Curriculum Developer, Risks, Decisions, and Money Major

Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM)

About The Position

While our middle school programming focuses on summers, during 8th–12th grade, BEAM offers weekend classes year-round so that students can go deeper in their studies and stay in community with one-another. In Fall 2026, we're launching an ambitious revisioning of that programming centered on the opportunity for our 9th grade students to declare majors. Each major will allow students to go deeper and more in-depth on a topic that school does not cover. Engaging, authentic classes will build towards a capstone project in 11th grade which will be a significant piece of work in the field. Thus, they'll be able to develop independence in their studies, and to experience what it "really feels like" to engage with cutting-edge work. Each major will be developed by a curriculum designer. This is an opportunity to develop something new and genuinely cutting-edge in enrichment education programs, designing every stage of the major from classes to capstone projects. We expect this project to run from April 2026 through May 2028. During that time, the role is structured as a part-time role (estimated 15–20 hours/week) that can fit around other obligations, providing considerable flexibility to make your own hours (within certain requirements; see below). At the end of the three years, although the project will be complete, there are likely to be additional opportunities to apply for other roles and continue the work with BEAM, for example by designing other curricula, leading professional development for our instructors, or perhaps in a full-time mathematical role. This role is being hired to develop our "Risks, Decisions, and Money" major. All BEAM courses are designed for students to develop strong skills in mathematical problem solving and reasoning; this major additionally allows students to explore applications to decision-making both in finance and other fields. Finally, this major shows students very clearly how math is used in a rich way in other subjects. The major will have three courses, each lasting for one semester with 24 hours of class time. Courses are designed to build on one-another and connect into a coherent storyline. The specific classes to be offered will be one of the early projects to think through, but we expect that both probability and game theory will play a major role. The courses are not designed to be equivalent to college courses, and are not intended to be comprehensive in their subject. Instead, each course will be narrowly designed to prepare students for their capstone projects. They'll highlight a few ideas or results that give students a greater depth of understanding and paint what the field is like. That focus on key results—rather than covering a broad subject—allows us to foster intellectual excitement, spending less time building up foundations and instead helping students to grasp the most interesting punchlines while still developing the topic in a rigorous way. Finally, the major will culminate in capstone projects. Examples of capstone projects that students might complete include: Determination of optimal strategies in games of chance Simulating probabilistic processes such as Markov chains or random walks Stock market simulations Modeling real-world scenarios and decisions

Requirements

Deep knowledge of mathematics at an advanced undergraduate or graduate level. Although this straddles pure and applied math, it is important that students can see math authentically, so we are expecting comfort with proofs as the language of mathematics and the layered abstraction of the fields of mathematics.
Strong understanding of quantitative decision making at a high level, and its use in applied settings (especially finance, but also insurance, economics, and other areas).
Knowledge of practices of enrichment teaching and different activities and classroom approaches that are effective for teaching in enrichment contexts.
Strong pedagogical skills, especially for teaching high school students. Able to develop exciting and engaging classes that support both rigor and depth. Examples of skills include: designing courses that structure material well for students to learn at a deep level, creating activities that promote active and deeper thinking in a classroom, and structuring classes to have a compelling arc and story to them.
Exceptional writing skills. Able to state and write solutions for problems with precise language and in ways that are engaging and energizing. Able to create clear and compelling materials for other instructors, with clear course goals and lesson plans.
The ability to plan towards a goal and implement independently. Good at tracking larger projects and completing them on-time.
Strong collaboration skills.
At least three years of teaching experience, preferably in contexts outside of the school curriculum.
At least one prior experience creating a course independently rather than teaching from a prescribed curriculum.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in programs that promote educational equity or teaching students from historically marginalized backgrounds. A strong understanding of diverse student backgrounds and needs, and how to design systems to thoughtfully support student needs. Specific knowledge of the barriers that low-income and minority students may encounter.
Experience with educational enrichment programs that support students to do more advanced work, especially in mathematics or probability and game theory.
Experience supporting students in significant independent projects (such as research projects).
Experience with potential capstone projects, especially work experience involving probability and game theory.
Experience writing curriculum for other instructors to use.
Experience with STEM education and opportunities at the collegiate level or beyond, e.g. earned degrees, teaching, etc.

Responsibilities

Develop a roadmap for the Risks, Decisions, and Money major
Draft capstone projects
Outline the full course sequence
Develop all course materials so that the courses can be successfully implemented by program instructors
Revise materials based on the first run and feedback from instructors
Directly teach each of the classes in its initial launch
Observe other instructors teaching the class and debrief with them to incorporate feedback
Determine hiring needs for instructors within the major, and support hiring
Provide guidance and support to instructors implementing the course material
Other work as needed to support the successful launch of our new academic programming