Part-Time, Seasonal Founding Coaching Positions · Reports to the Athletic Director · High school diploma required; Bachelor’s degree preferred · Illinois Professional Educator License, or an Illinois High School Association (IHSA)-approved coaching certification completed before the first practice, required · Concussion training as Illinois law requires, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), automated external defibrillator (AED), and First Aid certification, required before the first practice · Playing or coaching experience in the sport required for head coaches and preferred for assistant coaches; high school coaching experience preferred · Knowledge of IHSA rules and the Chicago-market athletics landscape is a plus · College-preparatory, independent, Jewish day or faith-based school experience is a plus. Being Jewish is not a requirement for this role. Fewer years but exceptional craft? We hire for mastery, not seat time.

Do you believe a season can change a young person? Do you coach the whole athlete: the skill, the character, and the habits that last long after the final whistle? Are you excited to build a team’s first traditions at a brand-new school in downtown Chicago? If so, Davis School Chicago wants to hear from you.

The Dream Team

Davis School Chicago is a proudly Jewish, college-preparatory high school opening in fall 2027 in downtown Chicago, in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of a great city for learning. Every adult at Davis Chicago is an educator and a culture-builder. We hold two expectations at the same time: deep human warmth and uncompromising intellectual excellence. High health and high results, never one at the cost of the other. This is a summary of the characteristics that describe our dream team. Please read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator and more information about our opportunities before you apply.

To thrive here you are:

• Warm and intellectually formidable. Genuinely kind and seriously bright. We hire for intellectual horsepower; only sharp minds grow students to their full potential.

• You bring the room to life. Passion people feel, loud or quiet, with the range to teach, support, and lead.

• A builder who owns it. Startup grit, a real growth mindset, open about mistakes, gives the gift of feedback, and the drive to create what doesn’t exist yet.

• Teach how to think, not what to think. Rigor, evidence, and a love of hard questions, including the controversial ones. Students reach their own conclusions.

• Rooted in tradition, built for what’s next. Ancient wisdom and modern tools, AI included, aimed at today's problems.

• Unapologetically Jewish. Israel has a right to exist; that is not up for debate. Everything else is fair game, including spirited debate about Israel’s actions. You’re excited to help build a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel school.

What Davis Chicago Needs

Davis Chicago is hiring the founding head and assistant coaches for its first teams. The school opens in fall 2027 with a focused first-year lineup across the IHSA fall, winter, and spring seasons, set as the founding class arrives and student interest is known. This one posting covers every sport and season: the application asks which sports you coach, at what level, and in which seasons you are available, and we match coaches to teams as the lineup is set. Coaching stipends layer onto any Davis School Chicago faculty or staff role, so if you also teach, apply to the teaching posting that matches your craft and tell us that you coach. Davis School Chicago has also posted a part-time Athletic Director role with a full-time pathway; if you lead programs as well as teams, apply to both.

Who Thrives in This Role

• Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.

• A Teacher on the Field – Plans practices like lessons, so that every athlete on the roster gets better.

• Character First – Competes to win and teaches that how you win matters: effort, respect for opponents and officials, and a team that lifts one another.

• An Entrepreneurial Builder – Thrives in ambiguity, solves problems, and creates programs, systems, and traditions from the ground up.

• A Curious and Courageous Thinker – Embraces learning, evidence, critical thinking, and meaningful debate.

• Rooted and Forward-Looking – Honors tradition while embracing innovation, technology, and AI.

• Committed to Jewish Life and Community – Values Jewish identity, the diversity of Jewish thought, and meaningful engagement in Jewish life.

• A Collaborative Culture-Builder – Balances accountability, care, and results while elevating everyone around them.

The Role

Head coaches lead a Davis Chicago team for its season: the plan, the practices, the competitions, the culture, and the development of every athlete on the roster, within IHSA rules and the school’s standards. Assistant coaches work under the head coach to teach skills, run practice segments, and supervise athletes. Coaches report to the Athletic Director and work alongside the school’s athletic trainer on safety. In education-based athletics the coach is a teacher whose classroom is the court, the field, and the course.

These are founding seats: the first teams set the standards, the traditions, and the reputation of Davis Chicago athletics. As founding coaches, the people in these roles help establish the practices, expectations, and traditions that support the long-term success of the athletic program and the broader school community. Practices and competitions follow the school calendar, including Shabbat and the Jewish holidays, and typically run after school, with some evening and weekend competition.

1. Coaching and Athlete Development

• Plan and run practices that teach fundamentals, strategy, rules, and proper conditioning in a season-long progression, and prepare the team for competition, the core work of a coach under the National Standards for Sport Coaches of the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America).

• Develop every athlete on the roster, not only the starters: set individual and team goals with athletes, give specific feedback, and track growth across the season.

• Build a team culture of effort, sportsmanship, and mutual support in which athletes cheer, challenge, and hold one another to the standard.

• Model and teach ethical competition: respect for opponents, officials, and the rules, and the discipline to compete fully and lose well.

• Keep learning the sport and the craft: rules updates, coaching education, and the evidence on adolescent training and development.

2. Safety, Health, and Compliance

• Hold and keep current every credential Illinois and the IHSA require of a coach: an Illinois teaching license or an IHSA-approved coaching certification (the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) coaching and first-aid courses with the IHSA By-law exam), concussion training every two years, and CPR, AED, and First Aid certification.

• Follow the school’s emergency action plan, concussion protocol, and return-to-play rules in partnership with the school’s athletic trainer; recognize and report injuries, and never return an athlete to play against medical direction.

• Know and follow IHSA by-laws and the school’s eligibility, conduct, and transportation rules, including the rule that all coaching compensation flows through the school.

• Supervise athletes from arrival to departure at every practice, contest, and team activity, home and away, and complete the school’s mandated-reporter and student-safety training.

• Teach safe technique, proper warm-up and conditioning, hydration, and the heat and weather precautions appropriate to the sport.

3. Program Operations

• Communicate practice and competition schedules, expectations, and changes clearly and early to athletes, families, and the Athletic Director.

• Keep accurate rosters, attendance, results, statistics, and award records for the program.

• Care for equipment and uniforms, and help the Athletic Director plan each season’s needs.

• Attend the pre-season coaches’ meeting and other required meetings, and close the season with an honest end-of-season review.

4. Community and Culture

• Contribute actively to the vibrant culture and mission of Davis School Chicago; coaches are educators and culture-builders here.

• Champion sportsmanship and the visible, joyful presence of athletics in school life.

• Represent Davis Chicago well with opponents, officials, host schools, and the broader community.

• Support school events and team celebrations that honor athletes and build tradition.

5. Family Engagement

• Hold a pre-season meeting with families that sets expectations: philosophy, communication, playing time, schedules, and how concerns are raised.

• Communicate with families regularly and respectfully, and route eligibility, discipline, and medical questions to the right colleague.

• Partner with teachers and advisors so that athletes are students first and the season supports their academic success.

Qualifications

• Education: High school diploma required; Bachelor’s degree preferred.

• Certification: Illinois Professional Educator License, or an IHSA-approved coaching certification completed before the first practice, required; concussion training per Illinois law and CPR, AED, and First Aid certification required before the first practice; ability to complete a fingerprint-based criminal history records check and required trainings.

• Experience: Head coaches: coaching or competitive playing experience in the sport required, high school coaching experience preferred. Assistant coaches: playing or coaching experience in the sport preferred. Familiarity with IHSA rules and Chicago-area competition a plus.

• Craft: Evidence of teams young people loved playing on and athletes who got better because you coached them.

Core Competencies

• Teaching the Sport: fundamentals, strategy, and conditioning taught in a progression.

• Safety and Compliance: certified, prepared, and within the rules, every season.

• Culture: sportsmanship and character, every athlete developed.

• Communication: athletes, families, officials, and the Athletic Director.

Compensation and Benefits

Coaching positions are paid a stipend per season, set by role, sport, season length, and roster size: head coaches $6,500–$7,700 per season and assistant coaches $4,500–$5,000 per season, reviewed as teams and enrollment grow. Coaches who are Davis School Chicago faculty or staff receive the stipend in addition to their salary, and all coaching compensation is paid by the school. Paid leave and paid sick leave accrue as required by law; seasonal coaching positions are not eligible for the school’s benefits package.

How We Hire

Our process is thorough and we believe that hiring is a dual decision-making process; you are vetting us as much as we are vetting you. Our process includes focused conversations with the people you would work with, a battery of assessments we use for your development as much as for selection, and interview rounds both in-person and virtually. We use artificial intelligence tools in our recruitment and hiring process to help review and organize applications and interviews; every hiring decision is made by a person. Davis School Chicago is an equal employment opportunity employer.

Is this you?

This isn’t for everyone. If it’s you, it may be the best work of your life. Read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator, then apply.