Position Announcement

Visiting Teacher Collaborator

College of Education
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

The Center for Education in Small Urban Communities at the College of Education seeks to hire up to 3 Visiting Teacher Collaborators in Literacy and/or Math to work in partnership with in-service teachers, district and school leadership, and university faculty to plan and deliver high quality professional development to K-12 teachers in the Champaign and Urbana School Districts. These positions will report directly to the Director of the Center for Education in Small Urban Communities. These positions may include both full and part-time 12-month, visiting (up to three years, renewable annually) academic professional appointments.  Successfully satisfying a criminal background investigation is a requirement for employment.

Teacher Collaborators will be involved extensively with local professional development in a small number of target schools with the greatest needs, but they also will be involved in planning and carrying out district-wide and cross-district professional development events, such as the Chancellor's Academy.

Responsibilities:

• Assist K-12 teachers to develop the skills they need to be successful in small urban schools such as content area expertise, differentiated instruction, culturally relevant pedagogy, classroom management, family engagement, PLCs and assessment.
• Develop and use a long-range plan for coaching that supports district-adopted curriculum and extends teachers' abilities to meet the instructional needs of all their students.
• Support seamless integration of district curriculum and current best practices in teaching.
• Support integration of research-based methods, materials, and instructional strategies that have proven to increase student achievement.
• Pace delivery of information and materials to meet teachers' needs.
• Communicate objective(s) and purpose(s) of support offered.
• Use best practice coaching methods, including co-planning, co-teaching, modeling, side-by-side coaching, focused debriefing, and peer observations.
• Use varied resources and materials based on teacher needs and lesson objectives.
• Utilize a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate individual differences, maintain a high level of interest and engagement, and promote critical thinking.
• Provide appropriate feedback to the teacher in order to improve student achievement.

Minimum Qualifications:  Master's degree in education, English, reading/literacy, or a mathematics discipline is required.  Also preferred is (1) current licensure or certification as a teacher ore reading specialist; or (2) standard or master elementary certificate with a middle grades endorsement in mathematics or (3) standard or master secondary certificate endorsed for mathematics.  Must have previous experience designing and implementing other professional development in literacy, mathematics or science.  Experience with teacher mentoring and working within a coaching model is required.  A demonstrated effectiveness with diverse learners is required as well.  Minimum of five years of classroom experience in either large or small urban settings is required.

Compensation:  Commensurate with experience.

Application Procedures:  For full consideration, your application must be received by July 28th, 2009.  To apply, please complete a candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and submit a letter of application, including specific attention to coaching and/or mentoring experience with teachers, resume, a letter of reference from one classroom teacher you have mentored and/or coached, and names and contact information of at least three additional references.  Applications may be reviewed before the closing date; however, no hiring decision will be made until after that date.

Starting Date:  August 16, 2009

For more information about the position, please contact:  Chair, Search Committee, Julia Johnson, Phone: 217-333-4687 or jjohnson@illinois.edu.

The University of Illinois is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.  The administration, faculty, and staff embrace diversity and are committed to attracting qualified candidates who also embrace and value diversity and inclusivity.