Salaried Part-Time 24-28 hours per week

REPORTS TO:  Director of Programs

DATES: 9/1/2022 – 5/31/2022  extensions dependant upon funding

SALARY: $45,000 – $48,000

BENEFITS: Accrued Sick Time and Access to Medical Benefits

This position is for a part-time, salaried teaching artist and mentor for youth ages TK-8th grade. The Lead Teaching Artist will teach dance to students within Youth in Art’s service area (Marin County and West Contract Costa County) for up to five days per week, and no more than six classrooms per day.  Youth in Arts core values and pedagogical framework include programs that prioritize the creative process, SEL core competencies, culturally responsive approaches, wellness, and equity. Teaching Artists bring their unique artistic lens and voices to the work within that framework.

If time allows, any additional non-teaching time will be used to help support programming and administration for the education department of Youth in Arts. This may include curriculum development, media and outreach, or project stewardship.

The Teaching Artist will be able to draw on content standards of the California Visual and Performing Arts curriculum frameworks and National Core Arts Standards to plan sequential units of study for 24 – 28 hours of learning activities that advance students’ level of content knowledge in each discipline as well as social emotional success. For each school site, Teaching Artists will also shape one Family Arts Night, a culminating event in the fall and spring, and participate in at least one community event. The role will also include professional development opportunities in curriculum development, social emotional literacy, and classroom engagement.

Due to the breadth of community partners this Lead Teaching Artists will be working with through Youth in Arts, they will need to draw on their personal and professional expertise to:

Deliver Effective Classroom Instruction

Identify teaching strategies and learning activities appropriate to the specific discipline, age, level of English language proficiency, and range of cognitive levels being taught.
Plan lessons with clear objectives and relevant measurable outcomes.
When available and appropriate, use information in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to plan strategies for integrating students with disabilities into arts lessons.
Use youth development skills to increase middle school student engagement, participation and personal growth.
Make learning objectives clear to students using multiple types of informational supports.
Use multidisciplinary and engaging ways to begin a new unit of study or lesson while building on students’ prior knowledge and experiences.
Employ a variety of teaching techniques such as discussion, problem solving, cooperative learning, and problem-based learning (among others).
Provide regular feedback to students on their progress and be comfortable receiving and giving professional feedback as well.
Incorporate appropriate technology and media in lesson planning.

Classroom Management and Development:

Create an environment that is conducive to learning, creativity and student development.
Create a physical environment appropriate to a range of learning levels and activities.
Respect student space and safety while maintaining appropriate standards of behavior, mutual respect, and safety.
Manage classroom routines and procedures without loss of significant instructional time.
Manage art supplies distribution and clean up for each classroom served.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Classroom:

Prioritize a culturally responsive approach to teaching that encourages every student to engage and learn.
Practice sensitivity and respectful language use as it relates to race, ethnicity, ability, socioeconomic conditions, and gender identity.
Work to promote achievement by all students without exception.
Assess the significance of student differences in home experiences, background knowledge, learning skills, learning pace, and proficiency in the English language for learning the curriculum at hand and use professional judgment to determine if instructional adjustments are necessary.
Provide student learning supports where and when appropriate.

Subject Matter Expertise:

In foundational concepts of dance, creative movement and/or dance-making.
In dance and movement, explorations of strengthening, body, energy, space, time, locomotor, unison dances, group dance, dance making, choreographic devices and more.
In theories of artistic creativity and aesthetics; philosophies of prominent artists and art educators.
Art criticism as it relates to evaluation and assessment of artworks and the Visual and Performing Arts framework.
Ability to integrate both historically celebrated and historically peripheralized artists into classroom discussions and examples.