Department Head/Teacher, Social Studies (3174)

Natick Public Schools•Natick, MA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Natick Public Schools seek a Middle School Social Studies Department Head/Teacher to start on 8/24/2026. Natick Public Schools educates approximately 5,300 students and is an innovative, supportive, and high-performing district. The district is dedicated to all students achieving high standards in a safe, trusting, respectful environment where learning is exciting, dynamic, and engaging, and where connectedness and belonging are valued and actively cultivated. The district serves a diverse student population, with families speaking almost 60 different languages. With a high graduation rate and a high percentage of students attending post-secondary schools, the district is proud of its commitment to excellence in educating students to be informed and successful citizens of a global world. The district welcomes educators who seek and thrive in a diverse environment that focuses on the whole child in a strengths-based approach. The mission is to support the diversity of the school community, promote and deliver equitable practices for all staff, students, and families, and create meaningful connections that enable everyone to feel included and thrive.

Requirements

Masters Degree
A minimum of three years teaching and/or administrative experience.
DESE Certification: Social Studies, 5-8
Supervisors license preferred
Assistant Principal/Principal license optional
Adolescent development knowledge
Knowledge of Best practices in instructional pedagogy
Strong content area knowledge
Knowledge of Best practices for supervising adults
Demonstrated aptitude for work to be performed
Ability to apply knowledge of current research and theory in specific field
Ability to facilitate the writing of curriculum within the subject area
Ability to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements and School Committee policies
Passion for working with students, families, and colleagues
Flexibility and collaboration
Ability to multitask in a fast-paced, supportive environment that nurtures student growth
Organization and ability to meet ongoing, time-sensitive deadlines for work production
Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of administrators, staff and the general public.
Ability to write reports, business correspondence and procedure manuals.
Highly effective communication skills with a variety of audiences including staff, colleagues, students, families and caregivers.
Alternative degrees/experience may be substituted for the above at the discretion of the Superintendent, if such a substitution brings a strong candidate forward.
Formal application
Rating of education and experience
Oral interviews
Reference check
Strong record of work performance in current and previous roles
Successful completion of Criminal Records Check (C.O.R.I.), Sexual Offender Record Check (S.O.R.I.), and fingerprints.

Nice To Haves

Experience teaching in a diverse middle school
Bilingual skills, especially in Spanish and Portuguese, are highly desirable
Supervisory certification is preferred
Collaboration with your building based leadership teams on evaluation caseload

Responsibilities

Maintaining a program of high quality curriculum, instruction and assessment in the Social Studies department across both middle schools.
Being a productive and supportive member of the school’s administrative team.
Teaching up to 3 sections of Social Studies at Wilson Middle School in a grade level within the school (Grade 5-8).
Establishing a positive and productive learning environment, setting challenging, yet realistic expectations for staff and students.
Demonstrating an understanding of the learning processes of adolescents and developing policies and programs which appropriately reflect these stages.
Demonstrating understanding of applicable educational theories and leading staff in applying effective methods of curriculum design, implementation and evaluation.
Encouraging staff development of innovative curriculum concepts.
Overseeing the writing of curriculum within the subject area.
Ensuring the department’s curriculum and instructional methods are adapted to address the characteristics of different cultural groups and ethnic minorities.
Using community resources to enhance curriculum and instruction.
Designing and implementing assessment mechanisms to measure the school’s performance on the statement of purpose criteria and for the curriculum.
Using assessment results to develop a constant feedback loop to improve academic performance within the department and school-wide.
Designing and implementing changes in curriculum and instruction to address identified areas of need (resulting from assessments).
Leading the department’s efforts to obtain new print and other media to continually update and support the curriculum.
Charing committees as necessary to address areas of improvement as identified by the NESC accreditation process.
Engaging in various and appropriate professional development activities to remain current in the field of certification and providing information and resources gained on the department’s subject matter to staff.
Holding department meetings as needed.
Understanding and utilizing effective models of staff development and in-service education.
Attending department head meetings, constructively contributing to discussions and supporting the school’s mission and goals.
Representing the department at public forums (i.e. School Committee, PTSO, Parent Orientation Night).
Consulting with same-subject teachers at the middle and elementary levels within the system, acquainting these teachers with the high school curriculum and gaining familiarity with same-subject curriculum at other grade levels.
Accepting and encouraging individual differences in teaching style while demonstrating the ability to utilize the system’s professional standards and evaluation system to assess professional performance, to improve classroom performance, to recommend and support improvement or to offer or support the recommendation for separation from service.
Responsible for student management and discipline in assigned area.
Complying with school regulations, programs and policies and with applicable state and federal regulations.
Determining the number of course sections based on student selections and assigning staff accordingly.
Maintaining communication with parents and community, fostering a strong home-school connection.
Maintaining annual media and equipment inventory reports and preparing equipment maintenance reports.
Planning department budget, preparing estimates of departmental needs.
Maintaining accurate records of all purchases and payments throughout the year.
Working with the principal and other district administrators to implement district’s state and federal initiatives.
Evaluating staff within your discipline.
Performing any other relative duties as assigned.