Garden Teacher

This is a flexible position, part-time $40/hr to full-time exempt at $63K plus benefits, depending on the school’s and candidate’s teaching capacity and needs.

About our school:

Wildcat Canyon Community School is an independent, coeducational, non-sectarian Pre-K-Grade 5 day school located i n the township of El Sobrante, California, minutes from Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco. We have recently set the groundbreaking for a new school after 40 respected and hard working years as the East Bay Waldorf School. Many school community members have remained committed through this transition and are looking forward to building a strong, Waldorf school program that meets the needs of our current time. In this time of renewal, we are striving to build a community that reflects all voices and backgrounds.

We are working diligently and are committed to supporting such a diverse student body and their families as well.

We have been given the opportunity to be stewards to a remarkable 11-acre hillside campus and an additional 80-acres which can provide endless opportunities for building community partnerships and developing programs. The desire to work with local community members and native indigenous groups live within the school community. The campus and its adjacent wildlands function as an extension of the school’s classrooms, providing hands-on, immersive opportunities for students to spend time learning and playing in nature. Included within the campus lies a biodynamic garden and orchard where the children learn to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and other plants. Spacious grassy fields and hiking paths adorn the campus, providing space for the children to enjoy a variety of outdoor, physical activities.

We feel honored to cultivate a school resonant with the impulses of Waldorf education: a development of the “head, heart, and hands” in children, which offers them health-giving, living education in service of realizing and making their own unique contributions to the future.

Responsibilities:

East Bay Waldorf School’s (EBWS) Garden Teacher will be a proactive, enthusiastic, and committed school professional who authentically enjoys interacting with staff, faculty, students and families.

The garden teacher ensures that students are taught a myriad of subjects in the garden and on our 91 acres. These include working together, movement, science, math, nutrition, social studies, language arts, etc.

Duties:

Creates a curriculum that includes activities in an outdoor environment for students in grades 1-8,
Collaborates with classroom teachers to ensure that work in the garden supports the classroom curriculum,
Coordinate, oversee, and facilitate students’ hands-on experiences in the garden (planting, tending, harvesting, cooking, etc.),
Maintains the garden,
Coordinates volunteers for the garden

Job Responsibilities:

Facilitates garden-based education classes,
Manages the school garden,
Plans and prepare for garden work activities,
Manages planting schedule,
Maintains tools and all garden materials,
Coordinates school-wide garden events,
Attends subject teacher meetings and faculty meetings
Monitors and documents student activities for the final class report

Experience:

Waldorf Education training/experience desired,
BA desired,
At least 2-3 years of facilitation or teaching experience with youth aged 5-12 outdoor group management experience,
Knowledge of Indigenous communities and willingness to collaborate with them,
Knowledge and skills in facilitating social emotional learning
Knowledge and skills in small-scale organic food production or home gardening,
Knowledge of or interest in topics including urban gardening, botany, environmental science, health and nutrition, food systems, etc.,
Demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations,
Strong oral and written communication skills, including public speaking skills,
At least 2-3 years of facilitation or teaching experience with youth aged 5-12 outdoor group management experience,
Ability to work independently and be flexible,
Computer skills and project management skills.