The Woods Academy in Bethesda, Maryland, is seeking an experienced, early childhood teacher for the 2024-2025 school year. The Woods Academy is an inclusive Catholic community preparing boys and girls to lead lives of significance. The school serves approximately 300 students in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, including Montgomery County Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The Woods is where children come to discover their talents, grow in their faith, challenge themselves, and foster a strong desire to lead lives of significance. The school provides a comprehensive education for children from age three to grade eight with strong academics, a daily world language program, hands-on technology instruction, and a well-rounded arts program, all conducted in a small classroom setting.
The Lower School Teacher leads classroom of approximately 15 students and teaches language arts, math, social studies, and science to the self-contained group. The team collaborates to plan for their individual classes to ensure consistency and continuity in the curriculum. The teacher will focus on creating a safe and secure environment in which students grow in both autonomy and the ability to work and play together. The role involves collaboration with the other early childhood and elementary teachers, maintaining strong communication with parents, and actively participating in the school community.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Curriculum Planning and Delivery:
Design and implement programs that actively engage students in making connections, solving problems, and thinking independently.
Support the child’s emerging identity by respecting and providing for each student’s voice.
Teaching Methods and Adaptation:
Demonstrate creativity and flexibility in lesson planning and classroom instruction to meet the needs of the different ages.
Adapt curriculum and teaching methods to accommodate various learning styles through differentiation.
Assessment and Progress Monitoring:
Regularly assess student progress in a variety of ways.
Prepare and distribute report cards at designated intervals throughout the academic year.
Communication and Collaboration:
Keep parents informed of classroom activities through various avenues, such as blogs, report card comments, and a photo sharing site.
Clearly communicate expectations and classroom rules to students, reinforcing the school's culture of high academic and behavioral expectations.
Professional Development:
Attend and actively participate in grade-level meetings and school-planned professional development activities.
Seek out opportunities for professional development to enhance personal and program goals.
Events and Collaboration:
Assist the lower school team in organizing and setting up for events.
Maintain collaborative relationships with other members of the lower school team to foster a culture of collegiality and commitment.
Community Relations:
Maintain thoughtful, respectful, and positive relations with the school community as a whole.
Meet attendance and punctuality guidelines.
Other Duties
Supervise recess, lunch, carpool and fulfill these supervision duties as assigned.
Qualification Requirements
Minimum: Bachelor’s degree in teaching and/ or a related subject although a Master’s degree is preferred.
Three years or more of teaching experience in the PreK-8 environment.
Demonstrated solid knowledge of best practices in early childhood/ elementary education.
Demonstrated ability to adapt teaching methods to accommodate diverse learning styles.
Demonstrated knowledge and proficiency in technology.
The Woods Academy is an independent Catholic school, offering boys and girls from pre-school through Grade 8 a challenging and supportive educational experience. The Woods Academy is a warm and welcoming community comprised of 300+ students, 200+ families and 60+ faculty and staff. The school is located on six acres in the residential area of Bethesda, Maryland.