Elementary Teacher

Prairie School of DuPage is a small, private, elementary school located on 42 acres of prairie, woods, and wetlands in Wheaton, Illinois. We provide a progressive, nature-based, and project-based education to students aged 3-14. Our mission is to educate and inspire the whole child, preparing each student for a life of discovery by cultivating a strong sense of self, compassion and respect for others, and a deep connection with the natural world.

We Do This By:

• Cultivating independence by emphasizing hands-on, real-life learning experiences 
• Using differentiated instruction in open, multi-age classrooms
• Recognizing and celebrating nature, by spending time outdoors and studying our immediate environment and the larger natural world
• Developing core academic skills through project-based, authentic work that is integrated across multiple subjects including the arts.
• Modeling sustainable environmental practices through recycling, reusing, and composting 
• Fostering important skills of organization, cooperation, leadership, independence, and self-efficacy through camping and other authentic experiences

Job Description

Prairie School of DuPage seeks a full-time elementary classroom teacher to join our team. All our full-time teachers participate in outdoor programming daily during all seasons and in all kinds of weather. The classes use all 42 acres of wetlands, woods, and meadows for investigations through all four seasons. This position collaborates with our faculty team to integrate outdoor education, nature education, and environmental education into the academic curriculum through seasonal activities that include, but are not limited to: hiking, daily observations and nature journaling, birding, plant-insect-leaf and tree identification, animal tracking, weather station building/data taking, planting and harvesting in the school garden, orienteering, mapping, camping, fire building, maple tapping and syrup making, owl pellet collection/dissection and more. This position leads up to 2 off-campus camping trips annually. The teachers use a variety of approaches to create an authentic, hands-on, project-based curriculum with assessments based on the common core standards. This position has tremendous creative freedom and an exciting opportunity for the right teacher. 

Qualifications:

•     Bachelor's degree in Education or a field related to the subjects being taught, or in an environmental/natural science-related field required

•    4+ years of experience working in a classroom setting, preferably with elementary-aged children

•    An affinity for nature and the outdoors and enjoys being outside in all kinds of weather

•    Excited to learn alongside the students and share a love of lifelong learning outside of the academic classroom.

•    Passionate about, or interested in learning more about the local environment, flora, and fauna and/or an art/craft background with a skill set that can be taught and applied to classroom project work.

•    Collaborative and inclusive working style

•    Curious, energetic, hardworking, and a positive attitude

•    Commitment to serving and furthering the educational philosophy of Prairie School of DuPage

•     Ability to differentiate within a mixed-age group classroom

•     Demonstrated ability to use compassionate classroom management techniques

•     Strong organizational and interpersonal skills

•     Have a working understanding of constructivist and place-based educational models and an interest in implementing progressivist pedagogy