Middle School Social Studies Teacher - 26-27 School Year

About the role

Launch EL Charter School seeks a Middle School Social Studies Teacher who believes that history is not a collection of dates and names to memorize — it is a living argument about power, identity, and what it means to be human. At Launch, social studies is the heartbeat of our expedition-based model. The big questions students wrestle with in ELA, science, and advisory find their grounding in the historical and civic work of this classroom.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver standards-aligned social studies lessons using the Savvas curriculum as a core instructional resource
• Create and lead project-based learning experiences where students investigate authentic historical and civic questions, produce research-backed work, and present their findings to real audiences — exhibitions, community forums, and beyond
• Teach history through multiple lenses, ensuring students regularly examine events and systems from the perspectives of those who were marginalized, erased, or misrepresented in dominant narratives, and can articulate why those perspectives matter
• Guide students through close reading of complex primary and secondary sources — including documents, images, maps, speeches, and data — using transferable questioning strategies to build content knowledge and historical thinking skills
• Provide explicit writing instruction across the forms social studies demands: argumentative essays, historical narratives, research papers, op-eds, and document-based responses that require students to construct and defend claims with evidence
• Facilitate structured Socratic seminars, evidence-based discussions, and EL Education protocols that develop students as thinkers who can hold and interrogate multiple perspectives at once
• Differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners, including students in ICT settings, students with IEPs, English Language Learners, and extension groups, using small group instruction, flexible grouping, and targeted intervention and enrichment
• Use formative and summative assessment data to drive small group work, adjust whole-class instruction, and adapt your teaching before it is too late to matter
• Prepare students for Social Studies assessments through targeted, data-informed preparation that builds disciplinary literacy and historical reasoning without narrowing the broader program

Requirements

• Unwavering commitment to equity, Launch's mission, and the EL Education model
• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred
• Valid New York State Teaching Certification in Social Studies preferred
• Strong content knowledge in history, civics, and social studies with a demonstrated ability to teach through culturally relevant frameworks
• Familiarity with primary source analysis, document-based questioning, and disciplinary literacy in social studies
• Teaching experience in an urban setting preferred; middle school social studies experience preferred
• Documented success moving student achievement, with clear evidence of growth over time
• Comfort differentiating instruction across a range of learners including students with IEPs, ELLs, and advanced learners

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred
• Valid New York State Teaching Certification in Social Studies preferred
• Strong content knowledge in history, civics, and social studies with a demonstrated ability to teach through culturally relevant frameworks
• Familiarity with primary source analysis, document-based questioning, and disciplinary literacy in social studies
• Teaching experience in an urban setting preferred; middle school social studies experience preferred
• Documented success moving student achievement, with clear evidence of growth over time
• Comfort differentiating instruction across a range of learners including students with IEPs, ELLs, and advanced learners

Benefits and Compensation

• Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) and/or Roth IRA with employer match; flexible spending accounts (Health Care FSA, Dependent Care FSA, Transit); short- and long-term disability; Employee Assistance Program with mental health, family, and wellness support; professional development funding and ongoing coaching; parental leave; summer benefits.
• Compensation: $65,000 - $115,000 annually, commensurate with experience. Salaries at Launch are set through a lens of equity and based on an individual's skills, education, and years of relevant experience.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Launch is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual or group for reasons of race, color, creed, sex, age, culture, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability. We actively recruit, hire, and retain a diverse and inclusive staff because we believe our team should reflect the communities we serve.