Job Description

• In collaboration with the Academic Dean, create a vibrant curriculum that engages our students, stimulates their curiosity, and awakens them to the power and relevance of the past to their future lives;
• In concert with the Middle School Humanities Chair, evaluate the curriculum 5 -12, developing a plan with invested parties to adjust the curriculum over time to best serve the students currently in the school;
• In conversation with the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, co-create a department that provides both mirrors and windows for all of our students;
• Ensure that all students, regardless of their future college and career trajectories, acquire a baseline of historical knowledge and skills;
• Enhance the capacity of the department to better meet the needs of a wide variety of students in the classroom;
• Provide modeling, expertise, and feedback to the teachers in the department about excellent teaching practice;  
• Teach history in an integrated, experiential fashion that mirrors the “interdisciplinary” connections of the social sciences to other fields of study;
• Promoting Civil Discourse in the curriculum, either as or along with the Director of Civil Discourse.

Primary Responsibilities:

I. Facilitating the Professional Growth of Teachers 

The majority of a Department Chair’s time should be devoted to cultivating the human capital and professional excellence of the teachers within each Department. 

Specific responsibilities of the Department Chair include:  

• Supervision of teachers.  
• Establishing expectations for teaching, assessment, and classroom management.  
• Engaging in daily or weekly classroom observation of all teachers.  
• Providing mentoring, professional development, and ongoing feedback to teachers.  
• Overseeing the formal evaluation of faculty, in concert with Division Heads. 

II. Exercising Curricular Leadership  

• Lead Departmental conversations about teaching, learning, pedagogy, and curriculum.
• Develop and articulate Departmental learning outcomes and competencies for the PDS Department.  
• Regularly review and assess the entire curricular sequence of courses from Grades 9-12.  Collaborate regularly with the Head of Upper School and Academic Dean on the 9-12 curriculum. Collaborate with the Academic Dean and Middle School Humanities Chair to review and assess alignment and transition from grade 8.  
• Ensure that all course offerings align with the Department’s learning outcomes and that teachers of similar courses are using similar assessment and pedagogical strategies.  
• Foster a curriculum – and a teaching culture – which is both “challenging” and “supportive,” with a special emphasis on cultivating a growth mindset in students and faculty. 

III.  Managing the Day-to-Day Functioning of the Department  

• Navigate the systems of a complex institution, with many invested parties, with grace and optimism.  
• Lead regular Department meetings with clearly developed, organized agendas. 
• Assist with interviewing, hiring, and training of new faculty.  
• Oversee the course placement process. 
• Determine staffing and sectioning requirements in concert with the Division Heads. 
• Coordinate the process of placing students – both new and returning -- in appropriate courses. Work with the administrators and registrar to coordinate schedules and placement. 
• Respond to student and parental questions about the placement process.  
• Attend Department Chair Meetings.  
• Develop and manage the Department Budget.  
• Collaborate with the Substitute Teacher Coordinator when faculty are away from school.
• Communicate with parents when subject-related questions and concerns arise.  
• Teach two to three courses. 

Qualifications and Personal Attributes:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in a related field;
• Teaching experience (5+ years);  
• Ability to develop and build enthusiasm for a shared vision for the history department; 
• Expertise and experience with history curriculum design, development, implementation, and assessment; 
• Knowledge of “best practices” in teaching and learning history;
• A well-developed sensitivity, knowledge, and understanding of the diverse backgrounds of community members; 
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion;  
• Proven success in mentoring faculty;  
• A passion for learning and a commitment to academic excellence and student achievement;  
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team setting, facilitate discussion, and lead groups to consensus;  
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to bring joy and a culture of collegiality to the Department;
• Experience with integration of technology;  
• Experience with differentiated instruction;  
• Creative and resourceful, with a strong work ethic;  
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

Princeton Day School is the region's premier independent day school for students from Pre-K through Grade 12. We aspire to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive community in which all members are seen, challenged, affirmed, respected and valued. Nestled on a picturesque 106-acre campus just two miles from Downtown Princeton and with a history dating back to 1899, PDS provides students with unparalleled opportunities for discovery, exploration and innovation and seeks employees who are passionate about their work and who embrace the importance of lifelong learning.

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, statement of educational philosophy, and a link to samples of their work to the attention of Aline Silva, Director of Human Resources, at [email protected].

About Princeton Day School

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