High School ELA Teacher

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Website Talent Ali

Career Opportunity: High School ELA Teacher

Professional Job Summary

Uncommon Schools is seeking a dedicated and intellectually curious High School ELA Teacher to join its high-performing secondary faculty in Brooklyn, NY. This role is designed for educators who are passionate about classical and contemporary literature and are committed to closing the college completion gap in economically disadvantaged communities. The ELA Teacher is responsible for delivering a rigorous, discourse-based curriculum that emphasizes student agency, critical analysis, and sophisticated writing. By facilitating deep explorations of diverse texts, the successful candidate will prepare students for the academic independence of collegiate coursework while fostering a lifelong commitment to literacy.

Key Responsibilities

Advanced Instructional Delivery

  • Inclusive Literacy Instruction: Implement a robust, shared curriculum featuring diverse authors such as James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and Yaa Gyasi to deepen students’ intellectual identities.

  • Student-Led Discourse: Facilitate high-level classroom discussions that prioritize evidence-based claims, synthesis of complex arguments, and rhetorical evaluation.

  • College Readiness: Align daily instruction with the rigors of Advanced Placement (AP), SAT, and university-level expectations in reading and writing.

  • Adaptive Planning: Regularly analyze student writing and comprehension data to customize and write supplemental lessons that maximize learning outcomes.

Data-Driven Pedagogy

  • Collaborative Analysis: Participate in weekly sessions with instructional coaches and principals to identify student performance trends and adjust teaching strategies accordingly.

  • Differentiation: Master and apply diverse instructional methods to ensure all learners, regardless of starting point, meet high academic benchmarks.

School Culture & Community

  • Relational Teaching: Proactively build supportive, “seen and heard” environments for students, modeling the organization’s core values daily.

  • Family Partnerships: Maintain consistent communication with families to align home and school resources in support of student learning needs.

  • Professional Evolution: Engage in a continuous cycle of practice-based professional development, including weekly coaching and real-time feedback loops.

Required Qualifications & Skills

  • Academic Background: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution is required prior to the start of employment. A focus on Humanities, English, or Social Sciences is preferred.

  • Certification Pathway: While initial certification is not a prerequisite for hiring, candidates must meet NY State certification eligibility. This includes enrolling in a teacher preparation program and maintaining a minimum 2.75 GPA during employment.

  • Experience: 1–2 years of experience impacting K-12 students in urban school settings is preferred.

  • Core Competencies: Self-directed learning, high emotional intelligence, and a demonstrated commitment to social-emotional development.

About the Company

Uncommon Schools is a leading nonprofit network of public charter schools serving students across New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The organization is specifically focused on breaking the cycle of poverty through high-quality K-12 education. In Brooklyn, Uncommon Schools operates some of the highest-performing charter campuses in the state. The network is characterized by its “Uncommon” investment in human capital, providing teachers with more coaching and feedback in a single year than most educators receive in a decade. With a staff where 70% identify as people of color, the organization mirrors and celebrates the diversity of the communities it serves.

Market & Industry Context

The Brooklyn educational landscape is highly competitive, with a significant emphasis on college persistence. While high school graduation rates in New York City have risen, the “college completion gap” remains a critical focus for policy-makers. Educators at Uncommon Schools are part of a broader movement to ensure that students from underserved districts do not just enter college, but possess the rhetorical and analytical skills to thrive there.

Demographic and Performance Insights

  • Network Impact: Uncommon Schools students consistently outperform local district and state averages on standardized assessments.

  • Representation: In an industry where diversity in the teacher pipeline is a national priority, Uncommon Schools maintains a staff that is 70% people of color, providing students with representative role models and diverse perspectives.

Career Growth & Progression Path

Uncommon Schools is designed as a leadership incubator for educators:

  • Weekly Coaching: Every teacher is paired with an instructional coach for “in-the-moment” feedback, rapidly accelerating pedagogical mastery.

  • Grade Level & Departmental Leadership: Teachers can advance to lead teams, coordinating instructional strategies and academic goals across the grade.

  • Instructional Fellowship: High-performing teachers may be selected for fellowships that lead to Dean or Assistant Principal roles.

  • Principal-in-Residence: A formal pipeline for veteran teachers looking to lead their own Uncommon campus in the future.

Interview Preparation Insights

  • Coachability Test: A hallmark of the Uncommon interview is the “feedback loop.” If asked to perform a teaching demo, you will likely receive a critique and be asked to redo the segment immediately. Your ability to implement that feedback is more important than a “perfect” first run.

  • Literary Analysis: Be prepared to discuss a text from the curriculum (e.g., The Fire Next Time or Hamlet) and explain how you would guide students to discover a specific theme through questioning rather than lecturing.

  • Data Fluency: Prepare an example of a time you noticed a trend in student errors and specifically how you changed your lesson the following day to address it.

Salary & Compensation Insight

Uncommon Schools offers a highly competitive and transparent salary scale for the 2025-2026 school year:

  • Starting Salary (No full-time experience): $72,000.

  • Maximum Range: Up to $115,000 based on relevant full-time experience, certifications, and tenure.

  • Benefits Highlight: The package includes 10 weeks of paid breaks (Summer, Winter, Spring), a 403(b) match, and comprehensive medical/dental/vision coverage.

Work Environment & Location Insights

Teaching in Brooklyn, NY offers a dynamic professional environment within one of the most culturally rich boroughs in the world. The “Uncommon” work environment is rigorous and fast-paced, requiring “working hard and doing good.” The schools are characterized by high behavioral expectations, a uniform sense of community, and a “team over self” mentality. Facilities are typically technology-rich, supporting the network’s data-driven approach to ELA instruction.

Short Compliance & Equal Opportunity Note

Uncommon Schools is an equal opportunity employer that actively prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, sex, or national origin. The organization is dedicated to building a team that reflects its students’ backgrounds and ensures reasonable accommodations are provided for individuals with disabilities throughout the hiring process.

Category Details & Specifications
Employer Uncommon Schools (Nonprofit Charter Network)
Location Brooklyn, NY (Also operates in NJ, MA, and Rochester)
Mission Closing the college completion gap in disadvantaged communities
Staff Diversity Over 70% of staff identify as people of color
Student Focus K-12 students in urban schools

Compensation & Financial Benefits

Component Details
Salary Range $72,000 – $115,000 (2025-2026 Scale)
Starting Salary $72,000 (Standard for those without full-time teaching experience)
Mid-Year Adjustment Hires before June 30, 2025, receive a scheduled increase on July 1, 2025
Paid Time Off 10 weeks of paid breaks (Spring, Winter, Summer) + sick time and holidays
Retirement 403(b) program with employer match
Health & Wellness Medical, Dental, Vision; FSA/HSA/DCFSA; Mental health support

Instructional Focus & Curriculum

Area Key Requirements & Strategies
Literacy Core Student-led discourse, evidence-based claims, and rhetoric synthesis.
Author Scope James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespeare, Yaa Gyasi.
Academic Prep Alignment with AP (Advanced Placement), SAT, and collegiate rigor.
Data Usage Weekly meetings with coaches to analyze student work trends and assessments.
Inclusive Texts Prioritization of diverse and inclusive texts to deepen intellectual identity.

Qualifications & Certification Requirements

  • Education: Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.

  • Experience: 1–2 years in urban K-12 communities preferred; expertise in Humanities/English/Social Sciences.

  • Initial Status: Teaching certification is not required to be hired.

  • Mandatory Enrollment: If not certified, must enroll in a teacher preparation program and maintain a GPA of 2.75 or higher.

  • Long-term Requirement: Must obtain New York State certification within a reasonable period of employment.

Professional Development Model

  • Weekly Coaching: One-on-one sessions with instructional coaches and principals.

  • Practice-Based PD: Focus on differentiated instruction and school-wide core values.

  • Collaborative Teams: Grade-level and department-level partnerships for instructional strategy.

To apply for this job please visit uncommonschools.org.