Computational Thinking & Computer Science Teacher

Beaver Country Day School—an independent day school located just outside of Boston, serving grades 6-12—seeks a future-focused passionate educator who can nurture a culture of innovative thinking in the area of computational thinking. The Computational Thinking & Computer Science Teacher is a full-time faculty position for the 2022-2023 school year. 

About Our School & Our People:

We are not your typical independent school. Education is not traditionally seen as forward-thinking. But that's not the case at Beaver. We welcome change and seek feedback to continuously improve. Our "Launch, Test, Refine" mindset promotes flexibility, risk-taking, open-mindedness, and innovation. Our business is providing a future-focused education rooted in real-world context and experience and our clients are our students. 

The Beaver mindset and approach to teaching place our students at the center of learning experiences in all settings, curricular and co-curricular.  

• Our students in grades 6-12 are interesting and passionate individuals, who, above all, are genuinely happy to be at Beaver. We provide students with opportunities to be co-creators of their learning, making it a deeper, more meaningful experience.  We are committed to providing an educational environment in tune with the real world and doing authentic work.  

• Our teachers and educational leaders are committed to—and excited about— expanding the nature of school, and igniting and fueling the passions of all our students.  

• Our mindset is to make excellent mistakes, launch/test/refine, and not be defined by binary thinking. Instead, we look to approach things from a both/and outlook: tradeoffs don’t have to be the answer and instead, that’s where creativity comes in. We are a community of creative thinkers and doers. 

• Our values include collaboration, partnership, and above all, creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment for our community. This work is a priority and steadfast commitment. It is never “done”, and we will always make decisions with this at the core of who we are. For all Beaver students to feel a sense of belonging, it’s important that they see themselves reflected in the community, curriculum, and all our programming. 

• Our goal every day is to create a school that is making an impact – for our students, and for education as a whole. We don’t take that work lightly, we need people that are relentlessly committed to it and excited to do this work—together.

About the Position:

The Computational Thinking & Computer Science Teacher will help lead a new effort to incorporate computational thinking into the curriculum in both the middle and upper school. Beyond just teaching classes on these topics, this position will work closely with other Beaver teachers to incorporate computational thinking into other subject areas to teach these vital concepts in an interdisciplinary way. Beaver seeks to move beyond just code and ensure that students understand the inherent capabilities of and limitations of technology, recognize that algorithms can inherit the bias of the systems and people in which they were created, understand how data is collected and used, and not only navigate but influence their digital world. This position will be part of a 7 person Research + Design Team that works to imbue their work throughout the school. 

Responsibilities:

• Teach computational thinking / computer science classes.

• Develop new course offerings that provide for deeper exploration of CT/CS such as Algorithms and Data Structures, First Principles: NAND to Tetris 

• Work with students on Student Directed Projects related to computational thinking and projects that include programming in Python, P5, Javascript, Swift and other programing languages

• Work with the Director of Technology and the Director of Teaching, Learning and Innovation and other key stakeholders to define what computational thinking means to Beaver 

• Work with other faculty to incorporate computational thinking concepts into their courses

• Be an advisor to a group of 6-8 students and be part of a Grade Team

• And other responsibilities as assigned

Approach to teaching and learning:

The successful candidate will have a commitment to:

• Aligning the work of computational thinking to the BVR Mindset and New Basics as critical to the Beaver Student Experience

• A future-focused education with an understanding of the complexity and ever-changing nature of the world our students are inheriting

• A “next practice” mindset that understands how teaching and learning are changing and how practices should adapt 

• Student-centered, culturally proactive, and responsive pedagogy in which all students are met where they are, and see themselves represented and valued

Additional things to know:

• We take cleaning and building safety seriously. You can feel confident in an attentive and flexible model of work that prioritizes our community health at every step. 

• Complete vaccination against COVID-19 is currently a condition of employment at Beaver Country Day School. The School considers requests for exemption on medical or religious grounds on a case-by-case basis. The School’s COVID-19 and other policies are subject to change at any time.

• Breakfast and lunch provided, as well as coffee and snacks.

• Generous Benefits (Health, Dental and more). For more information visit our website.

• Breakfast and lunch provided, as well as coffee and snacks.

• Free parking and close to the MBTA Green Line D.