Social Studies Teacher | Founding Years Middle School | ECPA

Elevate Charter Schools•New Haven, CT

5d•$50,500 - $90,000•Onsite

About The Position

Edmonds Cofield Preparatory Academy for Young Men (ECPA) is seeking a thoughtful, mission-aligned Social Studies Teacher for its Founding Years Middle School program. This role involves building a rigorous, relevant, and identity-affirming humanities program for grades 5-7. As Connecticut's first all-boys public charter school, ECPA is in its founding years, focusing on developing strong routines, meaningful relationships, and a school culture specifically for boys. The teacher will help shape traditions, systems, and learning experiences, establishing a social studies program that strengthens critical thinking, civic understanding, and students’ sense of place in the world. This is an opportunity for an educator who believes in the intellectual potential of boys, is committed to equity, and is eager to design learning experiences that help students understand history, examine society, and see themselves as informed thinkers, emerging leaders, and active participants in their communities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher
Valid teaching certification or eligibility to obtain required CT certification through reciprocity
2–3 years of successful teaching experience, with a demonstrated track record of strong student achievement
Ability to build a safe, affirming, and intellectually challenging classroom where young men feel supported and pushed to engage deeply in meaningful work
Reflective practice and personal accountability for student growth, achievement, and overall experience
Genuine excitement for working in a Founding Years environment and in a single-gender, all‑boys school community
Demonstrated commitment to educational equity, youth development, social‑emotional learning, restorative practices, and culturally responsive pedagogy
Deep alignment with the mission and values of ECS and ECPA, including an unshakable belief in the potential of every student to learn, grow, and achieve at a high level

Nice To Haves

3-5+ years of teaching experience with a strong record of student achievement
Experience in an urban, high‑expectations, or charter school setting
Experience in a single‑gender and/or founding school environment, ideally with middle‑grade learners

Responsibilities

Deliver engaging, standards-aligned instruction in history, geography, civics, and social sciences that builds content knowledge, analytical skills, and curiosity about the world.
Create a classroom culture where young men feel safe to ask questions, debate ideas, and explore multiple perspectives, while developing confidence as thinkers and communicators.
Design foundational curriculum, routines, and structures for a high-quality social studies program — shaping scope and sequence, selecting materials, and establishing traditions that will grow with the school.
Integrate literacy, writing, and discussion-based learning to strengthen students’ ability to construct arguments, analyze sources, and engage in meaningful dialogue.
Collaborate with colleagues to connect social studies learning across disciplines and contribute to a vibrant, values-driven school culture during these critical founding years.
Partner with families and the community to highlight student learning, build civic awareness, and make social studies a visible, celebrated part of ECPA’s identity.
Plan rigorous social studies learning by intellectually preparing standards-aligned, inquiry-driven lessons that reflect ECPA’s deeper-learning approach and build students’ historical thinking, civic reasoning, and analytical skills.
Deliver high-quality instruction that develops core disciplinary skills—analyzing primary and secondary sources, constructing arguments, evaluating evidence, and engaging in rich discussion and debate.
Build strong, affirming relationships that create a classroom where young men feel safe taking intellectual risks, asking questions, and exploring complex social, cultural, and historical ideas.
Integrate culturally relevant and responsive practices to make social studies meaningful, identity-affirming, and connected to students’ lived experiences and communities.
Use data and ongoing assessment (exit tickets, writing tasks, source analyses, student discourse, formative checks) to differentiate instruction and ensure every learner is known and supported.
Establish a structured, joyful classroom grounded in mutual respect, high expectations, and consistent routines that support productive scientific discourse and collaboration.
Model and reinforce ECPA’s values to help boys grow as scholars, leaders, and responsible young men—both in the lab and beyond.
Partner with families to build trust, share progress, and ensure shared ownership of student growth.
Contribute to school life by supporting events, leading a club or enrichment experience (Humanities-related or otherwise), and helping build emerging traditions that strengthen community.
Engage in weekly professional learning, including coaching, co-planning, department work, and grade-level collaboration focused on strong science instruction and deeper learning.
Collaborate with colleagues to build a positive, high-performing adult culture centered on continuous improvement and shared responsibility for student success.
Give and receive feedback to refine instructional practice, strengthen lab and classroom routines, and improve student outcomes.
Lead Innovation Lab experiences—clubs, project-based enrichment, showcases, or community-based projects—that extend learning beyond the classroom and give students authentic opportunities to apply their historical thinking, civic reasoning, and social-scientific inquiry.
Support common school routines (arrival, dismissal, lunch, recess, transitions) to ensure safety, consistency, and a positive, identity-affirming school culture.
Lead a homeroom/advisory that builds community, fosters authentic relationships, and supports students’ social-emotional development and sense of belonging.
Help design and implement schoolwide systems, rituals, and traditions, including exhibitions, performances, and public demonstrations of learning that strengthen ECPA’s emerging identity and celebrate student voice.
Shape and refine schoolwide systems—academic routines, culture practices, community rituals, and enrichment structures—as ECPA grows into a full 5–8 middle school.
Embrace feedback and adapt with flexibility, modeling a growth mindset as the school evolves.
Take ownership of schoolwide initiatives and contribute to special projects that advance the mission in a dynamic, early-stage environment.