Social Studies Teacher | Founding Years Middle School | ECPA

Edmonds Cofield Preparatory Academy for Young Men (ECPA) is New Haven’s first dedicated middle school for young men. Our mission is to develop resourceful, resilient, and responsible young men who think critically, lead ethically, and contribute positively to their communities. ECPA provides a rigorous academic experience that fosters mastery of learning while preparing students to navigate real-world choices with confidence and integrity. Through exposure to entrepreneurial thinking, leadership development, and hands-on learning opportunities, our young men cultivate the skills and mindsets necessary to excel in high school, college, and beyond.

About The Opportunity

Edmonds Cofield Preparatory Academy for Young Men seeks a thoughtful, mission-aligned Social Studies Teacher to help build a rigorous, relevant, and identity-affirming humanities program for grades 5–7. As Connecticut’s first all-boys public charter school, ECPA is still in its founding years, with a small but growing community of young men and a staff committed to building strong routines, meaningful relationships, and a school culture designed specifically for boys. As we expand grade levels and deepen our identity, you’ll help shape the traditions, systems, and learning experiences that will define the school for years to come — including establishing a social studies program that strengthens critical thinking, civic understanding, and students’ sense of place in the world.

This is an exciting opportunity for an educator who believes deeply in the intellectual potential of boys, is committed to equity, and is eager to design learning experiences that help students understand history, examine society, and see themselves as informed thinkers, emerging leaders, and active participants in their communities.

Responsibilities

• Deliver engaging, standards-aligned instruction in history, geography, civics, and social sciences that builds content knowledge, analytical skills, and curiosity about the world.
• Create a classroom culture where young men feel safe to ask questions, debate ideas, and explore multiple perspectives, while developing confidence as thinkers and communicators.
• Design foundational curriculum, routines, and structures for a high-quality social studies program — shaping scope and sequence, selecting materials, and establishing traditions that will grow with the school.
• Integrate literacy, writing, and discussion-based learning to strengthen students’ ability to construct arguments, analyze sources, and engage in meaningful dialogue.
• Collaborate with colleagues to connect social studies learning across disciplines and contribute to a vibrant, values-driven school culture during these critical founding years.
• Partner with families and the community to highlight student learning, build civic awareness, and make social studies a visible, celebrated part of ECPA’s identity.

Instructional Excellence

• Plan rigorous social studies learning by intellectually preparing standards-aligned, inquiry-driven lessons that reflect ECPA’s deeper-learning approach and build students’ historical thinking, civic reasoning, and analytical skills.
• Deliver high-quality instruction that develops core disciplinary skills—analyzing primary and secondary sources, constructing arguments, evaluating evidence, and engaging in rich discussion and debate.
• Build strong, affirming relationships that create a classroom where young men feel safe taking intellectual risks, asking questions, and exploring complex social, cultural, and historical ideas.
• Integrate culturally relevant and responsive practices to make social studies meaningful, identity-affirming, and connected to students’ lived experiences and communities.
• Use data and ongoing assessment (exit tickets, writing tasks, source analyses, student discourse, formative checks) to differentiate instruction and ensure every learner is known and supported.

Classroom Culture & School Community

• Establish a structured, joyful classroom grounded in mutual respect, high expectations, and consistent routines that support productive discourse and collaboration.
• Model and reinforce ECPA’s values to help boys grow as scholars, leaders, and responsible young men—both in the classroom and beyond.
• Partner with families to build trust, share progress, and ensure shared ownership of student growth.
• Contribute to school life by supporting events, leading a club or enrichment experience (Humanities-related or otherwise), and helping build emerging traditions that strengthen community.

Collaboration & Professional Learning

• Engage in weekly professional learning, including coaching, co-planning, department work, and grade-level collaboration focused on strong instruction and deeper learning.
• Collaborate with colleagues to build a positive, high-performing adult culture centered on continuous improvement and shared responsibility for student success.
• Give and receive feedback to refine instructional practice, strengthen classroom routines, and improve student outcomes.

Leadership & Contribution Beyond the Classroom

• Lead Innovation Lab experiences—clubs, project-based enrichment, showcases, or community-based projects—that extend learning beyond the classroom and give students authentic opportunities to apply their historical thinking, civic reasoning, and social-scientific inquiry.
• Support common school routines (arrival, dismissal, lunch, recess, transitions) to ensure safety, consistency, and a positive, identity-affirming school culture.
• Lead a homeroom/advisory that builds community, fosters authentic relationships, and supports students’ social-emotional development and sense of belonging.
• Help design and implement schoolwide systems, rituals, and traditions, including exhibitions, performances, and public demonstrations of learning that strengthen ECPA’s emerging identity and celebrate student voice.

Founding Years Responsibilities

• Shape and refine schoolwide systems—academic routines, culture practices, community rituals, and enrichment structures—as ECPA grows into a full 5–8 middle school.
• Embrace feedback and adapt with flexibility, modeling a growth mindset as the school evolves.
• Take ownership of schoolwide initiatives and contribute to special projects that advance the mission in a dynamic, early-stage environment.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher
• Valid teaching certification or eligibility to obtain required CT certification through reciprocity
• 2–3 years of successful teaching experience, with a demonstrated track record of strong student achievement
• Ability to build a safe, affirming, and intellectually challenging classroom where young men feel supported and pushed to engage deeply in meaningful work
• Reflective practice and personal accountability for student growth, achievement, and overall experience
• Genuine excitement for working in a Founding Years environment and in a single-gender, all-boys school community
• Demonstrated commitment to educational equity, youth development, social-emotional learning, restorative practices, and culturally responsive pedagogy
• Deep alignment with the mission and values of ECPA, including an unshakable belief in the potential of every student to learn, grow, and achieve at a high level

Preferred Qualifications

• 3-5+ years of teaching experience with a strong record of student achievement
• Experience in an urban, high-expectations, or charter school setting
• Experience in a single-gender and/or founding school environment, ideally with middle-grade learners

Mindsets We Value

Our team is passionately committed to the vision and values of Elevate Charter Schools and Edmonds Cofield Preparatory Academy for Young Men. The ideal candidate will have a positive mindset, a very strong work ethic, an inner drive for excellence, and will thrive working in an entrepreneurial and results-driven environment. Additionally, we deeply value, and are actively seeking candidates who demonstrate, the following mindsets and beliefs:

• Mission-Driven: In addition to deeply aligning and embodying the mission and values of ECPA, you believe in the brilliance and promise of all students, particularly young men and young men of color, and want to be part of their success story.
• Growth-Oriented: You welcome feedback, are deeply reflective on your personal practices, and are constantly seeking to improve your craft.
• Entrepreneurial: You are flexible, solutions-focused, and energized by the opportunity to build something from the ground up.
• Collaborative: You thrive in a team-based culture and believe that collective effort drives school success.
• Commitment to Excellence: You hold yourself, and others, to the highest of standards and have a student-centric, “whatever it takes” mentality to create a learning community where all students and stakeholders can grow and thrive.

Pay

The salary range for the Social Studies Teacher position is $50,500 to $90,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications, and reflective of the responsibilities and expertise needed to succeed in this position. Final salary may be adjusted based on experience and qualifications.

Benefits

In addition to competitive compensation, Elevate offers a range of comprehensive benefits packages to all regular, full-time employees at a competitive value.

Physical Requirements

This position requires the ability to perform the following physical activities with or without reasonable accommodation:

• Mobility: Ability to move around the school building and classrooms, attend meetings, and participate in professional development activities.
• Vision: Clear vision to engage with students and stakeholders in a variety of settings and to monitor classrooms/school environments for student safety and well-being.
• Hearing: Ability to hear conversations and presentations in various settings.
• Communication: Clear speech to effectively communicate with teachers, staff, administrators, and families/caregivers.
• Occasional Physical Demands: Ability to lift and carry light materials (such as books and documents), bend or reach to access files or materials, and stand for extended periods during meetings or presentations.
• Stamina: Ability to lead instruction across the school day with sustained energy and focus.

Elevate Charter Schools is committed to providing a supportive work environment and will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.