Elementary ELD Teacher

Community of Peace Academy is an urban public charter school located on the East Side of St. Paul, Minnesota serving nearly 850 students in grades PreK to 12.  We take pride in being a multicultural community of students and staff committed to educating the whole person –  mind, body and will – for peace, justice, freedom, compassion, wholeness and fullness of life for all.   

We are seeking Elementary ELD Teachers to join our Elementary Team. The qualified candidate will hold a Minnesota teaching license in ESL. They will posses knowledge of best instructional practices for English Language Learners (ELLs), knowledge of WIDA standards and capacity to support colleagues in alignment of WIDA standards to core curriculum, the ability to work closely and positively with culturally and linguistically diverse students, parents, and communities, excellent inter-cultural communication skills, the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to provide each student with equitable access to academic content, and an unyielding commitment to the mission and vision of the school and to the academic achievement and character development of all Community of Peace Academy students.

At CPA, Responsive Classroom is implemented across all elementary classrooms.  If you have not taken RC training, we will pay for you to attend a one-week RC1 workshop.  We also implement the PeaceBuilders program school wide.  Your Mentor teacher will assist you in implementing PeaceBuilders.  Family Connections have been a key component of the CPA tradition for over 20 years. Each fall, Teachers connect with families via home visit, virtual visit or phone call. 

A complete position description follows.

ELD Teacher Position Description
 
Purpose: To provide instruction to develop linguistic skills for ELD students and all academic language learners.
 
The role of the ELD teacher impacts three dimensions of teaching and learning practices at Community of Peace Academy:

• Advocacy for the language learning needs of all students and serves as a professional resource to colleagues in considering practices that benefit the language growth of all students
• Collaborative planning and implementation of language-specific learning opportunities across the four language domains (listening, speaking, reading and writing) to support access to content learning for all students
• Targeted instruction to support students demonstrating a need for English language development

 
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attitudes Required

• ESL license preferred
• Strong knowledge of best instructional practices for English Language Learners (ELLs)
• Knowledge of WIDA standards and capacity to support colleagues in alignment of WIDA standards to core curriculum
• Ability to work closely and positively with culturally and linguistically diverse students, parents, and communities.
• Excellent inter-cultural communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to provide each student with equitable access to academic content.
• An unyielding commitment to the mission and vision of the school and to the academic achievement and character development of all Community of Peace Academy students.

 
Responsibilities: English Language Development

• Provide daily, systematic small-group English language instruction with focus on form.
• Develop Model Performance Indicators (MPIs) for student work products and units of study.
• Monitor and assess English language acquisition of ELD students.
• Screen PHLOTE (Primary Home Language Other Than English) students for possible ELD needs.
• Administer ACCESS for ELLs (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners) to ELD students.
• Conduct Acculturation Quick Screen and Resiliency Checklist to determine level of acculturation of culturally and/or linguistically diverse students.
• Provide interventions for ELD students who are not making expected growth.
• Use progress monitoring tools (based on WIDA Performance Definitions/WIDA Rubrics) and report student growth towards language proficiency to families.

 
Responsibilities: Meaningful Access to Grade-Level Learning

• Plan collaboratively with classroom teachers to ensure each student has opportunities to use language across multiple domains
• Write language objectives for lessons
• Plan for systematic attention to academic vocabulary expansion
• Differentiate instruction based on language proficiency
• Provide learners with supported opportunities to expand language proficiency within the context of grade level content
• Support colleagues in implementing evidence-based practices, skills, and strategies for language learners throughout core instruction.
• Implement co-teaching models and strategies to ensure equitable access to core content in response to student data.

 
Responsibilities: Advocacy and Sharing of Expertise

• Communicate with families regarding qualification for ELD services, ongoing progress toward English language proficiency, and exit from ELD services.
• Participate in ELD student conferences and parent meetings in response to student need.
• Ensure culturally and linguistically diverse students have appropriate access to and benefit from school wide programming.
• Support teachers and staff school-wide in the development of dispositions, knowledge, and skills to serve English Learners.