Elementary School Teachers (Grades K to 8)

St. Clement's School; Kelowna; On-site; CAD 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking passionate educators to join their innovative teaching team. At this unique school, teachers are encouraged to break traditional boundaries and engage students through diverse learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom into nature and the community. This role demands creativity, resilience, and a commitment to maximizing learning depth and time. If you thrive in a high-performance, collaborative environment and are ready to embrace the challenges of outdoor and community-based education, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• Must manage diverse learning environments: classroom, nature, and community.
• High expectations for pedagogically sound lesson planning.

Responsibilities

• Create and execute learning experiences in various environments.
• Manage liability issues and community partnerships effectively.

Skills

Classroom Management

Curriculum Development

Outdoor Education

Community Engagement

Education

Bachelor of Education

Teaching Certification

Job description

Why only learn behind a desk when you can learn outside? Why limit students to one building when we have a whole city to explore? At The Balsam School, our city and nature are important classrooms.

Our purpose is to continue to expand the depth of student learning at all grade levels through the purposeful and pedagogically sound incorporation of our community and nature as vital, comprehensive, and integrated learning spaces. Our students build learning confidence and resiliency by pushing beyond the expected. Our students are always safe, but not always comfortable.

As a fully certified Group 1 Independent School, The Balsam School aspires to be a true alternative learning option for families and not re-create what is already available, and is a right, in our public school system. The Balsam School offers a unique and demanding learning program that exposes children to many incredible experiences, environments, and engaging learning opportunities. From visits to art galleries, lessons with local chefs, wild foods foraging, and long hikes in the forest, Balsam goes to where the learning is and fosters the creation of deep connections with nature and our community.

When a teacher joins The Balsam School, they take up a unique and challenging mantle. Teaching at The Balsam School is a very demanding experience, and expectations are set very high. For a teacher employed by a traditional school, the only variables they need to manage are planning and preparing learning experiences to occur 99% of the time within their classroom. They often have the support of a librarian, music teacher, art teacher, and a language teacher who will rotate through their class each week. A Balsam Teacher is expected to create and execute learning experiences that occur in three very different learning spaces: their classroom, nature, and our community. Liability issues must be managed, locations scouted and reviewed, weather prepared for, community partners scheduled, multiple daily transitions managed, and all within the expectation of a pedagogically sound and planned lesson that meets the requirements of the BC curriculum. Our teachers love the additional challenge of teaching at The Balsam School because they know the immense reward in learning that our students experience. Learning time and depth is expected to be maximized each day at Balsam.

As you can imagine, there are many moving pieces in any learning experience created by our teachers. One of the variables that can undo hours of preparation and limit both the time and depth of learning is disruptive student behaviour. Teacher time and school resources are not meant to be spent on correcting and managing student behaviour that consistently diminishes learning experiences. Students participating in such behaviour are given until the end of the academic term it is noted to correct it before consideration is given to transitioning to another school that better suits the way they engage in learning.

Due to our continued growth, we have openings for three 1.0 FTE positions.

Teachers looking for a high-performance, collaborative, and supportive professional learning community where boundaries are pushed and risk encouraged are welcome to apply!