Hillbrook School—San Jose, CA

Start Date: July 2023

VISION: Inspire students to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world.

MISSION: Hillbrook provides an extraordinary educational experience that fosters a love of learning in our students and helps them develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to achieve their highest individual potential in school and in life. At Hillbrook, students are known, respected and valued as individuals and every day is a journey of self-discovery, imaginative thinking, creative problem solving, laughter and friendship.

CORE VALUES: Be kind. Be curious. Take risks. Be your best.

The Position: What Will You Do & How Will We Collaborate

The expanding Spanish teacher will be someone who loves visionary thinking as well as tactical execution, a teacher with an entrepreneurial spirit and a grounding in best practices in world language education in secondary schools. In the first year, the Spanish teacher will be responsible for teaching 3-4 sections of Spanish I-IV. They will also build out the four-year Spanish program with an emphasis on culture. They will participate in sharing and presenting our Spanish program to prospective families, and they will play a key role hiring new faculty. While not exactly a blank canvas - this is an expansion of an already excellent JK-8 Spanish program - this is a truly unique opportunity to shape and nurture an upper school program from its infancy.

The Expanding Faculty Member: Who Are You

Do our Core Values – Be kind. Be curious. Take risks. Be your best. – align with how you show up as an educator? Are you committed to building and bridging inclusive communities? Are you entrepreneurial? Do you believe learning should be an active and relational process? Are you someone who sees learning as an integral way to build transferable skills? Do you enjoy building and sustaining excellent programs? Is equity and impact at the forefront of what you do? Do you thrive in small collaborative environments, and are you at the same time a self starter? Do you seek opportunities for interdisciplinary, experiential learning? Do you believe that high school students can make profound and long-lasting impacts on their local and global communities? The team of expanding faculty will emphatically say yes to each of these questions.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Teach 3-4 sections of Spanish I-IV.

• Advise 10-12 students, implementing the school’s social-emotional curriculum.

• Provide a hands-on, inquiry-based style of teaching that exemplifies how student wellness, intellectual rigor, and a deep commitment to social impact and DEI are critical to a Hillbrook learning experience

• Effectively manage flexible, collaborative learning experiences with various sized groups of students

• Participate in the design of the new campus and classrooms

• Thoughtfully integrate technology into the curriculum

• Design and lead two, quarter-long exploratory classes each year

• Collaboratively design 2, 3-week Reach Beyond Immersives (transdisciplinary, project-based courses using the city and the world as our classroom)

• Co-plan and co-teach with colleagues, including Resident Teachers, focusing on differentiated instruction

• Actively participate in a faculty culture that is committed to being at the leading edge of JK-12 education

• Report to the Head of Upper School

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Spanish, or related field

• Demonstrated commitment to teaching and learning in a diverse, dynamic, and progressive school community

• Experience with competency-based education preferred

• Experience integrating ACTFL standards preferred

• A commitment to anti-racism and demonstrated skill designing equitable and inclusive educational experiences and learning environments that incorporate themes of diversity and justice

• Desire and ability to work in a collegial, highly collaborative environment

• Proficiency in and curiosity about educational technology

• A love of and experience in teaching high school-age children

• A growth mindset, sense of humor, and excellent organizational and communication skills

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

As noted in our Statement of Inclusivity, we strive to reflect the extraordinary diversity of Silicon Valley, believing that educational excellence and equity depend on the creation of a diverse and inclusive community where all students, families and employees feel a full sense of membership. To live up to our DEI Teaching Philosophy Statement, all employees contribute to developing culturally competent students and building an educational institution committed to social justice and reaching beyond. We offer a wide range of opportunities for all employees to engage in work that furthers these goals, from personal dialogues that help us understand different perspectives, to pedagogical training designed to support equitable instructional practices and build habits to disrupt bias whenever we see it. Ultimately, we hope that this work helps all of our constituents—employees, students, and families—be more aware, empathetic, globally-minded, and justice-oriented.

A highly collaborative community, we use the following norms to guide our communication with each other:

• Assume good will

• Come from your own experience

• Be more curious than certain

• Hold yourself and others capable

Our commitment to these norms makes it possible for us to partner meaningfully, disagree productively, and lean into conversations that are both challenging and generative.

Salaries are competitive. Benefits include: full medical, dental, and vision coverage; ample retirement planning with TIAA-CREF; a generous holiday schedule; religious holidays following each employee’s faith; access to the latest state-of-the-art educational technology; and a strong commitment to engaging and personalized professional development. Hillbrook School is an equal opportunity employer. Opportunities are open to all individuals without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or handicap.

The salary range for the Expanding Faculty, Spanish role is $75,000.00 to $135,000.00 annually.

TO APPLY

Please send resume/CV, letter of intent, and a list of five references with contact information (references will not be contacted until the candidate is notified) to Director of Human Resources Rozanne Schiro, rschiro@hillbrook.org.