Community-centered Education.
Founded in 1994, Puget Sound Community School (PSC) is a small, independent middle and high school located in the Chinatown-International District of downtown Seattle. PSCS is committed to centering intentionally excluded perspectives in curriculum and programming. With collaboration framing our approach, community-centered education prioritizes the lived experience of our students and staff, while offering young people continuous opportunities to take increasing responsibility for their own pathways and education. We call this Life Prep.
PSCS invites the participation of all people, welcoming students, teachers, families, and volunteers of any racial, national, religious, or ethnic origin, from all backgrounds, belief systems, orientations, and expressions. Lived experience is considered/prioritized during the hiring process.
The PSCS staff are intentionally collaborative and less hierarchical. Our Teaching Team works directly with our Administrative Leadership Team—we do not have a principal or head of school—to support the marketing and health of the organization, as well as to provide an educational environment built on community and connection. PSCS staff rely on transformative processes and commitment to social and environmental justice as a through-line to learning all subjects and embodying skills, rather than rote memorization or checking boxes. Our responsive model supports students' needs and desires, along with the experience, skills, and passions of educators.
We seek to hire 1-2 Teaching Staff members for the 2025-26 school year to facilitate opportunities based on your own skill-sets, expertise, and interests. We have the most current pressing need in the subject areas of Sex & Health, Mathematics, and Science, and are open to a configuration that fulfills these needs and supports work life balance. Employment details, including full- or part-time designation, may fluctuate based on the candidates expertise and individual desires. Two ideal candidates may surface who meet our subject area needs and who each want to work part-time, or one of whom wants to work full-time and one of whom wants to work part-time. We do our best to formulate positions that derive maximum contribution and meaning from every employee’s efforts.
Supervised by the Admin Team, members of the PSCS Teaching Team works closely with each other, our co–directors, and the school community to implement an educational program for students that supports the mission and philosophy of PSCS while remaining focused on collaboration and centering historically excluded perspectives in curriculum and programming. Teaching Staff are expected to remain somewhat flexible to participate in programs and activities not directly specified below.
- Help cultivate, design, create, and administer a broad base of educational opportunities for middle and high school students based on your skills and expertise and the needs of the school.
- Create (with support) courses that meet student needs and desires.
- Facilitate classes, field trips, Intensives, Advisory, Seminars, and other school offerings
- Co-facilitate Schedule Mapping each term.
- Co-create Foundations Weeks (3 times/year) & annual all-school retreat.
- Help locate appropriate learning materials for students per class.
- Collaborate to administer discretionary and programmatic funds.
- Write class descriptions, narrative comments, and record student progress through a narrative transcript process.
- Support/facilitate grade level Seminars, student leadership, and community engagement opportunities.
II. Serve as an Advisor to a group of students (5-10).
- Meet individually with each Advisee weekly and as needed.
- Assist Advisees with goal planning (setting and achieving).
- Assist and encourage Advisee use of Independent Study.
- Assist and encourage Advisee’s meeting all Credit & Community Service requirements.
- Track activities in which Advisees are involved.
- Gather information about Advisees from other staff and volunteers.
- Communicate regularly with parents/guardians of Advisees.
- Act as intermediary between co-directors and families.
- Coordinate 2-3 yearly Parent Conferences for Advisees.
- Write annual end-of-year Advisor Narrative Report summarizing school experience of each Advisee.
III. Participate in activities that promote an understanding of the mission statement, philosophy, and programs of PSCS.
- Attend daily Check-in, Check-out, Community Hour, and relevant Seminars & Retreats.
- Attend Board meetings one/quarter.
- Attend regularly scheduled weekly staff meetings and all In-services.
- Co-produce at least three (3) evening Parent Nights/school year.
- Attend, and sometimes co-produce, community events & open houses (3-5/year).
- Support parent/family participation in school and community events and activities.
- Maintain continuing personal and professional development.
Salary and Benefits
10 month agreement (paid over 12 months), with a base salary of $61,578 (additional pay to be discussed based on experience and commensurate with our collaborative pay grid), employer-paid medical and dental insurance, employer-paid retirement, generous Paid Time Off, tuition remission, close working team.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree; prefer candidates with experience teaching in a progressive school environment or outside of school programs.
- Experience working with middle and high school age young people.
- Experience in classroom facilitation.
- Familiarity with planning emergent curriculum, hands on discovery, experiential learning.
- Written and oral communication skills; strong collaborative planning skills.
- Flexibility in meeting the needs of a wide range of learners.
- Desire to work in a progressive environment focused on promoting self-directed learning. experiences and modelling collaboration with colleagues.
- Familiarity with Google Suite, Slack, PowerSchool, or other learning management systems.
Please email your work history and introduction letter to the
PSCS Hiring Committee, hiring@pscs.org
or via snail mail to
Puget Sound Community School
Attn: Hiring Committee
660 S. Dearborn Street
Seattle, WA 98134