The Writer's Toolkit Instructor

The Chicago High School for the Arts seeks a Writer's Toolkit Instructor for the 2024-2025 school year.

Title: Writer's Toolkit Instructor

Department: Creative Writing

Classification: Part-time instructor

Schedule: Three-hour class takes place Mondays from 2:00 - 5:00pm. This is a year-long course.

Position Summary:

The ideal candidate for this position is a versatile and experienced, artistic writer with the passion and skills to create a learning environment that will offer a rigorous pre-professional arts training. Candidates should have previous experience working with and instructing high school age students. The instructor of this course will center the curriculum on developing critical thinking, production and presentation skills.

Instructors at ChiArts are committed to upholding antiracism, restorative practices, and community values. Instructors will be required to differentiate instruction when designing lesson and unit plans that assess student achievement and encourage skill development and critical thinking.

The Writer's Toolkit:

Translating ideas to the page and staying with the work for the time necessary to polish a piece takes stamina, discipline, and resilience. Participating in a pre-professional creative writing program requires a specialized set of tools. Writer's Toolkit is designed to emphasize and support the ChiArts core values of balance and perseverance, and also to help students develop the specialized tools you will need throughout the program. Because of the student-writer workload, this class will provide students with significant time to write. Students will have both the space and the support to draft and polish pieces assigned in their creative writing classes and to develop new work based on their interests and preferred genres.

Qualifications

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Classroom and professional duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Embrace and promote the ChiArts vision, mission, educational approach, goals, and core values

• Prepare structured lessons that encourage and foster skill development, critical thinking, applications, and ethics.

• Instruct conservatory-level courses, serving students with various learning styles, abilities, and needs.

• Employ outstanding classroom management skills and implement the school code of conduct.

• Regularly assess student achievement, skill mastery, and career development skills.

• Submit unit plans on a timely basis

• Manage classroom administration and record keeping, including grades, attendance records, student progress, and documentation of student work.

• Regularly communicate with students, parents, and other ChiArts staff to share artistic progress, encourage positive behavior, and resolve behavioral and artistic issues.

• Attend and participate in faculty and administrative meetings, parent conferences, open house, other school functions, and in- service professional development sessions.

• Collaborate with the staff to develop "best practices" tailored to the unique philosophy and instructional approach of ChiArts and to the needs of its student population.

• Collaborate with other ChiArts artistic and academic faculty and the larger arts community.

• Perform other duties as the needs of the school and the needs of the students may demand (e.g., competitions, readings.)

• Work with academic staff to ensure student's overall success at ChiArts.

Working Conditions:

Job Hazards: This position requires a fingerprint and background check conducted by Chicago Public Schools.

Job Tasks: Must be able to lift up to 35 lbs.

Travel Requirements: This position does not require travel as part of the job responsibilities; however, travel may be required to attend professional development/conferences.

Salary and Benefits:

Part-time position.

Pay will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Application Process

Qualified applicants should apply online at www.chiarts.org and upload the following documents:

• Cover Letter

• Resume

• Contact Information for 3-5 Professional References; do not include letters of recommendation.

Applicants who do not follow the submission directions will not be considered. Please be aware that every item listed on a resume is subject to verification and that any offer of employment is contingent on a successful background check.

The Chicago High School for the Arts ("ChiArts") began its life as part of a quest for greater diversity among Chicago's arts and cultural institutions. ChiArts continues that quest by building holistic diversity at all levels, including students, faculty, staff, and board of directors. As part of that continuing quest, ChiArts embraces and carries into effect the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance.

Please visit www.chiarts.org for more information.