Description

Band Director - Part Time (Grades 5 through 8)

A Part-Time Faculty Position (16% FTE), Early Mornings Four Days Per Week from Mid-September to Early June

 NPES is seeking an accomplished, dynamic, and culturally literate school Band Director for a Beginning Band (5th & 6th Grades) and Advanced Band (7th & 8th Grades), each meets twice weekly before school from 7:35-8:20 a.m., from mid-September to early June. In addition to directing these two groups (to which students opt-in), the Band Director collaborates with the full-time NPES Music Teacher, part-time Choral Director, and other colleagues to prepare students to perform in various assemblies and shows during the academic year, including fall, winter, and spring concerts, graduation, and periodic assemblies. The Band Director is a member of the school’s Co-Curricular Team, including educators in Music, Visual Art, Library/Media/Design-Thinking, Spanish Language & Cultures, and Physical Education. 

This is a part-time non-benefits eligible faculty position in a vibrant and engaging independent school with a deep commitment to the arts, to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to building and sustaining a strong sense of belonging and community. All told, the position includes about 250 hours of work per school year–including band instruction, prep time, collaboration, performances, and designated faculty meetings–an average of 6.5 hours per week over the course of a school year. 

Requirements

Instructional Responsibilities

     Design, plan, and implement a culturally diverse band curriculum that empowers students to express themselves authentically and creatively; that builds skills in playing and performance; and that assists students in exploring and developing their own identities while developing curiosity and knowledge about the identities of others (a curriculum that offers both mirrors and windows for all)

     Create and maintain a welcoming, interesting, affirming, and safe classroom environment for all students, one in which listening, patience, sharing, and respect are valued and practiced

     Differentiate instruction so all students can learn and grow in their appreciation of collaborative band performance and in their individual musical skills

     Establish and maintain respectful, authentic, and positive relationships with band students

     Align teaching practices with NPES’ Core Educational Beliefs

     Improve student playing, engendering pride in participation and a growth mindset

     Prepare students to perform at various school gatherings, and direct and accompany their performances

     Interact with colleagues and parents in a positive, professional, and timely manner, communicating effectively in-person and in writing

Responsibilities Beyond Instruction

     Promote the benefits of participating in NPES’ band programs to students and families

     Seeking out opportunities to connect choral content with curricula school-wide

     Collaborate effectively with faculty colleagues and administrators in planning and staging performances

     Communicate periodically with parents, colleagues, and school administration about band programming

     Seeking out local opportunities to perform (retirement communities, community centers, etc.)

     Attend the weekly Co-Curricular Team meeting and one all-school faculty meeting per month (including the opening meetings in August and the closing meetings in June)

Qualifications

     Bachelor’s or other degree in Music, Band, Performance, Music Education, Fine Arts, or a related field

     Proficiency in playing to accompany bands when needed

     Experience teaching students’ music, preferably in an elementary school setting.

     Exemplary teaching skills focused with intentionality on preparation, process, purpose, adaptability, and a growth mindset

     An understanding of the developmental needs of elementary school students at various stages (intellectually and social-emotionally) and the ability to structure and maintain a healthy, respectful, and positive classroom community

     Experience in and a commitment to including all learners in music instruction regardless of ability or differences in how one learns

     A commitment to and the cultural competence necessary to contribute with intention to an affirming, inclusive, equitable, and just community for all

     A growth mindset (seeing mistakes as opportunities for growth), an open-mind, and a belief that learning, while it involves struggle and the need for resilience, should also be a joyful experience

     Ability to work collaboratively with fine arts colleagues and other teachers to support and extend the objectives of the curriculum and to celebrate students’ creative self-expression

     Available for and interest in early-morning before-school work