Teaching In Jobs in Surprise, AZ (NOW HIRING)

TITLE:                        Special Area Teacher Leader in Me

CLASSIFICATION:    Certified Teacher

REPORTS TO:          School Administrator

SUMMARY:    
The Teacher is responsible for delivering rigorous academic instruction while explicitly teaching, modeling, and integrating The 7 Habits and other leadership principles into daily classroom life. The ideal candidate believes every student has unique strengths and genius, embraces the paradigm that leadership is for everyone, and is committed to building a classroom culture of trust, student voice, and shared ownership of learning. This teacher will actively contribute to the school's Lighthouse Certification journey by embedding leadership, culture, and academic best practices into their classroom and by partnering with staff, students, and families schoolwide.

PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES:
A.    Teach Students to Lead
1.    Deliver direct, explicit lessons on The 7 Habits and other leadership principles using the Leader in Me Curriculum and a schoolwide, yearlong scope and sequence.
2.    Integrate leadership language and principles into core content instruction and daily classroom routines so leadership becomes part of everything students do, not a separate subject.
3.    Guide students to make real-world connections between leadership concepts and academic content.
4.    Plan, facilitate, and mentor student-designed service-learning projects that address authentic needs in the classroom, school, or broader community.
5.    Release increasing ownership of lessons and discussions to students, including opportunities for peer-facilitated instruction.

B.    Create a Leadership Environment & Culture
1.    Design and maintain a classroom environment that visibly reflects The 7 Habits, student work, personal mission statements, and affirmations of worth and potential.
2.    Build a high-trust classroom climate through consistent Emotional Bank Account deposits, relationship-building routines, and regular check-ins with students.
3.    Partner with students to plan, lead, and reflect on classroom and schoolwide leadership events.
4.    Establish meaningful, rotating classroom leadership roles that give every student authentic responsibility and opportunities to practice leadership skills.
5.    Elicit and act on student voice, involving students in classroom decision-making, mission statement development, and continuous improvement efforts.
6.    Participate actively on a Lighthouse Team and/or classroom action team, contributing to the school's implementation plan and progress-monitoring systems.

C.    Empower Learners & Achieve Goals
1.    Teach and apply The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) so students set Wildly Important Goals (WIGs), identify lead measures, and track progress toward individual and team goals.
2.    Facilitate regular goal check-ins and accountability conversations, celebrating student growth and achievement.
3.    Align classroom goals to team, grade-level, and schoolwide WIGs.
4.    Establish and maintain student Leadership Portfolios that document academic, leadership, and personal growth across the school year.
5.    Prepare and support students in leading Student-Led Conferences with families, using Leadership Portfolios and data to guide reflective conversations.
6.    Use empowering instructional strategies peer teaching, student self-management, and metacognitive reflection that intentionally release control to students as appropriate.

D.    Professional Growth & Community Partnership
1.    Engage actively in ongoing Leader in Me professional learning, applying new strategies and reflecting with colleagues and an accountability partner.
2.    Model The 7 Habits and leadership principles in interactions with students, families, and colleagues.
3.    Communicate regularly with families about Leader in Me practices and each student's leadership growth, and invite family and community involvement in classroom and schoolwide initiatives.
4.    Collaborate with grade-level and schoolwide teams to share strategies for integrating leadership into instruction.

EDUCATION: 
Bachelor's degree in Education or related field required.
AZ valid teaching certification for the assigned grade level or subject area.

LICENSES OR CERTIFICATIONS:
A valid Arizona teacher certification
A valid Fingerprint Clearance Card

EXPERIENCE:
Prior experience teaching in a Leader in Me school or familiarity with The 7 Habits framework is preferred.
Experience with student goal-setting systems (e.g., 4DX), student-led conferences, or portfolio-based assessment is preferred.
Experience designing or facilitating service-learning projects is preferred.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITIES:
Strong classroom management skills and a demonstrated commitment to student-centered, whole-child instruction.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to build trusting relationships with students, families, and colleagues.
Willingness to participate in Leader in Me training, coaching sessions, and Lighthouse Team meetings. 
Believes every student has unique strengths and genius (Paradigm of Potential).
Believes leadership is for everyone, not just a select few (Paradigm of Leadership).
Takes initiative and models "change starts with me" (Paradigm of Change).
Seeks to empower students to lead their own learning rather than direct and control it (Paradigm of Motivation).
Values partnership with families to develop the whole child (Paradigm of Education).

WORKING CONDITIONS: The working environment is the normal classroom setting.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT: Nine-month year, Certified Salary Schedule, employee benefits in accordance with Board policies.

EVALUATION: Performance to be evaluated in accordance with Board policy on evaluation of certified staff.