Teaching Artist (on-call)

SFJAZZ is seaking a Teaching Artists with experience in education, with an emphasis on written and performance poetry, to teach within our School Programs (Jazz in the Middle).

About SFJAZZ School Programs

SFJAZZ brings world-class jazz artists out of the concert hall and into the community, connecting youth and adults, students and professionals, musicians and non-musicians with a diverse array of interactive programs and events. From field trips to our unique SFJAZZ Center Auditorium, to hands-on learning in their very own classrooms with artists, our School Programs give students access to jazz’s critical history.

Jazz in the Middle

Established in 2001, Jazz In the Middle (JIM) sends poets and musicians into middle school humanities classrooms to unlock the storytelling potential in students. Teaching Artists draw on the history of jazz from a social, historical, and artistic perspective to generate original poetry pieces that reflect the ideas, emotions, and passions of the students related to the themes covered during JIM residencies. The final two to three sessions are dedicated to rehearsal and preparation for a final performance where students showcase their work.

JIM nurtures students’ social voice and explores connections to the African Diaspora, focusing on our shared experiences and cultures, and discovering what these intertwined histories have to say about the present. Students work individually and collectively to reflect through various writing exercises while developing leadership, critical analysis, communication, reading comprehension, and public speaking skills in a creative and engaging environment. An essential element to our pedagogy is the importance of expression. Student voice is an instrument for change, and through this program we provide students with the skills necessary to more effectively speak truth to power. The final day of each residency includes a showcase, open mic, reading, or collective share-out from students of their writing during the 9 to15-week residency. Our goal is to use African Diasporic history as a basis to equip students with the tools to become better writers, readers, and performers of poetry.

Responsibilities

- Lead Jazz in the Middle residencies across San Francisco and Oakland public and charter middle schools demonstrating positive classroom management techniques.

- Uphold rules of conduct at program sites.

- Work with diverse school and site partners in adapting to individual classroom needs and culture.

- Maintain timely communication with SFJAZZ Education staff and program sites via email, phone, and in person.

- Attend monthly meetings, training, and professional development sessions throughout the school year.

- Facilitate generative writing workshops and support students in conceptualizing, writing and performing (at least) one poem at the end of each residency.

- Participate in evaluation of the program via surveys and other feedback loops.

- Identify, Recruit, and coach middle school students for the annual poetry showcase.

- Develop process-based, sequential curricula that reflect SFJAZZ’s mission and values.

- Perform in the annual Youth Poetry Showcase.

- Teaching Artists are expected to commit to and teach residencies that range from 9 to 15 weeks in duration .

- Any absence must be communicated to SFJAZZ School Programs staff as soon as possible and requires participation in a mandatory make-up session(s) scheduled in coordination with SFJAZZ Education staff and the school site, and a makeup lesson shared with teachers on date of absence.

- Once a Teaching Artist has confirmed their availability and accepted a residency assignment, that commitment is considered final. Confirmed residencies may not be cancelled except under extraordinary circumstances approved by SFJAZZ.

Required Qualifications

- Experience teaching creative content to middle school students in Black and Brown, low income and otherwise marginalized neighborhoods.

- Demonstrated ability to teach poetry, creative writing or spoken word in a classroom and/or after school setting.

- Knowledge and understanding of African Diaspora as well as jazz history.

- Willingness, desire and ability to interact with children and adults from varying racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

- Ability to design and facilitate curricula, lesson plans and workshops about Black history for middle school students using a variety of mediums.

- Knowledge of age-appropriate teaching methods and best practices for collaborating with classroom teachers.

- Openness to receiving detailed feedback on teaching and classroom practices as they relate to SFJAZZ’s methodology.

- Ability to teach in at least two sites at a time (at least four residencies in either one full day, two mornings, two afternoons or some combination thereof).

- Excellent verbal, written, and oral communication skills.

- Reliability, punctuality and flexibility.

- Experience developing unit plans and lesson plans.

- Familiarity with reporting to a manager remotely.

- Must pass background check, fingerprinting, and TB test or assessment prior to hire.

Preferred Qualifications

- Bilingual in English and Spanish

- At least 1-2 years demonstrated experience teaching.

- Experience working with unique student populations such as English language-learners, students with disabilities, learning differences, etc.

- Programming experience and collaboration with classroom teachers is a plus.