Middle School Elective Teacher (26.27… at KIPP New York · St. Louis

Company Description

Who we are: KIPP St. Louis is a part of a national network of free, open-enrollment, public charter schools offering a choice to families and children in St. Louis City. As the largest charter school system in the city, we are driven and committed to our mission, vision, and equity statement.

Mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Vision: Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities.

KIPP St. Louis currently educates over 2,000 students and at full growth, we will educate nearly 3,600 students and hundreds of alumni. Today, our St. Louis network consists of PreK-12th grade.

What makes KIPP St. Louis unique?

We believe that our educators are proving what's possible in urban education each and every day, by inspiring students and helping them discover the joy of learning. KIPP schools support our educators to help students achieve academic excellence, building the skills and confidence they need to succeed.

Together, we are raising the bar for every student, every day.

Job Description

The Elective's Teacher at KIPP St. Louis is an exemplary educator who drives strong student outcomes through high-quality, standards-aligned instruction. This role is open to teachers across all grade levels and content areas who demonstrate deep content expertise and a commitment to ensuring all students achieve at high levels. Electives Teachers design and deliver rigorous lessons, use data to inform instructional decisions, and continuously monitor student progress toward ambitious goals. They also contribute to a collaborative team environment by engaging in shared planning, reflecting on practice, and supporting collective improvement across classrooms. Ultimately, the Elective's Teacher plays a critical role in ensuring consistently strong teaching and learning experiences for all students.

Position type: Full-time, Exempt, 10-Month

Reporting & Collaboration​

• Direct Manager: Principal
• Direct Reports: None
• Key Collaborators: Assistant Principal, Instructional Coach, Teachers, and Regional Support

Inputs: What will I be doing in my day-to-day work?

Grade-Level Rigor & Access

• Plan and deliver instruction where all students engage in grade-level standards, texts, and rigorous tasks daily
• Internalize curriculum to ensure alignment to standards, pacing, and high-quality outcomes
• Design and execute tasks that require students to analyze, justify, and apply learning
• Provide scaffolds that increase access without lowering rigor, including modeling, guided practice, and strategic supports
• Anticipate misconceptions and plan targeted supports to ensure all students can access grade-level content

What will I be evaluated on?

Instruction consistently ensures that all students engage in grade-level standards, tasks, and content aligned to curriculum and pacing, with scaffolds that maintain rigor. Student work demonstrates analysis, justification, and application, resulting in increased access and success with grade-level learning.

Student Engagement

• Design lessons where students do the majority of the thinking, talking, reading, writing, and problem-solving
• Facilitate structured academic discourse that requires students to explain, justify, and build on ideas using academic language
• Use questioning and task design to promote analysis, reasoning, and cognitive lift
• Create opportunities for students to make connections, defend thinking, and engage in meaningful dialogue
• Ensure engagement reflects cognitive work, not just participation or compliance

Students consistently do the cognitive work of the lesson, engaging in meaningful discourse, reasoning, writing, and problem-solving. Engagement is driven by rigorous thinking, with students independently explaining, justifying, and building on ideas using academic language.

Culture of Learning

• Establish and maintain a classroom environment grounded in high expectations, strong routines, and productive struggle
• Implement systems that maximize instructional time and ensure students remain focused, accountable, and independent
• Create a safe and structured environment where students take academic risks and persist through challenging work
• Reinforce consistent expectations for behavior and learning aligned to school-wide systems
• Build strong relationships with students and families to support both academic and cultural outcomes

The classroom reflects high expectations, strong routines, and maximized instructional time, resulting in a focused and productive learning environment. Students demonstrate independence, persistence, and productive struggle, taking academic risks within a safe and structured culture.

Assessment for Learning

• Embed frequent checks for understanding into daily instruction to assess student thinking in real time
• Analyze student responses and adjust instruction immediately to address misconceptions and advance learning
• Provide clear, timely, and actionable feedback that enables students to improve their work
• Monitor student progress toward learning goals and ensure students understand success criteria
• Implement data-driven cycles, including reteach and intervention, to accelerate student achievement

Instruction is continuously informed by frequent checks for understanding, with real-time adjustments based on student thinking. Students receive actionable feedback, engage in revision, and demonstrate measurable progress toward learning goals through effective data-driven instruction cycles.

Outcomes & Accountability:

Professional Practice & Contribution

• Consistent alignment to the KIPP St. Louis Instructional Framework in planning, instruction, and reflection
• Active participation in collaborative planning, data analysis, and professional learning
• Responsiveness to coaching, with observable growth in instructional practice over time
• Contribution to instructional coherence across classrooms and teams

What skills should I already bring, i.e., what should I already have a track record around?

• Demonstrated ability to drive measurable student achievement and growth
• Strong classroom management and ability to create structured learning environments
• Effective use of data to inform instruction and close learning gaps
• Ability to plan and execute high-quality, standards-aligned lessons
• Proven collaboration with colleagues to improve instructional outcomes
• Strong communication skills with students, families, and staff

What should I know a lot about already, i.e., what should I have expertise in?

• Deep understanding of grade-level standards and content in your subject area
• Research-based instructional strategies and best practices
• Data-driven instruction cycles, including assessment analysis and reteach planning
• Curriculum internalization and lesson planning aligned to rigorous outcomes
• Strategies for supporting diverse learners, including intervention and differentiation
• Classroom culture systems that maximize learning and student engagement

Qualifications

What you bring to the table:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in education or related content area
• Minimum of 2+ years of successful classroom teaching experience
• Valid Missouri Teacher Certification
• Demonstrated commitment to improving outcomes for historically underserved students
• Strong communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills

Preferred

• State teaching certification
• Experience in a high-performing, data-driven school environment
• Track record of driving significant student achievement gains
• Experience with standards-aligned curricula and assessment systems
• Leadership experience within a grade level, content team, or school initiative

Additional Information

What we bring to the table:

KIPP St. Louis is committed to pay equity and to ensuring that we do not unintentionally perpetuate historic wage gaps that persist due to individual negotiations. As a result, salaries are not negotiated. We are transparent about salaries in our job postings so that candidates can make an informed decision before beginning the hiring process. You can find our teacher salary scehdule here.

We are a fast-paced, energetic team and family with passionate people who are leading a movement, and to cultivate the best working environment, we provide the following:

• $0 deductible healthcare plan option, including medical, vision, and dental.
• Employer-Paid Short-Term Disability.
• $50,000 life insurance policy at no cost to the employee.
• Retirement plan through PSSRSSL with an employer match up to 14% and an optional 403b as a supplement to our pension program
• Employee Recognition: When we succeed together, we celebrate together with our annual gala award ceremony, holiday party, and more!
• Public Service student loan forgiveness program qualified employer.
• Ongoing professional development.

Generous time off:

• Paid leave for illness, personal days, bereavement, jury duty, and military-related leave
• Paid parental leave for new families
• Paid holidays, as well as a one-week Thanksgiving break, a two-week winter break, a week-long spring break
• Wellness days provided throughout the year

Hiring Timeline and Steps

The anticipated start date for the role is August 3, 2026.

KIPP St. Louis is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for all our students, families, teachers, staff and community members. As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.