Job Description

Join Our Team

Join our team of passionate and experienced educators who are committed to reimagining secondary education to create equity for all students. At the Building 21 Philadelphia Lab School, we believe in rethinking what school should be and are dedicated to transitioning from traditional to competency-based education. We’re looking for individuals who share our vision and are ready to change, adapt, and grow with us. If you’re passionate about imagining education in new ways and want to be part of a team that is committed to creating a more equitable future for all students, we encourage you to apply.

Open Positions

• Math
• English Language Arts
• School Counselor
• Special Education (Learning Support)
• Social Studies
• Health/PE
• Science
• Partnerships/Internships Coordinator

About Building 21 Philadelphia:

Building 21 currently partners with the School District of Philadelphia and the Allentown School District to open, oversee and support non-selective, personalized, competency-based high schools.  Both schools are grow a grade models with between 400 and 600 9

th

through 12

th

grade students. 

Building 21 is a new secondary model that seeks to facilitate an authentic learning experience that will address the unique social and academic needs of

all

learners. Building 21 school leaders and faculty carefully construct a robust network of online, offline, individual, small group, large group, skills-based, and applied learning opportunities to more effectively serve students of all types. Most importantly, the Building 21 model develops teachers

and

students as facilitators of learning.  Students will co-construct their own pathways to graduation through scaffolded choices about how, what and where they learn.  Building 21 schools are 1:1 schools with six unique qualities:

• We believe authentic relationships are at the foundation of everything
• We are committed to creating a culturally competent, trauma informed, and restorative community
• We use a competency-based education model 
• We engage our students in real world, problem-based and project-based learning experiences  
• We personalize pathways to graduation for our students
• We value the power of our staff and invest in their learning, growth and leadership

Building 21 is currently looking for passionate and experienced educators.  The ideal candidate will possess the following beliefs, mindsets and characteristics:

• Strong desire to re-imagine secondary education to create equity for all students
• Belief that building strong and caring relationships with students and adults is the foundation upon which a successful school is built.
• Commitment to engaging in the personal and professional development work of cultural competence, trauma informed, and restorative practices 
• Deep commitment to positive youth development and an unwavering faith in the potential of every student. 
• Fundamental belief that every student has the ability to design his/her own path to success in the postsecondary world.
• Values the design and implementation of authentic problem-based/project-based learning experiences and performance assessments.
• Willingness to implement a CCSS-aligned, competency-based approach.
• Strong technology skills and the belief in using a one-to-one model to support personalized learning for students.
• Comfort with utilizing multiple types of data to inform instruction.
• Comfort with change, iteration and ambiguity.
• Growth mindset, understanding that failure is the path to success.
• Commitment to working on personal growth and continuous learning.
• Willingness to collaborate and design with community and business partners.
• Willingness to challenge traditional mindsets and beliefs about school.
• Willingness to contribute to a collaborative culture 

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Learn, understand and implement the Building 21 instructional model.
• Ensure effective collection and analysis of student performance data to identify struggling students, curriculum shortfalls, and teacher quality issues.
• Assist in the creation and implementation of a positive school culture program that reflects the principles of Positive Youth Development.
• Engage parents and other community members in school and extracurricular activities

Qualifications:

• High expectations for student achievement
• Superior grasp of effective instruction for educating urban youth
• Excellent organizational skills
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and rapidly-changing environment
• Prior experience working within an, entrepreneurial or start-up environment also a plus
• All candidates will undergo a rigorous interview process where candidates will have a chance to demonstrate their alignment to Building 21’s core values.

Education and Experience:

• 2+ years of demonstrating classroom experience, preferably within an urban secondary school setting
• Master’s degree in Education in education preferred
• Possession of the valid Commonwealth of Pennsylvania instructional certificate(s) including but not limited to Reading Specialist/English, Special Education/English, Special Education/Math, ELL/English, Health/PE, English, Math, Biology, English/Social Studies, Social Studies, Music, and Art.

Compensation and Benefits: Building 21 teachers are employees of the Philadelphia Public School System. Payment will be based on the District’s pay scale.

Applications: Please submit cover letter and resume to:  bkoch@building21.org