Employment at Sycamore School
How to find out about job openings at Sycamore School:
Job openings for teachers, assistants, and academic administrators
are usually posted on the school’s website and on the Indiana
Department of Education’s website: http://www.doe.state.in.us/peer/welcome.html
In addition, openings are sometimes announced in the classified
ads in one or more Indianapolis newspapers. Administrative openings
are often advertised through the Green Sheet, a publication for
private schools.
| Sycamore School is an equal opportunity employer.
It is Sycamore's policy not to discriminate with respect to employment terms and conditions on the basis of age, gender, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status or sexual orientation. |
How to apply for a job at Sycamore School:
To apply for a position at Sycamore School, please send a current
résumé and a cover letter explaining the nature of
your interest to head of school, Sycamore School, 1750 West 64th
Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260. You may submit a résumé
at any time, and it will be kept on file for a year, to be considered
if an appropriate opening should appear. The interview and hiring
process is based on the résumé and other requested
materials until near the end of the process. At that point, a detailed
application form is completed by the candidate for employment.
Classroom Teachers and Assistants
Classroom teachers at Sycamore School are hired on the basis of
their training, experience, personalities, and their perceived enthusiasm
and energy for teaching. Lead teachers typically have a license
to teach and several years of successful teaching experience. Teachers
hired at Sycamore who do not have specific training in gifted education
are asked to get that training at school expense in a timely manner.
While we generally prefer experienced teachers with a background
in gifted education, Sycamore has benefited greatly from the current
training, energy, and enthusiasm of beginning teachers. Those teachers,
as well as veterans who join us, are supported in their professional
development through ambitious school funding for that purpose.
Classroom assistants at Sycamore School are in every classroom
up through fourth grade. In the middle school (grades five through
eight) there are shared assistants in some subjects. Specialists
teach music, art, Spanish, physical education, and computer at all
grade levels. Classroom assistants in early childhood and lower
school often have the same training as lead teachers, but we have
also had assistants who were nurses, a pharmacist, an engineer,
and a Harvard M.B.A. The assistants work under the direction of
their classroom teachers, interacting with students in many instructional
activities, on field trips, and providing class supervision at special
events. The classroom assistant position is often an ideal way for
a young teacher to gain experience when a full time teaching job
does not appear elsewhere. Other assistants find that this is a
way to participate professionally in school life without all of
the responsibility for planning and conferencing that lead teachers
have.
Teachers and assistants are sought out by the division heads in
early childhood, lower school, and middle school. The division heads
screen résumés and conduct preliminary interviews.
Finalists are interviewed by classroom teachers and the head of
school. When possible, teacher candidates are asked to teach a sample
lesson to a class of Sycamore School students.
Other School Employees
Classroom teachers are supported in their work by members of the
administration, the office staff, the consulting psychologist, and
the maintenance staff. The purpose of all non-teaching positions
at Sycamore School is to support and facilitate the teachers’
work with students and parents. The procedure for hiring non-teaching
staff members varies with the position being filled. Administrators
are hired by the head of school, following procedures that he/she
believes are most appropriate for the position to be filled.
The Hiring Process
The typical hiring process involves résumé reviews,
interviews, reference checks, and a police background check. For
administrative positions, there is usually consultation within the
school, usually involving teachers, parents, students, and board
members. All hiring at Sycamore is formalized through a contract
or a letter of agreement issued by the head of school. The head
of school is hired by the Sycamore School board of trustees. All
other employment and staff management is the head’s responsibility
in concert with relevant members of the administration.
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