Teaching Artist (on-call)

SFJAZZ•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

SFJAZZ seeks an on-call Teaching Artist with education experience, emphasizing written and performance poetry, to teach in its Jazz in the Middle (JIM) School Program. JIM sends poets and musicians into middle school humanities classrooms to use jazz history and storytelling to help students create original poetry connected to classroom themes. Residencies last 9 to 15 weeks and culminate in a student showcase, open mic, reading, or collective share-out. Teaching Artists facilitate writing and performance activities that support students’ social voice and explore the African Diaspora, shared histories, and their relevance today. The program develops students’ writing, reading, leadership, critical analysis, communication, and public speaking skills in a creative environment. Artists lead residencies at public and charter middle schools in San Francisco and Oakland, collaborate with school partners, attend meetings and professional development, and contribute to program evaluation and the annual Youth Poetry Showcase.

Requirements

Experience teaching creative content to middle school students in Black and Brown, low-income, and otherwise marginalized neighborhoods.
Demonstrated ability to teach poetry, creative writing, or spoken word in a classroom and/or after-school setting.
Knowledge and understanding of the African Diaspora and jazz history.
Willingness and ability to interact with children and adults from varying racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.
Ability to design and facilitate curricula, lesson plans, and workshops about Black history for middle school students using a variety of mediums.
Knowledge of age-appropriate teaching methods and best practices for collaborating with classroom teachers.
Openness to receiving detailed feedback on teaching and classroom practices as they relate to SFJAZZ’s methodology.
Ability to teach at least two sites at a time, with at least four residencies in a full day, two mornings, two afternoons, or some combination.
Excellent verbal, written, and oral communication skills.
Reliability, punctuality, and flexibility.
Experience developing unit plans and lesson plans.
Familiarity with reporting to a manager remotely.
Must pass a background check, fingerprinting, and TB test or assessment before hire.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual in English and Spanish.
At least 1–2 years of demonstrated teaching experience.
Experience working with unique student populations, such as English language learners and students with disabilities or learning differences.
Programming experience and collaboration with classroom teachers.

Responsibilities

Lead Jazz in the Middle residencies across San Francisco and Oakland public and charter middle schools, using positive classroom management techniques.
Uphold rules of conduct at program sites.
Adapt to individual classroom needs and culture in collaboration with diverse school and site partners.
Maintain timely communication with SFJAZZ Education staff and program sites by email, phone, and in person.
Attend monthly meetings, training, and professional development sessions throughout the school year.
Facilitate generative writing workshops and support students in conceptualizing, writing, and performing at least one poem at the end of each residency.
Participate in program evaluation through surveys and other feedback loops.
Identify, recruit, and coach middle school students for the annual poetry showcase.
Develop process-based, sequential curricula that reflect SFJAZZ’s mission and values.
Perform in the annual Youth Poetry Showcase.
Commit to teaching residencies lasting 9 to 15 weeks.
Communicate any absence to SFJAZZ School Programs staff as soon as possible, participate in mandatory make-up sessions coordinated with staff and the school site, and share a makeup lesson with teachers for the date of absence.
Honor confirmed residency assignments; cancellations are not permitted except under extraordinary circumstances approved by SFJAZZ.