Orchard House Middle School
History and Homeroom Teacher
(Revised 11-19-2025)
General Information:
● Teaches grades 5-8 middle school history: World History to 500 C.E.; World History 500-1500 C.E.; U.S. History to 1860; and U.S. History, 1860-1970
● A ten-month, full-time OR part-time salaried teacher. Because the History program requires up to five different course preparations, the school welcomes applications from candidates who are interested in teaching a reduced number of preps.
● Teaches one additional History course beyond the typical course-load of a full-time teacher (World History I)
● Start date August 15, 2026 (orientation prior to start date)
Reports to: Head of School FLSA Status: Exempt
Mission and Values:
Orchard House Middle School educates and inspires middle school girls in a responsive, academically engaging community that fosters each girl’s intellectual curiosity, social responsibility, emotional integrity, and physical well being.
Diversity and inclusion are central to Orchard House’s mission. As part of our broader effort to ensure that our hiring process and our community reflect that mission, we are actively seeking candidates to help us build a team with diverse backgrounds. All applicants should be enthusiastic about these principles and eager to carry them forward in their curricular and relational work.
Responsibilities (History): Ability to envision, design in detail, develop, and execute a well-rounded History program that incorporates discussions, debates, presentations, games, skits, art, applied technology, collaborative assignments, research papers, note-taking, essay-writing, critical thinking, and field trips. Effective lessons compare and contrast historical themes; demonstrate historical patterns and multi-causality; incorporate primary sources; make interdisciplinary connections; and challenge students to make the transition from the descriptive to the analytical. The content is also inclusive with an equal emphasis placed on the lives of the powerful and not so powerful so that students can grasp how diverse groups of people contributed to the human experience.
Job Description (History):
The History teacher is responsible for the following essential duties:
1) Teaching up to five sections of history (grades 5-8);
2) Using teaching techniques that support the mission and philosophy of the school which include discovery and constructivist approaches to learning;
3) Establishing a learning environment that inspires learning;
4) Attending faculty and departmental meetings;
5) Communicating with parents through conferences and other means;
6) Completing student reports in a timely manner;
7) Following personnel policies as described in the Employee Handbook and supporting student behaviors as described in the Family Handbook;
8) Participating fully in the life of the school in terms of academics (providing high quality instruction to students); professionalism (continually focusing on professional growth and renewal); culture (engaging in collegial activities and supporting all members of the school community).
Homeroom and CORE – Responsibilities
Homeroom teachers serve as each girl’s primary advocate and the primary liaison for communication between school and home. They work closely with the student support team to nurture each girl’s development and to foster a positive, responsive learning environment. Homeroom teachers are charged with promoting the school’s yearly agenda, cultivating positive and substantive interactions within their group, and overseeing, advocating for, and communicating about each girl’s safety, education, and optimal growth.
Job Description (Homeroom):
The Homeroom teacher is responsible for the following essential duties:
1) From 8:15-3:45 a homeroom teacher is the main person responsible for each girl in his or her homeroom. This means on days when the daily schedule is altered, it is the homeroom teacher’s responsibility to ensure that each girl is accounted for and monitored.
2) Be in homeroom or at Morning Meeting by 8:10.
3) Hold each girl accountable for punctuality to homeroom or to Morning Meeting.
4) Take roll and report it at a designated time each day.
5) Oversee and monitor your homeroom at Morning Meetings, WINCOM, or events: if necessary, take corrective action. This includes checking for dress code violations each morning.
6) Use homeroom times on Tuesdays and Thursdays as an intentional time to foster the positive development of each girl, to develop the skills and agenda set out by the school, and to cultivate substantive interactions among the class.
7) Communicate with each girl individually in an advisory capacity as needed.
8) Communicate proactively for each girl with all necessary constituencies.
9) Evaluate trends in report cards, behavior (including RESET totals), report any concerns proactively.
10) Lead the rotation for your homeroom in which faculty discuss students.
11) Lead the annual class meeting.
12) Facilitate and support student-led conferences.
13) Assume any additional homeroom responsibilities as needed by the school.
14) Record attendance and tardies via FACTS.
15) Attend weekly homeroom teacher meetings.
16) Maintain proactive communication with co-homeroom teacher.
Job Description (CORE):
The CORE teacher is responsible for the following essential duties:
1) Teach CORE one section per week.
2) Develop, refine, and share an annual, grade-level CORE curriculum.
3) Share a yearly calendar of grade-level CORE activities.
4) Work with CORE Co-Coordinators and other CORE teachers to ensure the overall. CORE program is mission aligned, philosophically cohesive, and well-articulated.
Essential Skills (History):
1) Bachelor’s Degree (required) with History as a major; Master’s Degree (preferred); Endorsement in History is optional;
2) A minimum of two years experience teaching in a school environment (preferred);
3) Knowledge of middle school girls’ education; passion for teaching and for working with middle school students;
4) Strong communication and organizational skills; ability to apply technology effectively;
5) Strong instructional planning and preparation skills; ability to evaluate all students’ progress consistently and effectively;
6) Ability to teach in a manner that supports different learning styles;
7) Ability to hold students to high but not necessarily uniform standards;
8) Willingness and ability to assess student work in multiple ways and in a timely manner;
9) Flexibility; commitment to refining familiar teaching strategies and to exploring and developing new teaching strategies, including online/distance education teaching;
10) Strong orientation towards personal/professional growth and success;
11) Strong orientation towards teamwork, institutional success, and community success.
Work Environment:
1) On-site;
2) Off-site (field trips, professional development, meetings), as required;
3) Additional hours as required.
