21-22 Middle School Science Teacher

NOTE: This is a 6th Grade science position at KIPP Pleasant Grove Leadership Academy

Founded in Houston in 1994, KIPP has become a national leader in partnering with families and communities, to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose — college, career, and beyond — so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

In 2018, KIPP schools in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio joined forces to become KIPP Texas Public Schools, a nonprofit public charter school network, accelerating student academic outcomes and impacting more students across Texas. As a unified, statewide organization, KIPP Texas can more effectively leverage the talent, resources, instructional expertise, financial strength, and advocacy in the public charter school movement, in order to have an even larger impact with educationally underserved communities across the state.

In the 2020-2021 school year, KIPP Texas Public Schools will educate more than 31,100 students in 59 schools, placing the district among the top 50 largest in the state. KIPP Texas will continue to prove what is possible for its students, communities, and state, with a goal of growing to educate 100,000 students and achieving a 75% college graduation rate for alumni.

The mission and vision of KIPP Texas is grounded in five Core Values as its cultural North Star:

As a Team & Family, we:

Champion Equity

Chase Excellence

Persist with Purpose

Bring Joy

Rise Together

KIPP Texas is part of the national KIPP network of 255 college-preparatory public charter schools educating early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school students. KIPP schools are part of the free public school system and enrollment is open to all students. Nationwide, KIPP students complete four-year college at a rate of 36 percent, comparable to the national average for all students and approximately three times higher than the average of students from low-income families.

Every member of the Team & Family at KIPP Texas Public Schools plays a critical role in ensuring our students have the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose - college, career and beyond. Our educators are passionate advocates for their students and their families, working tirelessly to ensure that our students have access to opportunity. In our classrooms and across the KIPP family we embrace, honor and celebrate our differences across several characteristics that construct our unique identities in our little and big KIPPsters. We are especially committed to attracting and developing individuals who share the life experiences of our students because we believe the best work we do is grounded in the realities and experiences of our families and KIPPsters. As a Lead Teacher, you will deliver exceptional instruction and assess student growth. You are dedicated to constant learning and proactively provide academic and cultural support to your school and team.

As a KIPP Texas Public Schools Teacher, your core responsibilities include:

Instructional Delivery and Assessment:

• Develop year-long Texas State standards-based unit plans and lesson plans that meet all students’ learning needs.

• Use assessment data to modify short and long-term plans in order to promote all students’ academic performance.

• Embrace and incorporate feedback in the spirit of constant improvement.

Academic and Cultural Support:

• Collaborate with content and grade-level teams to promote an environment of critical thinking and academic rigor.

• Establish and maintain working relationships with students and families based on trust and respect.

• Participate in the daily functions of the school such as morning, lunch, and afternoon supervisory duties.

• Attend critical school events such as staff meetings, open houses, and parent-teacher conferences.

• Develop individualized learning plans for students and communicate these plans to families in parent meetings and conferences.

• Meet professional obligations including timeliness and consistency in meeting deadlines.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university

• Valid Texas Teaching Certificate with required certification for subject and level assigned*

• Demonstrated knowledge of core subject area assigned

• Satisfactory outcome of a background check. Employees are responsible for a non-refundable fingerprinting fee (approximately $50.00).

• Applicants currently pursuing a certification may apply before certification is received. All certifications must be acquired and on file with KIPP Texas before the end of the first year of employment. For more information about obtaining certification click here.

Competencies:

• Unwavering commitment to KIPP Texas mission, students, families, and community

• Strong record of helping students achieve academic success, primarily with students in educationally underserved communities

• Strong desire to teach an academically intense curriculum and commit to an extended school day, week, and year

• Desire to continuously learn and increase effectiveness as a teacher and professional; offer and receive constructive feedback

• Willingness to be flexible and to go above and beyond to meet the needs of KIPP Texas students

In addition to a competitive salary scale, a part of KIPP Texas’ competitive benefits options, KIPP offers all employees an $0 health insurance plan for the employee only. In addition to our $0 plan, KIPP provides a $600 employer contribution towards a Health Savings Account and a variety of other supplemental benefits such as Dental, Vision, Short and Long-Term Disability, Pet Insurance, Life, etc.