EMPLOYMENT

The Taft School is an independent, co-educational, boarding and day school for 570 students in grades 9-12. It is located in Watertown, Connecticut, a community of 30,000 residents located within 45 minutes of both New Haven and Hartford.

Admission to The Taft School is highly selective, and applicants are from the fifty states and abroad. Most students have distinguished themselves academically and/or extracurricularly at their previous schools. One-third of entering students receive some form of financial aid.

Taft's 115 faculty members are committed not only to their disciplines, but also to life in a residential community. In addition to their academic and administrative responsibilities, faculty members share residential, athletic and extra-curricular duties.

The academic program includes a traditional core curriculum as well as a large variety of elective courses, including a strong program in the Arts. The School offers a myriad of Advanced Placement courses in all disciplines, and there are many opportunities for independent work. Athletics are an important part of the Taft experience as is the great variety of extracurricular activities.

The School was founded in 1890 by Horace Dutton Taft, brother of the US president. His mission of educating the whole person still rings true today, as does the School motto: Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret (Not to be served but to serve).


TEACHING POSITIONS

Candidates for faculty positions should send a resume, transcript and two letters of reference to Chris Torino, Dean of Faculty, The Taft School, Watertown, Connecticut 06795

All teaching positions have been filled for the 2008-09 school year.


In addition to full-time teaching positions, Taft awards one-year teaching fellowships (see below) to recent college graduates.

Information about the summer intern program of the Taft Summer School can be obtained by contacting the Director of the Summer School, Steven McCabe .


NON-TEACHING POSITIONS

Currently the school is looking for experienced personnel in the following fields:

DATABASE SPECIALIST: contact Mark Bodnar

 

TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS

Each year The Taft School awards four to six Teaching Fellowships which provide an opportunity for talented, recent college graduates to explore the boarding school profession. Two distinguished fellowships are endowed by alumni: the Mailliard Fellowship and the Samuel Carpenter Fellowship. The Fellowship Program features the mentoring of an experienced teacher, a series of seminars on practical teaching matters and pedagogical philosophies, and extensive collegial support.

Fellows are engaged in all facets of boarding school life and education. Typically, a Fellow teaches two (or occasionally three) classes; coaches or contributes to an extracurricular program in the fall, winter, and spring; and has dormitory responsibilities. Working closely with a mentor who teaches in the same discipline, if not the same course, the Fellow learns about curriculum matters, classroom dynamics, preparation for class, creating and implementing assessments, and other fundamental aspects of the profession. Dedicated to the development of the Fellow's teaching proficiency, the mentor is a readily available resource, offering information, advice, feedback, and at all times support. Because the Fellow is solely responsible for his or her classes, the mentor assumes an unobtrusive advisory role designed to enable the Fellow to succeed. At the same time, the Fellows participate in weekly seminars, facilitated by the Director of Teaching Fellowships, which focus on topics ranging from pragmatic matters directly relevant to teaching at Taft, to more general pedagogical principles and practices, to adolescent development and cognitive research. There is a concerted effort to make these seminars pertinent to the Fellow's immediate teaching experience as well as intellectually stimulating and philosophically provocative.

As members of the faculty, Fellows receive a salary, housing and board, medical benefits, and other perquisites. The school also encourages, and often generously funds, professional development undertaken by Fellows during their employment. Fellowships are awarded for one year; however, the most promising Fellows may be encouraged to apply for a full-time position for the following year if a suitable opening becomes available. Teaching Fellowships are awarded in the following disciplines: biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, French, Spanish, English, and history.

Application Procedure

Applicants for a Teaching Fellowship must be well-qualified in their academic subjects, enthused about teaching and living with adolescent students, and willing to engage energetically in all aspects of boarding school life. A complete application consists of a letter of introduction which explains your interest in the position, a resume, a recent college transcript, and two letters of recommendation (at least one must be from a college teacher). Applications should be addressed to:

Steven Schieffelin
The Taft Teaching Fellowship Program
The Taft School
110 Woodbury Road
Watertown, Connecticut 06795-2100

Email should be addressed to Steven Schieffelin, Director of the Teaching Fellowship program.

After the application materials have been reviewed, selected candidates will be contacted for interviews. Some interviews may take place on college campuses. The deadline for applications is February 15, and applicants will be notified about the status of their applications by May 1.

The Taft School is fully accredited by The New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The School does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its policies and programs.