Virtual Arkansas Computer Science Adjunct

Arch Ford • Plumerville, AR

2d • Remote

About The Position

Virtual Arkansas's (VA) mission is to equip, engage, and empower students through unique digital opportunities. As Arkansas’s fully accredited state virtual program, VA partners with local schools to provide course opportunities that might not otherwise be available with local resources. VA is not an online school or a diploma-granting institution, but serves as a resource for supplementing the education of local students. The program is implemented through a partnership between the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas Education Service Cooperatives. VA offers a variety of instructional services, and teachers may be assigned to different services based on organizational needs. These assigned areas include: Content + Teacher Supplemental, Dedicated/Emergency Use, Division of Youth Services, Alternative Learning Environment, and/or the Learn Anywhere Academy. Teachers are not able to make course requests but are instead assigned within their licensure area by organizational need. VA maintains a comprehensive catalog of courses that were created to fully align to the Arkansas Curriculum Standards or other learning outcomes defined by credit-granting entities, such as Advanced Placement or Institutions of Higher Education offering concurrent course offerings in partnership with VA. Because of the unique nature of our organization, VA online teachers also serve as subject matter experts who engage in ongoing curriculum and assessment design tasks aimed at assuring the quality of VA online courses and the alignment of content, assessments, and instructional practice. Adopted in 2023, the Virtual Arkansas Online teacher is evaluated using a unique evaluation instrument, A Crosswalk of the NSQ Teaching Standards and the Danielson Framework. This crosswalk instrument was designed to better articulate the responsibilities of online instructors and to be used by evaluators for providing better support to teachers assigned in a variety of learning environments, including online, hybrid, and blended. While the majority of the standards and their components presented in the Crosswalk reflect traditional teacher responsibilities related to instruction, grading, communication, and professional practice, Standard H specifies expectations that are specific to online teachers and describes their unique responsibilities related to curriculum development and the curation of research-based instructional materials, tools, and strategies found to be effective in an online learning environment. Virtual Arkansas is seeking applications from Arkansas-certified Computer Science instructors for the Core campus. The position could be assigned to any of the Arkansas 7-12 Computer Science Courses. Virtual Arkansas online teachers are responsible for following the established curriculum and for providing instruction to students in a virtual learning environment. The teacher leverages the capabilities of the digital tools, the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), the Student Information System (SIS), and the course itself to effectively deliver lessons, assess student progress and learning, provide personalized feedback, and identify and intervene with students who are demonstrating difficulty in mastering the standards, learning objectives, and goals of the course. The Virtual Arkansas teacher must be adept at engaging students remotely while fostering a positive learning environment and adapting to the unique challenges of digital education. Virtual Arkansas teacher duties and responsibilities are described below and fall into three primary categories: Instructional/Traditional, Curriculum, and Assessment.

Requirements

• Science of Reading level required: Awareness
• Minimum of a B.A. or B.S. required
• Arkansas Teacher's License: The applicant must hold an Arkansas secondary Computer Science license for 7-12 ( 528 - Computer Science)
• Arkansas residency required
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines and prioritize tasks
• Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times, stressful environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal, teamwork, and customer service skills
• Proficiency in using digital tools and platforms
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to monitor, analyze, and interpret student data to then make informed decisions related to student progress and success
• Desire and ability to learn and adapt to new and emerging technologies and teaching strategies
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Periodic travel requirements
• Sit, stand, walk, stoop, kneel, or crouch
• Use hands to handle or feel, type, and pick up objects, and reach with hands and arms
• Speak and hear to communicate effectively
• Frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds

Nice To Haves

• 115/4051 licensure code, Online Teaching K-12
• Employee must earn the 115/4051 licensure code, Online Teaching K-12, within two academic years of being hired, if applicable.

Responsibilities

• Effectively utilize the Virtual Arkansas technology systems, programs, software, and platforms to perform duties and deliver instruction
• Plan, prepare, and design live (synchronous) digital lessons and assignments
• Learn and utilize effective synchronous and asynchronous student engagement strategies
• Monitor and track student attendance to synchronous sessions
• Implement intervention and enrichment strategies, based on assessment data and mastery of standards
• Utilize effective and efficient student feedback tools and strategies
• Monitor student progress and respond appropriately to the needs of the students
• Implement effective/efficient communication strategies with students and local digital learning facilitators
• Attend and participate in required professional development, department-level collaborative teams, intervention meetings, and other required meetings
• Meet at least once weekly with the local facilitator(s) to coordinate upcoming lessons and strategies
• Maintain availability for students throughout each school week
• Deliver and respond to communications, including emails and messages, in a timely manner
• Collaborate with all stakeholders (e.g. students, parents, colleagues, local school facilitators, supervisors, etc.) for the purpose of establishing and maintaining effective professional communication and positive relationships
• Implement ELL, IEP, and 504 goals and accommodations into lessons and assessments
• Maintain a professional home office
• Complete other duties as assigned consistent with online, digital teaching
• Monitor the digital curriculum and make recommendations for continuous curricular improvement through the established curriculum change/support process
• Assist design team members with the implementation of requested curriculum changes
• Make curriculum change recommendations based on standard revisions or misalignments between standards, content, and assessments
• Create and enhance online content, including the creation of focus and micro-topic videos
• Engage in bi-annual course blueprint maintenance initiatives
• Update course syllabi and pacing guides, and complete course alignment matrices
• Use various simple tools to create small, fun learning objects to improve the interactive aspect of courses (Learning Objects)
• If enrollment numbers do not meet the desired enrollment threshold, engage in more extensive course enhancement projects
• Utilize and/or design assessment items that are aligned to the Arkansas Curriculum Standards (or other learning outcomes) that reflect appropriate DOK levels for each course
• Align assessment items to learning outcomes
• Monitor assessment data and student mastery of standards to inform student learning, instruction, curriculum gaps, and assessment validity

Benefits

• Salary will be commensurate with years of experience and education level, and will correspond to the Virtual Arkansas 190 contract day certified salary schedule.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level