Upper School French Teacher

POSITION DESCRIPTION                                                                                                                 

St. Catherine's School is an Episcopal day school in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1890 enrolling 946 girls age 3 through grade 12.  Located on a 16-acre campus in the western part of the city, St. Catherine's core values include pursuing academic excellence, developing character, nurturing spiritual growth, celebrating individuals, and building community. 

St. Catherine's School provides a rigorous education that prepares girls with diverse perspectives for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and service in a global community.

POSITION OVERVIEW

St. Catherine’s School seeks a committed, enthusiastic, and innovative Upper School French teacher who demonstrates mastery of the French language both in writing and orally to begin work for the 2025-2026 school term. The Upper School World Language program provides a well-rounded education in French language, society, and culture. It provides instruction in reading, speaking, writing, and comprehension as well as lessons in literature and culture in the target language. Moreover, the World Language program seeks to instill in each student a love for exploring other cultures and peoples through language study.

Supervisor:     Head of Upper School

Supervisory Responsibilities:  N/A

Position Status:  Salaried, exempt, full-time, regular, 9-month

Hours of Work:  Standard work week.  Occasional evening chaperoning and travel supervision as needed.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES 

●        Create a classroom community based on the School’s core values

●        Implement and uphold the School’s access, equity, and belonging initiatives

●        Develop and implement a French curriculum that includes a focus on skill development and proficiency, which incorporates authentic Francophone cultural products, practices, and perspectives.

●        Plan, teach, and assess multiple levels of French in the Upper School World Language Department

●        Work collaboratively and align with colleagues in the department

●        Serve as an Upper School advisor

●        Sponsor extracurricular activities

●        Assist in leading the Upper School’s X-Term experiential learning program

●        Serve on committees when requested

●        Find joy in working with students and the wider School community both in teaching and taking part in the broader life of the School

Note:  This position description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work to be performed by employees within this classification.  This position description should not be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities required or assigned to an employee in this position.  Nothing contained in this position description restricts St. Catherine’s School’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT 

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to sit; stand; walk; use hands to grasp, handle and feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch and crawl; talk and hear; engage in moderately strenuous physical activity both indoors and out; and smell. The employee may occasionally lift or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.  Ability to become CPR and First Aid Certified.

TRAVEL 

Occasional overnight and out-of-area travel may also be required for special events.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT 

St. Catherine’s School does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its hiring practices. St. Catherine’s School is committed to providing an inclusive educational environment. We actively engage students, families, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Our School community respects the differences in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. Consistent with the School’s mission, St. Catherine’s fosters in our students, and experts from all others, respect for the dignity and wholeness of every person. For more information about the school’s Access, Equity and Belonging please follow this link https://www.st.catherines.org/about/access-equity-and-belonging.

CONDITIONAL OFFERS 

An offer of employment for this position is contingent upon the applicant’s right to work in the United States, authorization for and completion of successful background checks as may be requested by the school or required by law.

BENEFITS 

St. Catherine’s School offers a highly competitive compensation package for this full-time position with benefits to include excellent health plan options, retirement benefits, exhaustive professional development and networking opportunities as well as state-of-the art facilities.

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS 

●        Bachelor’s degree in French (Master’s preferred)

●        Experience in and passion for teaching French at the Upper School level

●        Demonstrated creative and energetic teaching

●        Strong classroom management skills

●        Articulate current trends in world language education with a proven history of implementation of these trends

●        Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written

●        Proficiency in the latest and most relevant educational technologies

●        Uphold the high standards of the School’s established program

PREFERRED

●        Ability to coach a sport 

●        Ability to teach courses in other disciplines