Penn Fellows Program: Teaching Fellow - Math

Penn Fellows Program: Teaching Fellow - Math (2-year fellowship, 2024-2026)

Overview of School:

Sonoma Academy is an independent high school located in Santa Rosa, CA on a 34-acre campus, surrounded by 1,000 acres of protected open space, at the base of Taylor Mountain. Founded in 2001, it provides an engaging, challenging, and innovative college preparatory education and a supportive community for motivated learners from Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Lake, and Mendocino counties. The school currently serves 330 students in grades 9 through 12 and is increasing its enrollment each year. Of our 330 students, over 30% self-identify as students of color, and our students come from 80+ middle schools, ensuring a broad mixture of students from all over the greater North Bay Area.

Our Mission: Sonoma Academy calls its students to be creative, ethical, and committed to learning. The school nurtures inspiring teachers and engages with the surrounding community, and its students communicate across cultures as they prepare to become leaders in a dynamic world.

Sonoma Academy's Commitment to Diversity: We believe that learning occurs best in a connected community. Diversity, equity, and inclusivity are essential to an education in which all members of our community thrive. We are committed to cultivating a diverse community that is conscious and welcoming of difference, dedicated to investigating and advancing equity, and engages with our local and global community. If you would like to join us in our work, we would welcome your application. As we are deeply committed to having a staffulty (staff and faculty) and student body which reflects the rich diversity within the North Bay, we strongly encourage candidates from BIPOC and/or educators from communities that are historically underrepresented to apply.

For more information on programs and philosophy, please visit our website: www.sonomaacademy.org.

The SA Penn Fellows Program:

Sonoma Academy is a proud partner in The Penn Fellows Independent School Teaching Residency, which supports early career teachers as they begin their journeys as independent school educators. Led by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education in partnership with a small consortium of independent schools nationally, this innovative teacher education program combines the latest research on learning theory and pedagogy with hands-on classroom experience supported by close mentorship.

SA Penn Fellows are teachers and graduate students. Each fellow teaches a modified load that grows over time (ranging from one to three courses per term). Simultaneously, Fellows work toward a Master of Science Education (M. S. Ed.) through the University of Pennsylvania with accomplished researchers and educators at the Penn Graduate School of Education, attending several on-site sessions each year, either on campus in Philadelphia or at fellow consortium schools.

SA Penn Fellow - Math Responsibilities:

Sonoma Academy is seeking to hire a Penn Fellow in Math for a two-year position to begin in the summer of 2024. Please note that the successful candidate is required to attend the Penn Fellows program in Philadelphia from June 23 through June 28, 2024.

The Penn Fellow will be responsible for teaching multiple Math courses with the possibility of teaching elective courses in other areas of interest and subject-matter expertise. The overarching goal of the STEM curriculum is to provide students with the opportunity to learn and hone skills within a context. Considerable emphasis is placed on understanding and appreciating the richness of mathematics and applying mathematical tools to complex and real situations. Our courses incorporate a variety of interdisciplinary projects. We look for patterns and attempt to describe, explain, and model these patterns mathematically. There is extensive use of technology, instrumentation, graphing calculators, and computers to assist in problem solving, data collection, modeling, and analysis. In addition to teaching, the Penn Fellow will participate fully in co-curriculars, Student Life programs, Advisory, and Department, Faculty, and Staffulty meetings.

Required Skills, Competencies and Experiences:

• BA/BS in related academic field

• Demonstrated passion for subject area

• Commitment, desire, and ability to work in a student-centered high school environment

• Ability to reflect on their own identity in academic and community spaces

• Desire for growth in their understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion to inform their work in all aspects of school life

• Readiness to collaborate effectively and to receive feedback, reflect, and adapt

• Proven capacity to manage time, workload, and stress

• Demonstrated desire for continued learning, growth and graduate-level courses

• Curiosity about learning theory, pedagogy, and adolescent growth and well-being

• Flexibility, resilience, and a joyful approach to work and collaboration

Compensation:

• Salary. To ensure fairness while considering the regional variability of the cost of living, Penn specifies the salary range for Fellows nationwide. In the current school year, Fellow salaries range from $26,586 to $43,600. The planned salary range adjustment for the 2024-25 school year has yet to be finalized by the University. It should be noted that all fellows, regardless of their year, receive the same compensation.

• Housing Stipend. To account for the high cost of living in Sonoma County/North Bay, we will also provide our fellows with a housing stipend.

• Tuition. Sonoma Academy and Penn Fellows share in the cost of the fellows' tuition at the University of Pennsylvania. Recently, partner schools have paid $19,000-20,000 annually in tuition for each fellow. Fellows have paid approximately $4,000-$5,000 each year in tuition to the university.

Benefits of working at SA:

• Comprehensive benefits package, including 100% paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees with several plan options to meet individuals' specific needs. Benefits also include life, disability and worker's compensation insurance.

• Commitment to professional development, including generously-funded training opportunities and a dedicated "exploratory fund" of $450 annually for learning opportunities unrelated to work.

• Healthy and nutritious lunch service offered at no cost to employees during the school year (when on campus and our kitchen operational)

• A professional work environment defined by teamwork, collegiality, trust, agility, and altruism.

Work Environment:

• This position operates in a professional classroom environment at a private, independent high school.

• This is a full-time position with occasional evening and weekend work.

To Apply

• Interested candidates should complete the application and submit the materials below to this website https://careers.jobscore.com/careers/sonomaacademy:

  • cover letter expressing particular interest in this position at Sonoma Academy;

  • current resume;

  • academic transcript; and

  • list of three professional references with name, relationship, phone number, and email address (references will not be contacted without the applicant's permission).

Sonoma Academy is an equal opportunity employer. Sonoma Academy does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.