Career Center

Not far from Red Rock Canyon in Southern Nevada sits a mature-for-its-years early childhood to grade 8 independent school with an amazing history behind it and an exciting trajectory in front of it.  The Alexander Dawson School, located on 33-acres in the beautiful community of Summerlin—about fifteen minutes west of the Las Vegas airport—has had the financial and operational support of the Alexander Dawson Foundation since its doors opened in 2000. In the last twenty years, the school has embraced all aspects of student-centered education and modern learning as it continues to build and improve upon an exceptional core academic program.

Summary: The teacher is the educational leader in the classroom and will ensure the curriculum is implemented in a way that maximizes student-learning experiences and supports the Dawson Mission, Vision, Core Beliefs and Diversity Statement. The teacher is responsible for the supervision and evaluation of all students within his/her teaching assignment. Working collaboratively with a team of educational professionals, the teacher will demonstrate a strong commitment to social-emotional learning, differentiated instruction, and an ongoing love of learning.

Essential Functions:

The essential duties and responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited, to:

Learning Environment

• Supports and values social-emotional learning
• Creates a dynamic and engaging classroom environment
• Redirects students by maintaining mutual respect and dignity
• Interacts with students by making genuine connections and demonstrating warmth, care, and respect
• Conveys high expectations for student achievement through instructional goals and activities, interactions and classroom environment
• Maintains a learning environment where a student's voice is encouraged and valued
• Establishes effective classroom routines and maximizes instructional times
• Involves students in the development of classroom norms
• Creates a safe, well-organized classroom environment that reflects student ownership
• Exhibits the philosophy that the process has as much value as the product
• Demonstrates an awareness and is responsive to student needs and behavior

Planning and Instruction

• Uses high-impact strategies rooted in the School's Mission and effectively engages students
• Asks questions that require higher-order thinking
• Communicates the focus and purpose of lessons with students in written and/or oral form
• Presents activities in a logical and meaningful order
• Exhibits student work in process of development and the final product
• Engages students in the development of learning outcomes
• Provides feedback and coaching to students that are timely, specific, realistic, relevant and encourages goal setting
• Modifies lessons based on student needs
• Assigns meaningful and purposeful homework
• Utilizes multiple grouping strategies - such as a balance of individual, small group and whole-class activities - in teaching and planning
• Provides opportunities for the application and transfer of students knowledge and skills
• Uses technology to create student experiences that have transformative impacts on learning (SAMR)
• Designs authentic assessments and performance tasks to measure student learning
• Uses data to make informed curricular and instructional decisions

Professional Responsibilities

• Attends and actively engages in divisional and school-wide meetings
• Critically reflects on teaching and learning
• Maintains an effective system for recording student progress where outcomes are continually monitored and assessed
• Communicates with families in professional, caring, and timely ways
• Maintains positive and caring relationships with families, communicates regularly about student progress, and is responsive to concerns

Competency:

• Adaptability Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events; able to balance the demands of a robust teaching schedule
• Communication Written and oral communication is clear, concise, and professional; listens and gets clarification; Responds well to questions
• Confidentiality Maintains confidential information
• Customer Service Manages difficult or emotional parent situations; responds promptly to family needs
• Dependability Keeps commitments
• Ethics Treats people with respect; works ethically and with integrity; upholds organizational values
• Judgment Exhibits sound and accurate judgment
• Mindset - Presumes positive intentions and approaches challenges with a growth mindset
• Organizational Support Follows policies and procedures
• Planning/Organizing Prioritizes and plans work activities; uses time efficiently
• Problem-Solving Uses reason, even when dealing with emotional topics
• Professionalism Treats others with respect and consideration, regardless of their status or position
• Professional Development - Seeks opportunities for professional development to enhance content knowledge and pedagogical skill
• Safety and Security Observes safety and security procedures; reports potentially unsafe conditions
• Strategic Thinking Identifies external threats and opportunities
• Teamwork - Prioritizes team over the individual; maintains an open mind and collaborates in a team, departmental, and divisional decisions to ensure that all students succeed
• Time Management Stays focused and engaged during the completion of time-sensitive tasks; appropriately paces lessons to optimize student learning

Qualifications, Education & Experience:

• Minimum of five years of teaching experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Bachelor's degree in Education, Masters preferred
• Experience working with students in the Lower School age group
• Strong awareness of current brain research related to the use of technology

Work Environment:

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

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 the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.