2009 – 2010 academic year we will continue our K-8 expansion by adding a 7th grade program for our current students. In 2010-2011 we will complete our expansion with a complete K-8 program and a total enrollment of 205 students.

Next year, our 6th/7th grade program will consist of two cores with 25 students in each class. Each core teacher will also be responsible for leading an advisory class as well as one elective. In addition, the middle school team will also lead innovative service-learning classes that take place each Wednesday at NOCCS.

The 6/7 instructor needs to be an excellent teacher and leader; someone who has a deep appreciation for students and the particular needs of 11-14 year olds. We are especially interested in educators who are invigorated by a growing school environment and are comfortable with innovation. The new member of our middle school team must be a skilled collaborator and able to work with other professionals in a team environment. In addition, we are seeking an educator who is enthusiastic about interacting with engaged families, and who wants to take an active role in shaping the school’s growth, policies and educational practices.

The ideal candidate will have knowledge of and experience with a diverse range of pre-adolescent and adolescent learners. They will be highly skilled in the use of workshop and/or inquiry-based methods and teaching strategies, the California content standards, a diversity of assessments to inform differentiated instruction, culturally relevant strategies for working with a highly diverse student body, Teaching for Understanding/project based learning, and art integration. She/he will possess a strong ability to design and implement rich, engaging, and relevant teaching units. The candidate must share our school’s beliefs in and passion for the power of progressive education, high expectations for all learners, and the importance of equity-based educational practices.

About NOCCS
The North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS) is a public school dedicated to helping children to become thoughtful, informed, and inquisitive citizens. NOCCS is a vibrant, diverse learning community driven by respect for each child’s unique intelligence and history. Our school’s dynamic and challenging educational approach deepens the intellectual and social capacities of each child that we serve.
NOCCS is driven by ten core principles that anchor and guide our community and its work, and provide a vision to which we aspire as a learning community. These principles include: (1) respect for children and their learning; (2) high expectations; (3) a caring community of learners; (4) valuing diversity; (5) connections to the world; (6) a commitment to equity; (7) families' contributions; (8) respect for teachers and teaching; (9) creativity; and (10) teaching for understanding.

Since opening its doors in September of 2000, NOCCS has grown from a tiny one classroom school serving 20 students to a vibrant community of learners comprised of 155 students in six multiage classrooms from grades K/1st through 6th grade. The NOCCS student body is a diverse group of learners that includes 28% African-American, 6% Asian, 1% Filipino, 8% Hispanic/Latino, 54% White (not Hispanic), and 3% Other/No Response. Over 30% of our student qualify for free or reduced priced lunch. Over the next several years, we anticipate continued diversification of our student body due to a combination of our expansion to a K-8 educational institution, increased outreach efforts, equity-based policy efforts, and our new geographic location within a highly diverse neighborhood area. In the fall of 2010, NOCCS will complete its middle grades expansion, serving over 200 students in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade.

NOCCS stands out as one of Oakland and the Bay Area’s most successful progressive education urban charter school models. Since its inception, NOCCS has ranked as one of the area’s top schools. Over the past eight years, we have consistently achieved California Academic Performance Index of over 800 – with a current ranking of 855. Our education program offers students a rich and rigorous academic and enrichment curriculum that rivals the area’s best public and private schools. With Teaching for Understanding – an innovative and cognitively-rich research based approach to learning and teaching developed at the Harvard Graduate School of Education – as the basis for our units of study, all students at NOCCS have access to an equitable progressive education that helps them develop as active, engaged, and self-directed learners.

NOCCS is also known throughout the area as a model of parent/family and community involvement. NOCCS parents/families typically log over 7,000 volunteer hours per year. The volunteer services that our families provide are wide ranging, including teaching handwriting, organizing the gardening program, serving on our board of directors, teaching visual arts classes, directing fundraising efforts, and more.

In only its ninth year of operation, NOCCS stands out as an educational institution in building a strong infrastructure that will support continued growth, diversification, and academic excellence. We are one of only a handful of California public charter schools that has purchased its own school facility, thus giving us a permanent home where we can build a strong future for our students and their families. This summer, through a unique partnership with Netjets, we have “greened” our building with the addition of new solar panels which produce enough energy to power our school on an average day.
The NOCCS Board of Directors has worked to ensure an excellent and well supported educational staff by recruiting a highly experienced corps of teachers and an exciting new school director who we are confident will lead the school towards an era of continued growth and sustainability that will continue to distinguish NOCCS as a model of equitable, progressive, urban, public education and excellence.

See our website for more detailed information regarding our school: www.noccs.org

Position Requirements:

- California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential OR California Single Subject Teaching Credentials in two subject areas (e.g. mathematics & science, language arts & social studies – or any combination of these areas) and CLAD or AB1059, demonstrating compliance with the NCLB highly qualified teacher status as defined by the California Department of Education.

- Demonstrated success in designing rigorous and engaging units of study for students aged 11-14 and/or upper elementary grade levels.

- Knowledge of different 6th – 8th grade curricula and ability to design curriculum to address multiple cultural groups.

- Demonstrated success working with youth from diverse cultural, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and the ability to interface with their parents in productive ways.

- Managing a learning-centered classroom that includes age-appropriate, culturally responsive classroom management practices.

- Knowledge of the California State Content Standards.

- Ability to design and/or use a variety of assessment tools and techniques to guide instruction.

- Demonstrated success in differentiating instruction in public school classroom settings.

- Ability to collaborate and participate in critical relationships with other teachers to develop educational strategies jointly within as well as across grade levels.

- Interest in developing and implementing a state of the art advisory, service-learning, and elective program for 6th – 8th grade students.

- Interest in working in a school community with a high degree of parent/family participation.

- Commitment and ability to attend committee meetings, lead school-wide initiatives, utilize parents as volunteers in the classroom, and attend evening meetings approximately once each month.

- Teaching demonstrations required of all applicants.

Desired:

- Teaching experience in a charter or new school setting

- Ability to contribute to a growing school environment

- National Board Certification Knowledge and experience with alternative assessment practices

- Bilingual Education experience (Spanish).

Salaries and benefits are competitive and commensurate with experience.

To Apply:
Interested candidates, who meet the above requirements, please email the following application materials to director@noccs.org or mail them to:

Hiring Committee
North Oakland Community Charter School
1000 42nd St.
Oakland, CA 94608

Absolutely no phone calls please.

1. Resumé
2. Cover letter, including a description of your grade level preference and experience
3. Photocopy of California multiple subject teaching credential(s)
4. Brief response to the following questions (maximum one page for each item):

- Describe your philosophy or approach to classroom management. How do you develop your learning environment to meet the varied social, emotional, and academic needs of a diverse class of students?

- Describe your philosophy or approach to teaching either a language arts/social studies or mathematics/science core class. How do you develop content knowledge while also balancing/helping students to develop important academic skills, work habits, and the ability to work in teams?

- Describe key needs of students in the 11-14 year old age range and how students in this age range can thrive at a K-8 school. How could you use your own unique skills and talents to approach meeting these needs through an advisory class, elective, and/or service-learning project?