The Siskiyou School Hiring for Elementary School Teacher Job at Ashland, OR Full Time

The Siskiyou School is looking for a 1st grade class teacher for next September. We welcome applicants who have completed their Waldorf teacher training and have previous Waldorf class teaching experience in grades 1-4. Our starting salary for class teachers ranges from $40,000-$55,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include health and dental insurance, a retirement plan, and tuition remission. To apply, send a resume, an autobiographical sketch, and a cover letter to our Administrator Aurilia McNamara. If you have any questions before hand, call her directly at 541-494-0030.

As described below, our town of Ashland (population 20,000) is a cultural and artistic haven nestled in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon. For a fuller description of our town and our school, read below and also check out our website at www.siskiyouschool.org . Our school is also its own kind of haven. In a nutshell, from a class teacher perspective, perhaps our school’s most stand-out quality is the level of support it provides its class teachers and students. We have made it our mission to ensure that our students are well met at their own level and that the class teacher job is sustainable.

Overview of our school and town
Now in its 15th year, the Siskiyou School is a vibrant, healthy 1st through 8th grade Waldorf school with a staff of 29 full and part-time teachers. We are on a beautiful, well-developed two-acre campus in a residential neighborhood just a ten-minute bike ride from downtown Ashland, Oregon. Classes range in size from 20-24. Ten home-based Waldorf pre-schools and kindergartens feed into the school and help constitute our first grade class every year. Our dedicated Board has maintained our financial health since our founding years. Our parent body is active throughout the school. Collegiality, creativity, and fruitful collaboration among the faculty, parents, and Board are hallmarks of the school. It is also important to note that our school highly values diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and that our teachers, parents and Board are actively discussing these topics regarding all areas of our school. Like all other schools, COVID has brought interesting times for the school. Please contact Aurilia if you are interested in getting details about how the school is working with state guidelines this year to provide in person instruction to our students.

Ashland is a delightful place to live whether you are single, married with children, or near retirement age. Home to Southern Oregon University and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland is renowned as a progressive arts community and as a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Visitors from all over the country come to attend plays at the world-famous OSF, dine in Ashland’s many fine restaurants, and enjoy the shops, art galleries, and gorgeous outdoors. Hiking, skiing, rafting, camping, biking and rock climbing are all easily accessible in the Rogue Valley. Additionally, Ashland has two weekly farmers’ markets, a big, bustling Co-op, a 90-acre trail-webbed park right in town, and a lively music scene. Surrounded by the Cascade and Siskiyou mountain ranges, Ashland’s immediate environs include farms, orchards, and wineries. While Ashland has plenty of boutiques, it is free of big commercial stores, all of which can be found 20 minutes up the road in the town of Medford, which also houses the nearest airport. While northern Oregon is quite rainy, Ashland’s temperate climate makes it enjoyable year-round. The combination of great weather, first-rate cultural events, outstanding shopping and restaurants, and exceptional scenic beauty make Ashland a gem of a small town.

What the Siskiyou School is known for
Teachers from Waldorf schools up and down the West Coast stop at our school when they travel to Ashland to enjoy the town. They are particularly struck by how established we are for such a relatively young school and by how well supported our class teachers are. Class teachers in grades 1-3 have assistants for main lesson and for their language arts and math classes. Our Ohana Program provides daily support classes for children in grades 1-4 needing extra help with reading, writing, and integrative movement. Tutoring is also available for children needing one-on-one instruction. Class teachers in 5-8 are supported by a dedicated middle school language arts teacher and two middle school math teachers. Last but certainly not least, all specialty classes—music, handwork, games, woodworking, gardening, watercolor painting, form drawing, lower grades science (ACORN Program), Mandarin, Spanish and drama—are taught by highly qualified and experienced specialty teachers. Well-supported class teachers ensure well-met children!

We are blessed in our campus as well. Our campus houses eight spacious and beautiful classrooms, a performance and assembly space which hosts our theater program, breakout rooms for track and specialty classes, and use of a gorgeous city park for our Games classes and recess. Within the last six years the school has acquired an adjacent house which we use to house our Special Ed Program and an adjacent lot which we are using to expand our busy gardening program.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Pay: $40,000.00 – $45,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Disability insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

COVID-19 considerations:
The school follows all ODE guidelines.

Education:

• Bachelor’s (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• Teaching Certification (Required)

Work Location:

• One location

Work Remotely:

• No