Interim Adolescent ⅞ Math Guide: Junior High Program (1 Year Interim)

Level: 7th and 8th Grade

Classification: 1.0 FTE, Exempt

Our Mission

Lake Country School is a Montessori learning environment that fosters independence, critical thinking, and creativity within each child. We are a community that promotes diversity and inclusion, as well as respect and responsibility to self, to others, and to the earth.

About Lake Country School

Lake Country School (LCS) is a vibrant Montessori community serving students from Children's House through Junior High, including a unique Land School program. We are committed to Montessori pedagogy, strong faculty culture, meaningful family partnerships, and a deep commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Justice. Our urban and rural campuses offer a rich and distinctive educational environment, and our community is passionate, engaged, and mission-driven.

Position Summary

Lake Country School seeks an Adolescent Math Guide to teach mathematics, specifically a foundation in Algebra, to 7th and 8th grade students in our Junior High program. This position is highly collaborative. The Math Guide co-teaches with the Science Guide in our integrated Field Studies program, taking the lead directing Math lessons and supporting Science lessons. The Math guide also works closely within the JH core team composed of the Field Studies and Humanities teachers (English and Social Studies), as well as with specialist teachers and Land School staff to connect learning across subjects.

The Math Guide creates an engaging classroom where students build mathematical understanding and skills through inquiry, problem solving, discussion, and real-world applications that reflect diverse perspectives and reference their own experience. The guide helps students develop confidence, independence, and perseverance while providing instruction and support that meets the developmental needs of adolescents.

Beyond the classroom, the Math Guide is an active member of the Junior High team, participating in field experiences, camping trips, travel, and student mentorship. The guide also shares responsibility for planning school programs, participating as a member of the staff community in development, planning and outreach work, and helping maintain a safe, welcoming, and well-prepared learning environment. 

Essential Responsibilities

Teaching & Curriculum

• Teach math at the 7th and 8th grade levels, continuing to develop a hands-on Montessori algebra curriculum that builds on concepts, practices and materials from Children's House, Elementary 1, and Elementary 2, including some utilization of the IXL program. 

• Deliver a curriculum of foundational algebra over the two years of Junior High, designed so students can access it in either order (typically a linear year and an exponential year).

• Implement student-centered, inquiry-based learning grounded in the developmental needs and tendencies of the adolescent, along with curriculum writing and systematic best practices in math teaching from a diverse perspective.

• Use practical applications and projects to make math concepts accessible and spark genuine interest.

• Establish clear objectives for lessons, units, and projects using formal and informal assessment data.

• Use a variety of culturally relevant practices to support content standards and the needs and capabilities of individual students and groups.

• Create a classroom environment conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity and interests of the students.

Team Teaching & Curricular Integration

• Co-teach with the Junior High Science Guide, applying math curriculum to concurrent science curriculum. For example: exponential growth and cell reproduction; ratios of surface area to volume and forms in nature; multiplication of exponents and frequency relationships in the musical scale (the "circle of fifths"); calculating mechanical advantage; and many more.

• Collaborate with the Science guide to utilize their experience to support in the classroom and to create and schedule lessons, co-ordinate support for students across both disciplines, and support Science lessons when needed.

• Collaborate as part of a team of professional educators creating an environment that serves students holistically across the entire Junior High Program.

Experiential Learning & Key Experiences

• Co-lead and attend Key Experiences: a 15-day camping trip in the fall; leading a crew of students through a month-long theater experience and production in the winter; and a 5-day bike and camping trip in the spring.

• Engage in trips and experiential learning with students, and oversee and support students in their experiential learning throughout the year.

Mentorship, Community & Belonging

• Serve as a mentor to 7th and 8th grade students, helping them develop independent thinking and self-reliance through purposeful work.

• Partner with students, teachers, and parents to nurture and assess student development in all areas: social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and moral through in-person check-ins, conferences, and written reports.

• Help students practice emotional self-regulation skills to develop resilience, a growth mindset, and an appreciation for supported, repeated practice as the primary path to math competency.

• Help students overcome negative self-concepts about their mathematical ability and guard against future self-imposed limitations.

• Commit to community instruction: mixed-gender, mixed-grade, and mixed-ability classrooms without tracking, while using informal grouping for differentiated instruction and extended challenge where helpful.

• Support students in applying math skills individually and through assigned group collaboration, eliciting participation from all students and developing peer support and leadership within groups.

• Promote inclusivity and a sense of belonging for all; nurture compassion for others and the environment; promote a vision for peace through social change, and support the development of leadership through service to the Junior High community and larger communities.

Professional Responsibilities

• Maintain accurate, complete, and correct records.

• Implement all policies and rules governing student life and conduct, both at school and on field trips.

• Conduct and participate in parent conferences and phone conferences as needed.

• Perform other duties necessary for the Junior High Program as assigned by the Head of School or supervisor.

Professional Development

• Maintain and improve professional competence through ongoing professional development.

• Pursue continuous learning in anti-bias, anti-racist teaching and culturally relevant pedagogy.

• Participate in appropriate Montessori training as needed; may involve travel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher preferred.

• Strong math proficiency.

• Mathematics and/or Minnesota teaching certification, or experience teaching math at the middle or secondary level, preferred.

• Understanding of the Montessori philosophy of education; AMI Montessori certification preferred.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a natural collaborator who participates in community life and service, and who genuinely enjoys the outdoors, camping, and learning alongside adolescents.

Employee Benefits & Professional Development

LCS offers a robust employee benefits package, including: health, dental, short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance; a 5% no-match-required 403(b) employer contribution; 100% employer-covered MN Paid Leave premium; free before- and after-school care for staff children; sponsorship and training; and travel and study grants.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Lake Country School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. LCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.

Accommodations

Lake Country School is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process. If you require an accommodation to participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact us and we will work with you to identify an appropriate accommodation.