Building Substitute Teacher

POSITION: Upper School Building Substitute Teacher

JOB DESCRIPTION: Great Oaks Academy is seeking an in-person Building Substitute for the 2025-2026 school year.

Great Oaks Academy teachers are our most important curriculum. Our teachers model virtue, curiosity, and excellence in learning for students. We are seeking teachers who are committed to deepening their knowledge and love for their content, who understand and enjoy children, who are effective communicators, and who embrace the mission of our school. A Classical educator must be organized, joyful, and compassionate; someone who models a spirit of inquiry and wonder for students through their example.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree.
• A valid Minnesota teaching license.
• A desire to teach using the Classical Education methods and the Trivium. (Experience in classical education is a plus, though not required.)
• Demonstrate loyalty to the school and its mission to cultivate intelligent, virtuous citizens.
• A commitment to school virtues: compassion, fortitude, gratitude, temperance, and wisdom.
• A commitment to teamwork, service, leadership, and professional growth.
• A willingness to work hard and maintain a positive, professional attitude and demeanor.
• Excellent organizational and communication (speaking & writing) skills.
• A working understanding of childhood development, combined with patience, good humor, and professionalism.
• Basic skill with technology (e.g., use of a laptop, document camera, and projector; use of word processor).

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Duties of this job include, but are not limited to:

• Cultivating their own sense of wonder through self-initiated and Academy-directed learning.
• Managing a classroom environment characterized by order and respect, wonder and joy, utilizing strategies from ENVoY, Love & Logic, and Teach Like a Champion (on the job training provided).
• Foster appropriate rapport with students that catalyze their wonder for the world and learning.
• Foster appropriate rapport with students that catalyze their wonder for the world and learning.
• Cultivating virtuous habits among the students through direct instruction and personal example.
• Teaching with skill and fidelity, using the course of study adopted by the Great Oaks Academy Board and other appropriate learning activities.
• Developing well-planned lessons and instructional materials to create non-anxious times of deep and efficient learning.
• Identifying and creating potential resources to improve instruction within curriculum scope and sequence.
• Providing individualized and small group instruction, along with general education interventions, in order to adapt the curriculum to the needs of each student.
• Assessing students’ academic and social growth, maintaining appropriate records, and creating progress reports.
• Communicating with parents through conferences, regular weekly communications, and other means to discuss students’ progress and understand the school program.
• Collaborating with other staff members in identifying student needs, and helping students solve health, attitude, and learning problems.
• Supervise students in and out of classroom activities during the school day, as needed.
• Maintaining professional competence through professional development activities.
• Participating in curriculum development programs as required.
• Participating in faculty committees and supporting student activities as needed.
• Assisting colleagues through times of co-planning, peer observation, mentorship, and etc.
• Complying with all relevant school policies and state and federal laws and regulations.

APPLICATION PROCESS:Teacher applicants must submit the following in a single email to Mr. Heith Wetzler, Academic Director, hwetzler@greatoaksacademymn.com:

• Cover letter. (Please tell us how you learned about Great Oaks Academy and indicate your salary requirements.)
• Statement of your educational philosophy (in 500 words or fewer)
• Resume/curriculum vitae
• Three professional (or academic, if a recent graduate) references. Please include email address and phone number for each reference.

SCHOOL BACKGROUND: Great Oaks Academy is a Classical charter school built on the pillars of Rigor, Literature, Wonder and Virtue. We are committed to building a small school community with rigorous academics, an emphasis on developing virtue while encouraging students’ natural sense of wonder. We believe that great stories are powerful teaching tools, that studying history chronologically can inspire wonder and lead to virtue, and that rigor means appropriate challenges for each student.

Great Oaks Academy serves grades K-8. We will add a grade each year until we are a full K-12 Academy.

For more information on Classical Education:"The Lost Tools of Learning" by Dorothy Sayers "What is Classical Education?” by Susan Wise Bauer

Job Types: Full-time, Temporary, Contract

Pay: $165.00 per day

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person