Position: Watertown Middle School ESL Teacher (anticipated opening for SY 24-25)

Department: Secondary

Location: Watertown Middle School 

Reports to: ML Director and Principal 
Affiliation: Watertown Educators Association Unit A

Salary range: As determined by Salary Schedule, Unit A

Summary: Watertown Public Schools seeks outstanding applicants for the position of WMS ESL Teacher. It is a full-time Middle School ESL Teacher position at WMS. 

Position Responsibilities & Duties:

Working under the general supervision of the Multilingual Learner (ML) Director as well as building administration, the successful candidate will plan and teach a self-contained English Language Development (ELD) class as well as co-teaching with content teachers. They will work collaboratively with members of the department and the school to support student learning and growth. It is anticipated that the person may co-teach math, social studies, and/or science. Candidates who are bilingual are strongly preferred and encouraged to apply. 

• The preferred candidate will be prepared to teach ESL and either majored in ESL or have completed a significant amount of ESL coursework in order to ensure their ELD services are effective in meeting the needs of the MLs.

• The candidate should be engaging and provide rigorous grade-level instruction for language development and access to grade-level content.

• A passionate language teacher, the candidate should have strong academic knowledge and the ability to teach students to communicate effectively and thoughtfully, justify their reasoning, and consider multiple perspectives while building their self-esteem alongside their emotional, social, ethical, and academic growth.  

• The candidate will be able to properly identify MLs in a timely manner and be able to administer the WIDA ACCESS, the WIDA screener, and/or the WIDA MODEL.

• The candidate should have experience teaching literacy skills and be familiar with providing reading and writing instruction and phonics to middle school students.

• The candidate should possess good communication and interpersonal skills in order to have ongoing collaboration with core academic teachers and provide MLs with sheltered instruction and other effective strategies in their classrooms as well as other people’s classrooms.

• The candidate should work effectively and creatively with colleagues.

• The candidate would regularly communicate with parents as required and as appropriate.

• The candidate should have experience working with and/or teaching middle school students; an understanding of the needs of students at this age; a collaborative work ethic; and a commitment to inclusive pedagogy.

• The candidate should be proficient in the use of email, spreadsheets, Google Docs, etc. for department communication and file sharing is required.

• The successful candidate will invest in the life of the school by actively participating in professional development such as faculty and department meetings, as required.

• Demonstrated professional behavior, including discretion, judgment, and integrity as well as effective interaction with a diverse population of students and faculty, is essential.  

Qualifications/License:

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education license as a 5-12 ESL teacher.
• A minimum of a Bachelor's degree is required; a Master's degree is preferred. 

• All prospective employees must be able to clear the required background checks.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Watertown Public Schools is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.