Bricolage Academy is searching for an Elementary Teacher. Bricolage is a New Orleans charter school that started in 2013 with a Kindergarten and will be growing one year, and one grade, at a time until we serve students in all grades, K - 12th.  

BRICOLAGE ACADEMY OVERVIEW

Instructional Model

At Bricolage Academy, the Elementary Teacher is responsible for providing common-core-aligned instruction that is culturally relevant by implementing the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum, Units Of Study curriculum, American Reading Company curriculum and Wit and Wisdom curriculum. The Units of Study curriculum is deliberately designed to offer a simple and predictable environment so that the teacher can focus on the complex work of observing students' progress and teaching into their needs. The American Reading Company curriculum is designed to accelerate learning through phonics, dramatically improving outcomes for both students and teachers.The Bridges in Mathematics Curriculum takes a hands-on approach to learning the concepts and applications of math.

Additionally, students will have co-curricular experiences – visual art, music, physical education, and innovation (a combination of design thinking technology, and engineering basics). These classes are designed to introduce students to the basic concepts and principles of different types of art, music, innovation, and physical education so that they can make better informed decisions about which type to specialize in in middle school. 

School Culture

Restorative Practices will be used alongside strategies from both Responsive Classroom for Middle School and the Institute of Social and Emotional Learning to proactively build a physically and emotionally safe, joyful, inclusive, and supportive school culture.

Undoing Racism

We attempt to undo racism by addressing the traditional power structure by creating space for dialogue across traditional lines of division. We offer trainings and workshops that focus on racial reconciliation for teachers, students and families, and employ culturally responsive instructional practices. We are committed to supplementing the dominant narrative approach to History/Social Studies with culturally responsive pedagogy that uses “cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (Geneva Gay’s definition of culturally responsive teaching). This work is not ‘nice to have’; it is essential to advance equity.

Bricolage Academy is a school with a big goal: we aim to be the highest performing non-selective school in New Orleans. There are many people who contribute to making Bricolage special - parents, administration, students and community members - but teachers are at the center of it all.  Bricolage teachers must demonstrate a deep commitment to our mission of advancing educational equity by creating innovators who change the world.  Our teachers embody our organizational values (integrity, empathy and innovation). They are always trying to get better, have a deep love for children and approach everything with a joie de vivre. Our teachers create the kind of classrooms that nobody ever wants to leave - where it’s fun to learn and you can almost see the discovery fireworks bouncing off the walls.  We’re looking for others who approach their work like we do – balancing seriousness and diligence with warmth and levity.

DUTIES

Specifically, the Elementary Teacher is responsible for:

• student outcomes. We use multiple measures to assess student learning and preparedness, but it’s on teachers to deliver.  

• creating a classroom culture where students:

  • share in its ownership

  • treat each other with empathy and act with integrity

  • learn how to be responsibly autonomous

• delivering engaging, rigorous, and effective instruction that includes: 

  • Math instruction built upon the Bridges in Math curriculum which prioritizes conceptual understanding and number sense over algorithmic procedures 

  • Phonics instruction built upon the American Reading Company curriculum which prioritizes actionable data that tells the teacher where a student is, why, and the sequence of skills/behaviors she needs to learn next to accelerate her reading growth.

  • ELA instruction through Units of Study and Wit and Wisdom

• differentiating instruction to meet the needs of each individual student

• integrating technology, innovation, and design thinking into instruction 

• being an active member of the school community including assuming before, during, and after school duty posts, advising/mentoring small groups of students and attending school activities and events 

• developing relationships with colleagues, students and their families 

Some other things you should know about us:

We're building a new kind of school that doesn't have a formula to follow.  There is no 'how-to' book for our community.  We're making it ourselves.  That requires people who can embrace vulnerability, take initiative, learn from mistakes, and be open to giving and receiving feedback.

Bricolage is a diverse community, but we are committed to being an anti-racist one.  This means devoting time to understand what racism is, exploring how it manifests, and taking actions to dismantle it.  Also, Bricolage's diversity is not itself an end. Rather, we believe our diversity is a means to amplifying empathy, advancing equity and facilitating creativity and innovation.

We don't have all of the answers, and we're okay with that.  If you're looking for certainty, we suggest you pursue a position in a factory (or a factory-like school).  Bricolage is being built as we speak.  It's a magical place, but an imperfect one.  Everyone at Bricolage has successes and failures.  You will experience both.

We’re looking for a special kind of teacher. If this sounds like you, please apply.  We can’t wait to meet you.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Strong belief in Bricolage Academy’s mission, vision and core values

• Strong belief in and commitment to diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational access and equitable outcomes 

• Strong belief in and commitment to the city of New Orleans 

• Bachelor’s degree

• Demonstrated success raising student achievement

• Louisiana teaching certificate or working towards it 

• At least 3 years of teaching experience

Preferred

• K-2nd Grade teaching experience

• Familiarity with/experience using Bridges in Mathematics or a similar math curriculum that prioritizes conceptual understanding and number sense over algorithmic procedures

• Familiarity with Wit and Wisdom or Units of Study

• Familiarity with/experience with Phonics and Guided Reading

• Familiarity with/experience using Personalized Learning 

• Success as a teacher with a predominantly middle to high income student population and success as a classroom teacher with a predominantly low income population

• Familiarity with/experience using one or more of the following: Responsive Classroom, Love & Logic, Restorative Practices 

• Familiarity with/experience using culturally responsive teaching strategies 

People of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Bricolage Academy does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, gender or gender identity, age, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.