Employment at Chavez

Working at a Chávez School is stimulating, demanding, and different from traditional public school teaching. The Chávez Schools offer a challenging academic environment—our students often come to us two to three grade levels behind academically, and it is the job of all Chavez educators to not only make up for those deficiencies but to also help accelerate children to be ready for college by the time they graduate. We believe that every student can go to college through achievement-focused teaching, and we search for professionals who support that mission. The job requirements for employees of the Chávez Schools are challenging and the work is demanding, reflecting the nature of working for a charter system that is trying to do things in a better way.

The Chavez Schools actively seek both teaching and non-teaching staff year round. Available positions are posted on this page on an ongoing basis.

Why Teach at Chavez

At Chávez, educators are treated as professionals. We maintain a strong support staff, enforce rigorous discipline standards, and limit class size to ensure that the focus is on teaching, learning and achievement.

All employees benefit from:

• Education reform. Chávez believes all students should have access to a quality education that prepares them for college. Our schools combine the intellectual and academic joys of a college preparatory program with the satisfying challenges of working with an open admission, urban population.

• A culture of success. Approximately 80% of Chávez students are low-income, and nearly all are minority. Yet 100% of our graduating seniors have been accepted into at least one college. Ours is a positive, successful, and inspiring school environment in which to work.

• Professional Learning Communities. An underlying belief guiding Chávez is that teachers are professionals who can develop their craft and who need time to think, talk, and learn together. To structure and sustain teacher collaboration, Chávez has developed a Professional Learning Community on each campus that involves experienced teachers as Mentor Teachers, includes weekly small-group conversations about teaching and learning, and challenges teachers to focus on student achievement, strengths and weaknesses. New-teacher mentoring by experienced faculty is an integral component of our collaborative learning community.

• Strong discipline policies and support staff. Chávez schools are a safe place for both students and teachers. Chávez has a 10 to 1 adult to student ratio that enables teachers to focus on teaching more and disciplining less.

• Opportunities for Advancement. Chávez prefers to hire from within the Chávez community for positions including Department Chair, Academic Dean, and Principal. Chávez also offers multiple career paths that enable teachers interested in their own professional growth to become master and mentor teachers.

Who We Need

We are looking for eager, hard-working dedicated educators who are willing to go the extra mile to help continue the success and rigor of our college preparatory program through their commitment to high standards and compassion for improving the lives of DC’s young people.

Chávez is seeking highly motivated education professionals for our college preparatory charter schools serving high poverty communities in Washington, DC. Candidates who are familiar with the subject standards in the District of Columbia or other highly-regarded state standards are encouraged to apply. Three campuses-Chávez Capitol Hill, Chávez Parkside, and the new Chávez Prep-are hiring in all disciplines and fields. Positions available include: Teachers in Mathematics, Science, History, English and Language Arts, Special Education, Spanish, French, Art, ESL, Health and Physical Education, as well as Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches, and Librarians. There are also substitute and non-teaching staff position openings. For a complete list of openings, see below.

Applicants must be intensely dedicated, extremely hard working, passionate about closing America’s racial gap in learning, highly proficient in their subject areas, and unwaveringly committed to the belief that all students can excel in a college preparatory setting.

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Qualifications

Unlike traditional DC schools, you do NOT need to hold a DC teaching license to teach at public charter schools like Chávez. However, there are federal requirements for teacher qualifications under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) regulations that all DC public schools (traditional and charter) must follow.

1. You must hold a Bachelor’s degree.

2. If you wish to teach English, Reading, English as a Second Language, or Language Arts; Mathematics; Science; Foreign Languages; Civics and Government; Economics; the Arts (visual, theater, dance, and music); or, History and Geography you must also:

(a) Hold an undergraduate or graduate degree in the subject area;

(b) Have completed coursework equivalent to an undergraduate degree in the subject area (33 credits, 18 of which must be upper division);

(c) Passed the appropriate Praxis II test (if available-see below) in the subject area; or,

(d) Hold a DC teaching credential in the subject area.

3. Praxis II tests are recognized in DC in the following subjects Biology, Chemistry, English, English as a Second Language, French, General Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Spanish. Please note:

• While there are many more Praxis II subject tests, DC recognizes only those listed above for determining qualifications.

• Many subjects have both content and pedagogy Praxis II tests. You do not need to take the pedagogy tests. For example, if you are asked to take the Praxis for mathematics, you will NOT have to take test 30065 (Mathematics Pedagogy).

• A few subjects may have more than one content knowledge test. For example, in mathematics, you must take test 10061 (Mathematics Content Knowledge) and 20063 (Mathematics Proofs, Models, and Problems Part 1).

Human resources will help you resolve any Praxis II questions.

More information

1. The DC Public Charter School Board (our authorizer) has published an NCLB fact sheet that details these requirements.

2. More information about DC state teaching licensure .

3. The DC pages for the Praxis II test which includes dates, tests, and qualifying scores are available from the Educational Testing Service website.

Determinations

Chavez Human Resources will examine candidate licenses, transcripts, and undergraduate and graduate degrees to determine if they fulfill subject or credit requirements. If necessary, HR will ask the candidate to sign-up for the appropriate Praxis II subject test with sufficient time for scores to be received before the start of school.

Any questions may be directed to recruitment@chavezschools.org.