McLean, Virginia
Posted: 10-Mar-23
Location: St. George, Virginia
Type: Full Time
Categories:
Required Education:
Job Title: English and Drama Teacher
Academic Year 2023-2024
Department: Instruction
Reports to: English Department Chair
FLSA Status: Exempt
Summary:
An all-boys, all-boarding college-preparatory school serving 180 students, Blue Ridge School’s 751-acre campus lies along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains 20 miles from Charlottesville, Virginia.
Blue Ridge School is innovative in its approach to educating young men. Passionate teachers, small classes, strong relationships, lots of opportunities to participate in athletics and co-curricular activities, and a rigorous but supportive college prep curriculum, empower Blue Ridge graduates to thrive in college. With an average class size of 9 students, faculty members are able to help each student discover the best way to master the course material, and challenge each student to reach beyond self-determined limits and fulfill his untapped potential.
Most teachers live on campus in homes provided by the school. On campus housing helps give our safe, family-oriented community the sense of a small village in which students and families live and work together.
The role of English & Drama Teacher is a full-time, 9-month, position that has primary responsibilities to plan, organize and implement an appropriate instructional program in a learning environment that guides and encourages students to develop and fulfill their academic potential. This teacher will teach 4 sections of English in a combination of courses that could include Language/Literature I, Language/Literature II, World Literature, or American Literature.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree or higher in English from an accredited institution
- Experience teaching and leading vocal music ensembles, preferred
- Experience teaching theatre to high school students from diverse backgrounds
- Working knowledge of research on the benefits of single-gender education
- Specific knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar
- Flexibility, creativity and willingness to play an active role in the life of the School community
- Proficient use of technology in the classroom and the theory behind such use
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with students, parents, peers, and supervisors
- Exceptional organizational, planning, problem solving, decision making and critical thinking skills
- Effective time management skills
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Plan, prepare and deliver instructional activities that facilitate active learning experiences
- Develop course lesson plans
- Establish and communicate clear objectives for all learning activities
- Prepare classroom for class activities
- Provide a variety of learning materials and resources for use in educational activities
- Use relevant technology to support instruction
- Willingness to work with students of different academic backgrounds, utilizing professional development opportunities and experiences to identify and select appropriate instructional resources and methods to meet students’ varying learning profiles.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use of learning materials and resources
- Demonstrate a willingness to engage students in developing solid skills in reading literature for comprehension, appreciation, and interpretation
- Work with students to improve their writing skills both in formal and creative formats
- Facilitate instruction in the fundamentals of English grammar by means of familiarizing students with the basic sentence patterns and by the practice of sentence combining, and the strengthening of vocabulary skills
- Keep up to date with developments in subject area, teaching resources and methods and make relevant changes to instructional plans and activities
- Assign and grade class work, homework, tests and assignments to include regular constructive feedback on all work and assessments
- Observe, evaluate, and record each student's overall performance and development
- Prepare reports and update all necessary records accurately, completely, and timely as required by school policies regarding students’ behavior and academic achievement
- Participate in department meetings, school meetings, and parent meetings
- Communicate necessary information regularly to students, colleagues and parents regarding student progress and student needs
- Perform certain advisory duties including but not limited to student support, counseling students with academic problems and providing student encouragement
- Maintain discipline in accordance with the rules and disciplinary systems of the school
- Direct the school's drama productions, a daily after school program, that involves the direction of one major musical in either the winter or spring.
- Ordering scripts and coordinating stage production, including constructing, painting, moving scenery, operating stage light, and sound equipment
- Managing productions, including tech, lighting, sound and backstage management
- Teaches acting principles and techniques to individuals and to groups
- Conducts readings to evaluate student talent
- Teaches enunciation, diction, voice development, and dialects, using voice exercises, speech drills, explanation, lectures, and improvisation.
- Auditions students, our boys and girls from the local public school, to select cast and assign parts.
- Participates on weekday and weekend duty teams
- Attends on-campus special events, such as Registration, Parents Weekend, Alumni Weekend, School sponsored mixers, etc.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:
Teaching credential or certification preferred; not required
Physical Demands and Working Conditions:
The usual and customary methods of performing the job's functions require the following physical demands: occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling; some climbing and balancing; frequent stooping, kneeling, crouching, and/or crawling; and significant fine finger dexterity. Generally the job requires 25% sitting, 25% walking, and 50% standing. The job is performed under minimal temperature variations and under conditions with some exposure to risk of injury and/or illness.
