Georgetown Day School,  a Pre-K-12 independent day school dedicated to cultivating a just, inclusive, and diverse school community, is seeking an experienced Lower and Middle School Innovation and Computer Science teacher and Pre-K-12 Computer Science and Innovation chair. The ideal candidate will bring knowledge and experience teaching maker space skills including but not limited to computer science, robotics, and digital fabrication, within a project-based framework. They will work to share that knowledge with our students through engaging, meaningful, and relevant experiential learning activities. Additionally, the Innovation and Computer Science teacher will be a strong communicator, a team player, an innovator in their pedagogical practices, and a person who appreciates the joys of working in a school serving a diverse student and family population. 

The Lower and Middle School Innovation & Computer Science Teacher carries the following main areas of responsibility:

1. Provides direct and partnered instruction of GDS’s Innovation curriculum to students across grades PK - 8, including design lessons, units, projects, and classroom activities for GDS Lower and Middle school students
2. Partners with teachers across divisions to develop curriculum in support of Computer Science, STEAM, Maker Art, and Design Thinking
3. Collaborates regularly with members of the Innovation and Computer Science cross-divisional departments to develop the school’s vision and goals for nurturing creative problem solvers

Primary Responsibilities

• Providing direct and partnered innovation and Computer Science instruction in the Lower and Middle School
• Maintaining maker tools such as 3D Printers, Laser Cutters, CNC Machine, etc, and justifying outfitting spaces with more equipment for student learning
• Joining cross-divisional meetings to strategize around realizing the mission and vision of the Innovation and Computer Science team
• Providing continued authorship around Middle School innovation curriculum including Innovation Studio, Hopper Quest, and FIRST Lego League
• Building networks with students and families to ensure that communication about innovative teaching practices are disseminated and understood
• Additional meetings and responsibilities beyond school hours, as needed. 
• Duties as assigned. 
  
  

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

• 5 or more years of innovative teaching experience, rich with creativity, technology, and student-centric practice in an elementary or middle school environment
• Experience leading Computer Science and Innovation teams and/or programming
• Experience with tools and frameworks for building a culture of thinking
• Experience teaching computer science/computational thinking to lower and middle school-aged students 
• Experience with robotics and electronics
• Interest and experience in computer science, coding & programming
• Interest and experience in the “maker arts,” DIY & fabrication
• Expertise in project and making thinking visible
• Strong written and communication skills
• Demonstrated capacity to use problem solving frameworks in own practices and an insatiable need to try new things, reinvent, take risks, evolve, and embody the spirit of innovation

Americans with Disability Specifications

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

To Apply

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and list of three references using our online application system through ADP/Workforce Now: http://www.gds.org/Recruiting. To find out more about the school, candidates should visit our website at www.gds.org.

As an inclusive school devoted to preparing our students to live, work, and lead in an increasingly globalized and multicultural society, GDS is particularly interested in professionals with demonstrated interest and experience in working in such a school setting and is driven by the core charge of working to enhance and bring joy to every student’s individual learning experience in equitable and meaningful ways.

About Georgetown Day School

Georgetown Day School opened its doors in 1945 as the first integrated school in a segregated city. Governed by a Board of Trustees elected by the parent body and administered by an appointed Head of School, it was founded by seven families who wanted to create a school committed not only to academic excellence and educational innovation but also to a value system emphasizing appreciation and respect for others. Believing that diversity was the ground out of which all deep and rich learning occurs, they established a school where all children would be welcome, celebrated, and challenged to be their best selves. Today, the School's philosophy, programs, and position in the national educational landscape strongly reflect its roots. Having grown from 12 children in 1945 to 1075 students in PK-12 today, GDS is recognized as one of Washington, D.C.’s and the nation’s most dynamic educational institutions. Since the school’s founding, GDS has called eight different locations home. In the fall of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools were all joined on one extraordinary campus.

Connections working at Georgetown Day School