Career Center

Lower School Music Teacher (Kindergarten-Grade 4)

Friends Community School (FCS) is a progressive co-ed Quaker K-8 day school serving a diverse student body from the greater Washington, D.C. area. FCS offers a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity, and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage. Faculty and staff are highly engaged and enjoy flexibility, autonomy, and creativity. FCS’s LEED-certified building is situated on 17 acres surrounded by Greenbelt National Park, nine minutes from the University of Maryland, College Park, and thirty minutes from Washington, D.C. Now in its 35th year, FCS serves 257 students with 54% self-identifying as people of color. 

FCS seeks a Music Teacher for Kindergarten-Grade 4. The qualified candidate should possess or demonstrate:

• Training and experience with Orff Schulwerk methodology. 
• An understanding of child development.
• Strong classroom management skills and the ability to create a welcoming and supportive classroom environment. 
• Respect for and understanding of issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion with the ability to incorporate this knowledge into their practice and the curriculum. 

The successful candidate will teach __28_hours a week. There are 2- Kindergarten sections, 3- ½ sections, and 3-¾ sections. Each class is for 30- 45 minutes, twice a week. 

Responsibilities include:

• Collaborating with the Middle School music teacher, art teachers and classroom teachers.
• Preparing and arranging student performances for all school programs in winter and spring.
• Advancing and supporting the performing arts program in the Lower School and the entire school. 
• Possessing and demonstrating optimism toward teaching and student learning
• Assessing needs of students and implementing effective lessons using anecdotal observations and formal assessments
• Creating a safe and respectful learning environment that reflects Quaker values and supports diverse learning styles
• Utilizing conflict resolution, Responsive Classroom, and other developmentally appropriate methods of classroom management
• Seeking professional development opportunities which will be paid for by the school, in order to enhance knowledge of and practice in teaching
• Documenting curriculum annually using Rubicon Atlas (training will be provided)
• Supervising lunch and recess for students
• Communicating with parents on a regular basis via email, telephone, or in-person
• Writing detailed progress reports and conducting two parent-teacher conferences each school year as well as a Back-to-School Night presentation

Qualifications and experience:

• 4-year college degree; advanced degree(s) preferred in music
• A minimum of 3-5 years of teaching experience with elementary school aged children
• Strong classroom management skills 
• Effective and strong oral and written communication skills
• Knowledge and skill using technology (such as Google Suite, Blackbaud)
• Demonstrated cultural competency

To apply, please address a cover letter to Yonnette Moore, Head of Lower School, and submit via email the cover letter, resume, and the contact information of three professional references to yonnettem@friendscommunityschool.org.

FCS is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational community and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, gender, gender identity, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.