Details
Posted: 28-Apr-22
Location: Sandy Springs, Georgia
Type: Full Time
Description
Founded in 1972, The Mount Vernon School is a leading private school of inquiry, innovation, and impact.
Anchored in Christian values — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — relationships at Mount Vernon are foundational to learning. Preparing students to be college ready, globally competitive, and engaged citizen leaders calls us to lean into inclusion, diversity, equity, and action.
Creating and cultivating connections between all people, ideas, and sectors, the School welcomes all learners to wrestle with voices and perspectives that challenge our assumptions, biases, stereotypes, and privileges. Not allowing our differences to divide us requires each of us to engage in honest, vulnerable, and courageous conversations through empathy, reflection, examination, and action. Being real agents of change is a continuous journey.
Committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, our trust in each other strengthens our sense of identity, autonomy, and interdependence. As a school of inquiry, innovation, and impact, we are committed to creating and sustaining a school culture where all members feel valued and safe, sharing their authentic selves to design a better world…together.
Summary
Mount Vernon School seeks an Associate Director of Innovation Diploma Student Experience to join a team of educators who are committed to designing learning experiences that connect students to the community beyond the walls of the School. This role is primarily responsible for developing and maintaining a learner-centered culture in the Innovation Diploma program by connecting with students, developing partnerships with external organizations, leading design thinking, and managing complex project work.
Innovation Diploma (iD), a selective four-year program where students can fail, grow and succeed while developing their creative purpose by doing work that intrinsically matters, operates as a school-within-a-school in the Upper School at Mount Vernon.
Through their experience, iD students earn credit for: Humanities; Chemistry; Biology; Social Entrepreneurship; Maker, Design, and Engineering; and Arts that focus on Graphic Design and Live Event Production. This approach has given Mount Vernon a space to test different educational strategies and approaches at scale, like inquiry-based learning, design thinking, external partnerships, and competency-based education.
Faculty at Mount Vernon are inquisitive, nurturing, flexible, and creative. They model lifelong learning for their colleagues and students. They involve themselves in areas of the School beyond their classroom walls because they believe that relationships are foundational to learning. The teacher is responsible for fulfilling all of his/her responsibilities in accordance with the mission and philosophy of the School.
Role & Responsibilities
- Report directly to the Head of Upper School and work closely with the Upper School Leadership, Associate Director of Innovation Diploma for IBL and CBE, and the rest of the iD Design Team
- Collaborate with Associate Director, IBL and CBE to oversee the day-to-day operations of the program
- Create and foster a team atmosphere with the iD Design Team and learners, acting as both the lead mentor and a liaison between the iD Design Team and learners
- Manage the recruiting, admissions, and student advising
- Network with area business and organizations to secure design briefs, 9-week long consulting partnerships where iD upperclassmen solve problems for a client
- Develop opportunities through MV’s Advisory program to support intercohort relationships and develop a system to better support iD students’ social, emotional, and academic growth
- Support students in their creation of their Innovator’s Profile for the college admission process
- Curate student stories to share through iD’s newsletter, The Briefly
- Be a curious and collaborative educator, dedicated to facilitating and encouraging the growth of students and colleagues
- Collaborate with faculty across disciplines to facilitate interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and project based learning experiences
- Possess strong character with an absolute drive for excellence, a team-oriented spirit, and a commitment to meeting the learning and social-emotional needs of students
- Demonstrate a high level of competency in multiple Mount Vernon Mindsets (Collaborator, Communicator, Creative Thinker, Ethical Decision-Maker, Innovator, and Solution Seeker)
- Embody and advance the mission, vision, and norms of the School
Teaching & Learning Responsibilities
- Manage multiple projects with multiple teams across multiple industries at any given time
- Prototype and test our newest, boldest ideas for doing school differently
- Facilitate vigorous design thinking experiences and advanced inquiry based learning
- Knowledge of the curriculum (subject-specific and interdisciplinary connections) of courses being taught and of those throughout the program
- Design and execution of well-planned lessons with appropriate connections within and outside of the classroom (with a focus on integration of subject areas, problem solving, and application)
- Engagement and use of standards based grading and competency based learning methods
- Timely maintenance of accurate and comprehensive records of each student's performance and progress
- Care and nurture for the social and emotional needs of each student
- Effective, proactive, and timely verbal and written communication with students and families pertaining to a child's progress and needs as well as general information
- Maintenance of an organized, inviting, and student-centered learning environment
- Collaboration with colleagues in lesson planning as well as work on school-wide goals
- Active search and participation in professional growth opportunities
- Creation of differentiated lessons to match the needs of each student in the classroom
- Participation on Research, Design, and Iteration teams and faculty meetings working toward school-wide goals
- Participation in duties (e.g. lunch, enrichment and carpool) and others as assigned
Current Pedagogical Influences
- Competency Based Education and Standards Based Grading
- Inquiry Based Learning (Project Based Learning)
- Understanding by Design
- Stanford University Design Thinking
- Harvard Graduate School of Education Project Zero and Visible Thinking Routines
- Comprehensive focus on knowledge, skills, and dispositions
- Neuroscience and human development
- Social and Emotional Learning
- Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Humanities education, English, History, or a related field
- Teaching experience preferred
- Proficiency with technological tools and platforms
- Ability to build a network of partners
The faculty and staff of The Mount Vernon School believe the fair and equitable treatment of employees is critical to fulfilling its mission and purpose. It is the policy of The Mount Vernon School to conduct business and provide equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, age, gender, religion, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.