US STEM Teacher Grade 6

About Town School

Town School for Boys is a K-8 all boys' independent school located in San Francisco with approximately 415 students, of whom 50% come from self-identified families of color, and a faculty:student ratio of 1:6. Our diverse faculty and staff can be characterized by their warmth, collegiality, and dedication to our mission and values. At Town, learning is prized, love of school is essential, and boyhood is celebrated.

For more information, please visit our Town Facts page, read about "Why a Boys' School," or learn about our community of belonging.

Town is seeking a full-time Middle School STEM Teacher to work with 6th Grade students. An ideal candidate is able to promote critical thinking and problem-solving through daily activities and project-based learning experiences. Please read through the description below, which outlines the role and additional expectations of a Town Upper School teacher.

This position involves lead teaching two sections of 6th grade students and supporting instruction of two sections of 5th grade students. There are weekly faculty meetings, lunch, and recess duty obligations. The position also includes serving as an advisor and study hall responsibilities.

In all Upper School (Grades 5-8) STEM classes, we provide our students the opportunity to think and act like a scientist or engineer by:

• Communicating their ideas with evidence or reason
• Planning an investigation to discover new information or test ideas
• Interpreting informational texts to help support inquiry
• Honing their observation skills and collection of data
• Working collaboratively to solve authentic problems
• Improving their work through an iterative design process
• Documenting and demonstrating their understanding with a variety of media, both digital and analog
• Utilizing a variety of materials and fabrication techniques to meet desired goals
• Applying systems thinking to better understand complex problems

Students at Town engage with science and engineering via the hands-on inquiry of real world phenomena and the completion of engineering challenges. We use relationships and resources from local and national institutions to design developmentally appropriate and engaging curriculum, e.g. The Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, Boston Museum of Science, The National Academy of Engineering, Royal Academy of Engineering, and the MIT Edgerton Center.

We also use the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as foundations to inform curricular choices across the grades.

The 6th Grade STEM curriculum engages students in a wide range of scientific and engineering explorations. Students investigate astronomy and space science by studying Earth’s place in the solar system, the life cycle of stars, and the origins of matter. They are introduced to the periodic table by exploring the elements, examining heat, electrical, nuclear, kinetic, and light energy, and studying Earth’s unique interconnected systems that shape our atmosphere and hydrosphere.

Students also deepen their understanding of electricity and circuitry by learning to solder, design circuits with various components, and develop a prototype toy for the younger Town students.

Technology within these units is intentionally integrated as a tool to support teaching and learning, namely by enabling students to build models that represent phenomena and deepen understanding of concepts too large or too small to observe directly. Tools include Google Classroom, Tinker

CAD, PhET simulations and block coding. Assessment is focused on competency-based learning, inviting students to practice metacognitive thinking about their understanding of key concepts and skills and reflect upon their growth over time to meet core scientific and engineering competencies.

As part of our advisory program, 5th-8th faculty lead morning meetings, support students during study hall, supervise during snack/recess, and facilitate student-led parent conferences in the fall and spring. Other responsibilities include weekly faculty and grade-level meetings, weekly lunch and recess supervision duties, and biweekly STEM department meetings. Faculty are expected to take an active role in the school community by contributing to committees, chaperoning field trips, and attending student performances and athletic events.

Candidates with experience and interest in supporting or leading STEM-related extracurricular teams or events, such as LEGO robotics, FTC, Kid Wind, SeaMATE, or NASA Tech Rise Challenge, are encouraged to apply.

In order to support our faculty growth and skills, we have a robust professional development budget that includes participation in conferences around the world (both virtually and in-person) and a summer grant program to support curriculum development.

We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional…