High School Science Teacher and Department Chair

Empowerment Academy Charter School is hiring a High School Science Department Chair and Teacher at Empowerment’s High School. This is for the 2024-2025 school year and beyond. This candidate will be asked to work for a portion of the summer, and compensated to do so. We are currently implementing a Critical Need Bonus for certified Science Teachers who successfully join our team of $7,500! 

Base Salary: $77,000 - $97,000

Potential Earnings: $89,000 - $110,000 after Bonuses and Stipends

OUR SCHOOL

Empowerment Academy is a dynamic and successful charter school that truly supports its teachers and staff. Empowerment has 3 of its own campuses, and BelovED is our “sister school.” We serve a mix of students that are among the most diverse in America while enjoying the cultural vibrance of Jersey City, Hoboken and New York City. Our staff is a dedicated group of individuals passionate about closing the achievement gap and providing a quality educational program. 

WE VALUE OUR FACULTY

At Empowerment Academy, we emphasize teamwork and community and truly value our faculty:

• Evidencing this, compared to those with similar experience, OUR FACULTY MEMBERS ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST PAID IN NEW JERSEY;
• Moreover, we seek to achieve academic success without burning out teachers by meshing an effective education program with effective teacher supports and professional development.

TEACHER SUPPORTS

Teachers at Empowerment Academy are part of a school-wide team.  They receive career-long coaching and professional development support from school leaders; work with their peers in professional learning communities (PLCs) to plan lessons and solve problems; and partner with an array of specialists to meet scholars’ diverse needs.

Examples of such teacher supports include:

• Abundant planning periods during the school day;
• A research-based curriculum and supporting curricular materials; 
• High-quality formative assessments, aligned with the curriculum, that help identify when students have not achieved mastery of a skill, concept, or knowledge item; and
• Full-time reading and math specialists who tutor students struggling to master an essential skill, and counselors and social workers who help students struggling with non-academic problems.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

• We are seeking a qualified individual to have a reduced teaching load and act as the Science Department Chair at the High School.
• Summer Work – The Department Chair / Supervisor will be expected to work approximately four weeks this coming summer to ensure a strong high school Science Department kickoff. You will receive a paid stipend for this. 
• Curriculum Scope and Sequence –Tailoring curriculum scope & sequences for Grade 9 and 10 learners at different levels.
• Curricular Materials – Augmenting planned curricular materials as appropriate to meet the needs of our diverse students.
• Instructional Pacing – Preparing instructional pacing guidelines for learners at different levels.
• Scholar Assessment – Refining the assessments to be used to identify scholar masteries and weaknesses, guide instruction, and benchmark scholar learning progress.
• Thru-Year Responsibilities – The Department Chair / Supervisor will have somewhat reduced teaching responsibilities. In exchange, the Department Chair / Supervisor will be expected to assist with the professional development of their department peers by providing:
• Teacher Training – Both during our late August “Summer Institute” and periodically throughout the school year on Professional Development days.
• Teacher Coaching - Including observation and feedback, “real time coaching” and instructional modeling, as well as periodic review and feedback on teacher lesson plans.
• Assessment Data Analysis –Conducting “test-in-hand” data analysis during Professional Learning Community meetings with department teachers that move beyond what scholars got wrong and facilitate teachers taking ownership of why scholars got it wrong.
• Continual Program Improvement – Using assessment data to facilitate continual program improvements (curriculum, assessment and instruction). 

The Department Chair / Supervisor should also be prepared to periodically stay late for an hour to provide fellow teachers extra support (coaching, mentoring, technique modeling) as needed, for which the Department Chair will receive additional stipend compensation.

Requirements

Candidates MUST hold a New Jersey Department of Education Standard Teacher of Science Certificate (a Supervisor’s Certificate is preferred, multiple Science Domains will be considered) and have at least 5 years of effective teaching experience.  Please do not apply if you are neither certified nor actively engaged in obtaining New Jersey certification.

Candidates should also have experience coaching teachers and leading data-driven professional learning community meetings.

Benefits

Charter schools ARE public schools.  Our teachers are part of the New Jersey Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF), same as teachers at traditional public schools, and can transfer their pension credits from a traditional public school to our school and vice versa.  Additional benefits include:

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Training & Development

As an equal opportunity employer, Empowerment Academy hires without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability.

INDINSTRUCTION