Careers

Founded in 1923, Garden School is a small, lower tuition NYC Nursery through 12th grade independent school in one of the most diverse neighborhoods on the planet, Jackson Heights, Queens. Garden School approaches its centennial with the same enthusiasm as always, to educate the whole person across a broad curriculum, preparing them to be caring, engaged citizens for the world ahead. We believe it is a school’s job to spark, acknowledge, and promote the passions and interests of children, and look for faculty and staff who embody these goals. The Garden experience is built upon a professional and caring relationship among teachers, students, families, and administrators and a firm commitment to understand, interpret and present each child as an individual. While Garden School is the most global of all NYC schools with students and families from across the world, we are a small school with a very tight community.

Garden School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, religion, ethnicity, age, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation in its hiring and promotion of administrators, faculty and staff, and in its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and financial aid programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

JOB POSTINGS

Humanities Teacher (Full Time)

Humanities Teacher (Full Time)

Starting September 2024

Garden School is excited to announce the opening of a unique position for the fall of 2024. The position is focused on Humanities and will include a combination of Language Arts and History across middle and upper grades. Therefore, experience and expertise working with this age group as well as comfort with a range of texts and practices relevant to young readers, writers and curious historians is required.

Garden School is an innovative and collaborative environment where teachers have smaller than usual rosters so they may focus on the interests and needs of bright and sophisticated individuals all of whom are college bound. Teaching faculty at Garden enjoy a great deal of autonomy in the material they cover in tandem with well-developed support structures to employ best practices in their discipline.

The Humanities Department consists of eight faculty who teach reading, writing, and history across the school, Deans who support faculty in different grades, and Chairs for both English and History. Garden School has a 100 year tradition of centering literacy and humanities in its program, and that continues to be true today. Our philosophy is such that the value of literature is recognized across our entire program and permeates different aspects of our curriculum and we recognize the value of interdisciplinary approaches to literature, writing, and the study of history.

At Garden School, faculty enjoy small classes and are given the time and autonomy to help students develop effective routines, explore and analyze texts deeply, learn and apply important structures for writing, and demonstrate knowledge through a balance of traditional and creative endeavors across the humanities classes. Garden recently adopted a new strategic plan which calls on us to grow innovative programs that cross disciplines and challenge the notion of how students engage with learning.

This position saddles middle and upper grades with a combination of Literature and History classes. Therefore, the ideal candidate has experience teaching reading, writing, history, and/or humanities from grades 6 – 10. They should demonstrate a passion for adolescent literature, a desire to explore and connect across disciplines, and a commitment for addressing the individual child in their instruction through novel and innovative classroom experiences.

If you enjoy working with an innovative team, employing best-practice in the classroom, helping bright students achieve their potential, and seeing every child as an individual, then please forward your cover letter and resume to the attention of Mary Petruso at mpetruso@gardenschool.org

Salary Range: $50,000 – $62,500 commensurate with experience

World Languages: Mandarin

World Languages: Mandarin

Starting Fall 2024

Garden School is excited to announce the opening of a Mandarin Teacher position for the fall of 2024. The position is focused primarily on small group instruction in the Lower Division, but also includes some small introductory groups in the middle and upper grades. Therefore, experience and expertise working with a wide range of ages, and especially young children, is desired.

Garden School is an innovative and collaborative environment where teachers have smaller than usual rosters so they may focus on the interests and needs of bright and sophisticated individuals all of whom are college bound. Faculty at Garden enjoy a great deal of autonomy in the material they cover in tandem with well-developed support structures to employ best practices in their discipline.

The World Language Team consists of four faculty who focus on small group instruction with courses including French starting in grade 1 and culminating with AP in grade 12, Mandarin starting Nursery, and Spanish in grades 7-12. In addition, Garden runs Dual Language Spanish classes in PreK. World Languages are a core element of our program, and our philosophy is such that their value is recognized across the school. Thus, the Mandarin teacher has the benefit of working with students across multiple years, spiraling deeper into concepts, and building meaningful relationships with students and families.

In Nursery – 6, Mandarin is held twice weekly. Small group instruction is delivered through playful, engaging, and hands-on methods. In middle and upper grades, students may elect to take Mandarin as a third language (in addition to French or Spanish), and they are introduced to the language through a combination of traditional intro to language activities as well as culturally relevant activities. These courses are pass/fail, and groups can be as small as four. Though explicit language instruction is part of our approach, Mandarin courses emphasize the importance of cultural exposure and understanding through food, games, music, arts, and trips.

Joining a team offering a wide array of opportunities, the Mandarin Teacher has the benefit of working and collaborating with an extensive group of specialists ranging from French, Spanish, Chess, Science, Robotics, Math, Reading, Language Arts, Physical Education, Technology, Piano and Guitar, Vocal, and Fine Arts along with athletics, debate, dance, theater, and stage performance programs.

Garden’s recently adopted new strategic plan also means that there is ample room for growth as we expand programs across the school and especially in World Languages. We also aspire to enhance the interdisciplinary and interdepartmental learning opportunities. This is an exciting time to join Garden School to be at the ground level of building new and innovative programs that cross disciplines and challenge the notion of how students engage with learning.

An ideal candidate will have experience teaching Mandarin to students ranging in ages especially in the elementary grades, a passion for supporting and inspiring young learners, a desire to explore and connect across disciplines, and a commitment for addressing the individual child in their instruction through novel and innovative experiences in the classroom.

If you enjoy working with an innovative team, employing best-practice in the classroom, helping bright students achieve their potential, and seeing every child as an individual, then please forward your cover letter and resume to our Director of Finance, Mary Maisano at mmaisano@gardenschool.org

Salary Range: $48,000 – $58,000

Independent Provider for Special Education Services

Garden School is an independent school committed to the success of every one of its students. In an effort to connect families with the best possible services available, we seek a part time Independent approved SETSS provider to support children entitled to special services. Garden endeavors to bolster the effectiveness of services by interviewing, endorsing, and coordinating with a single provider for all of our qualifying students.

The current position is for approximately 15 hours weekly working in conjunction with faculty in our lower grades to provide 1:1 pull-out or after-school tutoring for a small handful of children. There is also the possibility of additional hours for someone looking to grow within our organization. An ideal candidate will have special education and elementary experience and embody a deep belief in the potential for all children to achieve.

If you are a qualified special educator, are among the list of approved independent providers for NYC schools, and interested in working with a dynamic and compassionate team of educators to support truly bright students who simply require some extra support, please contact Mary Maisano, Director of Finance, at mmaisano@gardenschool.org.

Salary Information:

Compensation for this position is through the DOE and follows their hourly rate for Independent SETSS providers.

Upper Division Math (Full Time)

Upper Division Math (Full Time)

Starting September 2024

Garden School is excited to announce the opening of an Upper Division Math position for the fall of 2024. The position is focused on upper level Math Alg I, Alg II, and Geometry in grades 8 – 10. Therefore, experience and expertise working with this age group as well as comfort with a range of intermediate and advanced topics is desired.

All STEM related subjects are housed under one umbrella to enhance the quality of collaboration throughout the school and the team consists of several Math Teachers, several Science Teachers, and Chairs for STEM, Instructional Technology, Science, and Math, along with a Tech Coordinator, and an advanced Robotics teacher. Garden School’s philosophy is such that the value of the STEM subjects is recognized across our entire program with formal Science classes beginning as early as first grade. This results in all students tracking to Calculus or AP Calculus by senior year.

Garden’s recently adopted new strategic plan also means that there is ample room for growth as we expand all of our STEM programs and invest heavily in our facilities and resources especially as it relates to Robotics, Engineering, and Maker Space. This includes the recent addition of a new Science lab, a planned summer project for another new lab, and a planned renovation of the Engineering/Maker Lab next summer. This is an exciting time to join Garden School to be at the ground level of building new and innovative programs that cross disciplines and challenge the notion of how students engage with learning.

An ideal candidate will have experience teaching various math courses from Alg I and up. Though not a requirement, a degree in math education is preferred. The candidate should be able to demonstrate a track record for teaching students to tackle difficult math concepts with enthusiasm and clarity. They should demonstrate a passion for Math, a desire to explore and connect across disciplines, and a commitment for addressing the individual child in their instruction through novel and innovative experiences in the classroom.

Salary Range: $50,000 – $62,500 commensurate with experience

Intermediate Language Arts (Full Time, grades 4 - 6)

Intermediate Language Arts (Full Time, grades 4 – 6)

Starting September 2024

Garden School is excited to announce the opening of a Lower Division Language Arts position for the fall of 2024. The position is focused on Language Arts in grades 4 – 6. Therefore, experience and expertise working with this age group as well as comfort with a range of texts and practices relevant to young readers and writers is required.

The English Language Arts Department consists of six faculty who teach reading and writing from grades 1 – 12, Deans who support faculty in different grades, and an English Department Chair. Garden School has a 100 year tradition of centering literacy and humanities in its program, and that continues to be true today. Our philosophy is such that the value of literature is recognized across our entire program and permeates different aspects of our curriculum throughout the school.

At Garden School, faculty enjoy small classes (often 8 – 10 students in the intermediate grades) and are given the time and autonomy to help students develop effective reading routines, explore and analyze texts deeply, learn and apply important structures for writing, and demonstrate knowledge through a balance of traditional and creative endeavors. Garden recently adopted a new strategic plan which calls on us to grow innovative programs that cross disciplines and challenge the notion of how students engage with learning.

An ideal candidate will have experience teaching children in grades 4 – 6. They should demonstrate a passion for adolescent literature, a desire to explore and connect across disciplines, and a commitment for addressing the individual child in their instruction through novel and innovative experiences in the classroom.

Salary Range: $50,000 – $62,500 commensurate with experience