7th-12th Grade Science Teacher in Napa Valley (Summer 2024 Start Date)
THE POSITION
Please note that a Montessori background or training is not required in order to apply for this position.
The St. Helena Montessori School Adolescent Program seeks an energetic, creative, values-driven middle and high school science teacher to be part of a dynamic team of dedicated educators at our Montessori school located on a beautiful 20-acre campus in Napa Valley. To learn more about the Adolescent Program, please review the brochure here and/or view the video on our website under the Adolescent Program section here.
You will provide instruction to small groups of students from 7th grade through 12th grade in biology, chemistry, and physics. You will deliver lessons that enhance students’ knowledge of these scientific disciplines through a variety of instructional methods with a focus on a hands-on, applied science approach, as the gardens, farm, and wood and metal shops on our campus serve as additional science labs. You will create programming for guest speakers and plan field trips to support and enhance your lessons. You will be responsible for preparing and implementing full lessons and teaching plans according to the program’s requirements and in accordance with the Montessori method.
The ideal candidate will be excited to learn about the Montessori approach to education at the middle and high school levels, which begins with wonder and takes into consideration the needs and personalities of each individual. You will be passionate about the sciences and deeply motivated to cultivate your students’ interest in the subject matter, along with their desire to be lifelong learners. You are a creative self-starter with a curious mind and possess excellent interpersonal skills. You understand and are motivated by the tremendous responsibility of teaching adolescents during this highly sensitive, transformational period of their lives. You conduct yourself with the highest degree of integrity and in a manner which exemplifies a dignified stature consonant with your professional standing as an educator at our school.
DESIRED EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
The ideal candidate will possess the following:
- Bachelor’s degree in science required
- Experience in education is helpful but not required
- Experience with middle and high school students a plus
- Demonstrated expertise in and love for the sciences – particularly biology, chemistry, and physics
- Interest in learning and understanding the Montessori method and approach to educating the whole child and nurturing lifelong learners
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Strong people management skills
- Interest in working with small groups of students and using a variety of different methods of instruction in the classroom to help students achieve learning objectives in the sciences
- Ability to communicate effectively with students, parents, school administrators, and other staff members
- Desire to be a role model for middle and high school students and to help them grow and mature academically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally so that they may achieve their educational and personal goals
COMPENSATION
This position is full-time with full medical and dental benefits and retirement benefits after one year of employment. St. Helena Montessori offers a competitive, negotiable salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. Two weeks of paid vacation are part of the compensation package.
ABOUT ST. HELENA MONTESSORI AND THE MONTESSORI METHOD
St. Helena Montessori provides the Napa Valley community with a Montessori school that offers a complete developmental program for children from 18 months through 12th grade. The school follows Dr. Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education as an “aid to life” – viewing the child as a being whose physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual parts are interrelated and whose educational environment must respect that unity.
Montessori understood the life of the child as a developmental continuum, each stage of which has its basis in the preceding period and which, in turn, is a preparation for the next plane of development. Dr. Montessori also understood the dignity of each child as a unique creation of God – one that has a supernatural destiny and is worthy of great respect. Thus, St. Helena Montessori offers an educational program which has its roots in the Catholic tradition and which promotes family values, cultural appreciation, and love of country. Our school supports the traditional position that “parents are the primary educators of their children” and seeks an ongoing communication and collaboration with the parents of children enrolled in the school.
St. Helena Montessori was founded in 1981 by Mrs. Elena Heil and Mrs. Olga McAdam, who taught the first Montessori Primary Class. In 1985, the school expanded to include a Montessori Elementary Class. In 1989, it was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation, and a Board of Directors became the governing body of the school. In 2008, an Adolescent Program was added. The Adolescent Program maintains a farm on the school’s 20-acre campus, which became the permanent home to the entire school in the fall of 2013. In November of 2016, our school launched a Toddler Program for children as young as 18 months. In 2020, the high school was added.
ABOUT THE ADOLESCENT PROGRAM
The St. Helena Montessori Adolescent Program for children aged 12 to 18 years (51 children currently enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year) is based on the recognition of the special characteristics of adolescence. Adolescence is a time of great social development, an age of critical thinking and re-evaluation, and a period of self-concern and self-assessment. It is a transition from childhood to adulthood with the corresponding physical, mental, and sexual maturation. Adolescence is like an odyssey, an arduous yet exciting adventure, where the adolescent begins to find his or her place in the world.
Dr. Montessori recommended that adolescents spend time in the country on the land. This would provide an opportunity to study civilization through its origin in agriculture. She suggested a farm which they would learn to manage and open a shop where the sale of produce would incorporate the fundamental mechanics of society, production and exchange, upon which economic life is based. The Adolescent Program offers direct access to the land on our farm. We offer rich and extensive opportunities to study the sciences through direct work and experimentation, humanities through “place-based pedagogy,” and mathematics through both “hands-on” and standard text experiences. Studies are rigorous yet real.
NEXT STEPS
To be considered for this position, please submit your resume and a letter detailing your interest in this position to the Adolescent Program Director Alex Heil at alex@sthms.org.
If you have any questions about the position or would like to learn more, please reach out to Regina Bailey.