Staff Person (Full-Time)
The Circle School in Harrisburg, PA is seeking a full-time staff member for the 2014-2015 school year, and possibly part-time to full-time during the summer beginning in July or August of 2014.
At The Circle School, students practice life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Enrolling students ages 4-18, The Circle School extends the social contract normally reserved for adults to children and teenagers, offering them the opportunity to grow into ever-expanding freedom and responsibility. Students at The Circle School are free to choose how to spend their time at school within the democratically adopted laws of the school, and participate in the day-to-day management and running of the school as members of School Meeting, in which each student and each staff person has one vote. More information on The Circle School and its philosophy can be found at www.circleschool.org.
PLEASE NOTE: This position is NOT a traditional teaching position, though possession of or willingness to obtain teaching credentials is required.
Staff people at The Circle School act as dependable stewards of the school; facilitate student access to resources; exemplify mature practice of personal fulfillment and societal engagement; and anchor school culture to values of interpersonal respect and trust in the natural impulse toward personal growth.
Staff people at The Circle School do NOT create activities for students to pursue and do NOT have the authority to unilaterally establish or enforce rules. Being a successful staff person at The Circle School requires an ability to honor the choices of others even when those choices are not those you would make, and an ability to trust in the school's peer-based judicial system to adequately resolve rule infractions. Staff people at The Circle School ARE available as facilitators and friends as students pursue their own interests.
This is a salaried position, compensated in the range of $28,500 to $31,500. Most work hours will fall within the school's normal hours of operation (8am-4pm), but a willingness to work occasional additional hours on an as-needed basis for individual projects, staff and committee meetings, public relations and community events, and more, is required.
Health care insurance is mostly paid by the school (employee share is currently 1% of gross pay), with family coverage available at employee expense. Short-term and long-term disability insurance are paid by payroll deduction (approximately $28 per month). The school calendar provides about 24 to 30 weekdays off during the school year. In addition, ten days of urgent leave is provided (five days at full pay and five days at reduced pay). Employees' children may qualify for extra financial aid, depending on household income.
Required Qualifications
- Belief in the natural impulse of children (and adults!) to strive for personal growth; commitment to one's own personal growth
- Must be extremely reliable, punctual, and safety-conscious
- Possess high levels of professionalism, personal maturity, and authenticity
- Excellent communication and literacy skills, including abilities to express thoughts in writing, tailor communication levels for different age groups and developmental levels, and interact effectively with children and adults from a wide variety of backgrounds
- Be an interested, interesting, engaged, and passionate person
- Strong self-management skills, including high levels of initiative and ability to authentically and effectively prioritize, including the ability to decline requests from children when appropriate
- Ability to maintain confidentiality of student and family data, as well as to keep a constant eye out for the protection of student privacy in less formal ways
- High level of computer literacy, including fluency with word processing, email, and more
- Ability to pass required background checks
- Ability to navigate stairs and outdoor terrain easily
- Possession of a Bachelors degree in any field (to facilitate the timely acquisition of teaching certificates if not already possessed), AND current possession of one or more Pennsylvania Private Academic teaching certificates, or a willingness and ability to attain one within a year.
Click here for information about how to apply.
We are on a short timeline. Please get your application in as soon as possible.
NOTE: Because hiring decisions at The Circle School are made democratically by students and staff together, your employment application and all materials and information you submit may be circulated widely in the school community.
