Music Appreciation Teacher (1 section)

Position: Music Appreciation/ Theory & Harmony

Reports to: Instructional Leadership Team

Application Deadline: Until position is filled

Start Date:  First class is Aug. 9, 2022 (plus some prep work before then)

Hours: This position will be about 5 hours/week (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, and Fridays 8:45-9:45)

Answering the Call

Feeling trapped in the box of the traditional educational model? Ready to rethink high school?  Wouldn’t it be cool if you could work in a super school that cultivates students’ creativity and makes learning relevant through real-world experiences? A school in which the content standards are the floor and not the ceiling? A school in which relationships are valued more than compliance? Well, here’s your chance!

We are searching for individuals who are comfortable working in an exciting, growing environment, who are risk-takers and are driven to imagine and explore the limitless possibilities for our students, and who are committed to providing an engaging, yet rigorous, project-based, and competency-based approach to student-centered learning. Successful candidates will be highly collaborative, yet independent thinkers, and will be comfortable “co-working” with their professional peers across disciplines, as well as with community partners. Do you want to connect with your students on a deeper level and facilitate opportunities for them to develop their passions beyond the core content?  You’ll be able to do just that at Crosstown High. Our diverse-by-design, student-centered school is seeking educators who will facilitate “learning that encourages original thinking for an uncertain world,” and will work to develop our young learners as “generous collaborators for tough problems.”

Crosstown High

Crosstown High (XTH) is an innovative public charter high school which opened in August 2018 in Memphis’ city center with an inaugural class of 150 9th graders. In the 2021-22 school year, we are serving 475 9th-12th graders. XTH is strategically and intentionally located in Crosstown Concourse, a 1.1M square foot vibrant, “vertical urban village” that houses retail, restaurants, and residential apartments. XTH students leverage the assets of this redevelopment and our greater community through hands-on partnerships and academic projects with participating Crosstown Concourse nonprofit and for-profit organizations that span health care, education, and the arts, to name a few.

The idea for XTH was born from an application to the XQ Super School Challenge submitted by a cross-section of Memphis volunteers (young people, parents, educators, and community members). The Challenge invited teams to reimagine how high schools can better prepare students for college, the workplace, and life.

XTH’s approach to education is unique in a number of ways:

Location: The school’s location in Crosstown Concourse provides students with the opportunity to build rich and ongoing relationships with each other and the Crosstown Concourse community.
Curriculum: XTH’s curriculum is project-based and competency-based which provides students with real-world connections to what they are learning in school and allows them to broaden their understanding of content standards through real-world applications.
Support:  XTH utilizes a personalized and highly relational approach to accommodate the learning needs and social-emotional development of students.
Diverse by design: XTH recruits its students from a diverse cross-section of the city to ensure that a broad range of students can take advantage of all the opportunities this school offers. Our students learn with and from one another.

Music Appreciation Teacher Roles and Responsibilities

The person who fills this role will be responsible for assisting XTH students in earning their fine arts credit through music appreciation and theory/harmony curriculum. (Teaching specifically p. 250 of this document.)

• Basic music theory and history
• Singing, playing, and/or reading music
• Improvisation and composition
• Listening and analyzing music
• Making connections between classical music and today
• Develop and maintain positive relationships and communication with parents and families
• Monitor students’ progress toward performance outcomes, personal learning goals, and the twelve XTH Competencies
• Other duties as deemed necessary by the leadership team to support and strengthen the community
• Bring your “A-game” and have fun. It’s what we do at Crosstown High!

Qualifications

The strongest candidates will have the following certifications, skills, and experiences:

• An undeniable enthusiasm for teenagers and a commitment to authentically engaging them
• A highly collaborative approach to teaching and learning
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Exceptional organizational and planning skills
• Experience in teaching music
• Insight into the components that make up the “language” of music
• A great knowledge and appreciation of music theory and history
• Paraprofessional applicants must be Highly Qualified (50 credit hours or a passing score on the Paraprofessional test).
• Evidence of excellence in teaching in a student-centered and rigorous environment
• Experience in a project-based learning environment is strongly preferred, but not required
• Willingness to learn, explore, experiment, question, create, critique, and enhance as we RETHINK HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION.

Compensation

$10,000 for the full year, paid in quarterly installments. No benefits are offered with this part-time position.

Apply

Email your cover letter and resume to jobs@crosstownhigh.org. Include the position you are applying for in the subject line. In your email, please specify your licensure status.

In your cover letter, please address some or all of the following (no more than two pages, please):

• What about Crosstown High’s mission or learning model most speaks to you?
• What makes you a good fit for this role at XTH?
• What experience do you have in teaching music? What experiences do you have in music appreciation or theory?

Thank you for your interest in Crosstown High!

Tagged as: Music