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Little River Community School is accepting applications for a Middles teacher for the 2019/2020 school year

Little River Community School, founded in 1999, is a K-12 democratic school with forty students (22 full-time, 18 part-time) located on Birdsfoot Farm in Canton, New York. For next year, there are three full-time teachers and two part-time, Aubree Keese (Youngers), Leon Sawyko (science and Olders), Steve Molnar (Olders and special classes), Cathy Giglio (Middles math and special needs), and Ola Aldous (Olders art). We are seeking a full-time teacher to work with us in our Middles program. We currently have fourteen students (8 full-time, 6 part-
time) in the Middle's program in grades 3-6.

We are looking for a teacher with at least several years of experience working with children and an interest in democratic education. In addition to teaching basic academic and social skills to the Middles, the Middles teacher may be asked to share special interests like art, music, other languages, or computer science with students in the Youngers or Olders rooms. It is important to be comfortable with all ages, K-12, though this position is primarily working with the Middles. Teacher certification is not required.

Our ideal candidate would plan to stay with the school for several years or longer. Qualities we are looking for include: a passion for working with children, flexibility, patience, ability to think on your feet, long term interest in teaching, problem-solving abilities, strong communication skills, reliability, behavior management skills, a sense of humor, confidence, and self-motivation.

Little River provides a unique environment where students are trusted and seen as inherently self-motivated to learn about their world. Our teachers facilitate and support the students; quest for knowledge and understanding. Little River has multi-age classrooms where students learn together in cooperation and are grouped by their ability and interests. Little River provides strong academic classes in a small group setting. Some academic and special classes may have all the Middles, and others only three or four. The teachers need to generate excitement and interest with the students. Special emphasis is put on problem solving skills and hands-on experiences. All of the students and teachers come together several times a week in a morning meeting, facilitated by the students, for discussion, to make plans, and solve problems. Middles have two breaks each day for unstructured play. Many of those sessions are spent outside. Each student has an individualized curriculum developed by the student, teachers, and parents. Visit us on the web at www.littleriverschool.org for more information about the school.

Teachers are on-site from 7:30 am – 2:30 pm. After school hours, the teachers have a weekly staff meeting, do class preparations, and complete some administrative tasks. In the fall, we have conferences with each family to make an individualized curriculum for each student. There are all-school meetings every six weeks with the students, parents, and teachers.

Little River follows the local school district's calendar for holidays and snow days. Our final day is just before Memorial Day weekend. There are no classes during the summer months. Staff shares some minimal responsibilities in June and July and we use the month of August for training, preparation, and team building. The starting date is August 6th.

The teacher salary is $27,000- $30,000 a year (first year) with benefits including free tuition for a teacher’s child, a small health fund, and a supportive environment with a lot of academic freedom.

If this sounds like the job for you, please complete an application. You can find the application at www.littleriverschool.org.