Massachusetts

Student

The student is an 11 year old boy. He has attended schools in the USA, Switzerland and the UK but hasn’t yet found a school that suits his learning needs. He has been homeschooled since November with a group of tutors supporting this under the leadership of a homeschool headteacher. As well as the academic objectives, a principal focus has been to establish a healthy trust-based relationship between the student and his teachers. This has been successful, with a strong rapport and common purpose being developed. The intention is that this foundation is built upon going forward from here with the new teacher.

Job Description

The teacher will have suitable experience and expertise teaching students of the appropriate age level and will be comfortable teaching across the full core curriculum (math, science, language arts, social studies). They should be experienced teaching in the US system. The student has some specific learning needs which the teacher needs to be able to identify and respond to. Experience and capability in this area is very important, ideally supported by a Masters level qualification in Special Needs Education.

• A structured program of study will be needed to support the student’s school work, with the student having input into short, medium and long-term goal setting.
• The teacher is expected to follow through on delivering the rigour, both academic and organizational, that will allow the student to flourish and to achieve his potential.

The family has a network of staff, including several educators and other childcare professionals. As part of this structure there is a home schooling headteacher who has overall responsibility for the integration and management of the education staff and the student’s progression, as well as the education journey of the student’s older siblings, who have now moved on to higher education. The teacher will be expected to be a key part of this team, responding flexibly to changes of plans and supporting the other team members to allow everyone to deliver the best possible experience for the student and the wider family.

• The teacher will share responsibility for the student with other household staff when the parents are not in the country. This is likely to be a significant portion of the school year. The teacher must be comfortable living in the house with the tutor and with in loco parentis responsibilities.
• During the school holidays the student will be with his parents. The teacher may be required to accompany him on occasion.

The right to live and work in the USA is a requirement. The teacher should have other skills and interests to contribute beyond their mainstream teaching ability. The intention is to expose the student to a wide variety of extra-curricular areas. The teacher should have interest or experience in suitable activities that they will be able to offer to the student. They should also be willing to get involved in supporting him as he takes part in activities from third party providers.

Comprehensive documentation of teaching, learning activities, and student progress should be maintained, including written records and supporting materials as appropriate.

Hours and Holidays

• This is a full-time position, with the teacher expected to do whatever is needed to get the job done without “clock watching”, but they should expect to spend around 40 hours with the student per week – any planning and preparation would be in addition to this.
• The teacher will usually get weekends off, but flexibility is expected as the “weekend days” may need to be changed from time to time.
• The teacher will be entitled to reasonable paid holiday, to be taken at times convenient to the client.

Accommodation and Travel

• The teacher will be provided with accommodation near to the family home.
• All costs associated with travel will be covered by the client.