Job Details
Overview:
By completing an application, you have applied to be considered for anticipated vacancies in the 2024-2025 school year. Please note that our formal interview process will begin January 2024 contingent on our confirmed vacancies.
Friendship Public Charter School operates a thriving network of college preparatory public charter schools. Headquartered in Washington, DC., Friendship serves over 4,800 students in preschool to grade 12 and guides a growing network of alumni to college completion annually. Our mission is to prepare students to become ethical, literate, well-rounded, and self-sufficient citizens by providing a world-class education that motivates students to reach high academic standards, to enjoy learning, to achieve success, and to contribute actively to their communities. For 25 years, with the support and guidance of our exceptional faculty, our students have risen to the challenge with high graduation rates, college acceptances, and unparalleled success academically and socially.
Friendship is looking for responsible, confident, respectful, caring, committed, persistent, and patient professionals to join our family for the 2024-2025 school year starting in August 2024. Friendship Public Charter Schools is committed to the idea that each and every child can make it to and through college. If you share that belief, please apply.
For more information about our schools please visit the following Social Media pages: YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter!
Please see the available salary scales: FPCS Compensation
Responsibilities:
As a teacher, the school librarian empowers students to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information. The school librarian supports students success by guiding them in:
- reading for understanding, for exposure to diversity of viewpoints and genres, and for pleasure
- using information for defined and self-defined purposes
- building on prior knowledge and constructing new knowledge
- embracing the world of information and all its formats
- working with peers in successful collaboration for learning
- constructively assessing their own learning and the work of their peers
- becoming their own best critics
Instructional Partner
As an instructional partner the school librarian works with teachers and other educators to build and strengthen connections between student information and research needs, curricular content, learning outcomes, and information resources. The school librarian demonstrates his or her role as an essential and equal partner in the instructional process by:
- participating in the curriculum development process at both the building and district level to ensure that the curricula include the full range of literacy skills (information, media, visual, digital, and technological literacy) necessary to meet content standards and to develop lifelong learners
- collaborating with teachers and students to design and teach engaging inquiry and learning experiences and assessments that incorporate multiple literacies and foster critical thinking
- participating in the implementation of collaboratively planned learning experiences by providing group and individual instruction, assessing student progress, and evaluating activities
- joining with teachers and others to plan and implement meaningful experiences that will promote a love of reading and lifelong learning
Information Specialist
As information specialist, the school librarian provides leadership and expertise in the selection, acquisition, evaluation, and organization of information resources and technologies in all formats, as well as expertise in the ethical use of information. The school librarian ensures equitable access and responsible use of information by:
- in accordance with district policy, developing and maintaining a collection of resources appropriate to the curriculum, the learners, and the teaching styles and instructional strategies used within the school community
- cooperating and networking with other libraries, librarians, and agencies to provide access to resources outside the school
- evaluating, promoting, and using existing and emerging technologies to support teaching and learning, supplement school resources, connect the school with the global learning community, communicate with students and teachers, and provide access to library services
- providing guidance in software and hardware evaluation, and developing processes for such evaluation
- understanding copyright, fair use, and licensing of intellectual property, and assisting users with their understanding and observance of the same
- organizing the collection (hard or digital texts) for maximum and effective use
Leader
As a leader the school librarian creates an environment where collaboration and creative problem solving thrive. The school librarian is an excellent communicator who instills enthusiasm in others by making them feel that they are important members of a team. Strong leaders foster an environment of creativity, innovation, and openness to new ideas, welcoming and encouraging input from others to create consensus. They anticipate
future obstacles and continually retool to meet challenges. The school librarian demonstrates his or her role as a visible and active leader within the school community, an advocate for the SLP, and a professional member of the school library community by:
- serving on decision making teams in the school
- taking an active role in school improvement and accreditation activities
- sharing expertise by presenting at faculty meetings, parent meetings, and school board meetings
- creating an environment that is conducive to active and participatory learning, resource-based instructional practices, and collaboration with teaching staff
- encouraging the use of instructional technology to engage students and to improve learning, providing access to digital information resources for the entire learning community
- collecting and analyzing data to improve instruction and to demonstrate correlations between the SLP and student achievement
- maintaining active memberships in professional associations
- remaining current in professional practices and developments, information technologies, and educational research applicable to school library programs
Program Administrator
As program administrator, the school librarian works collaboratively with members of the learning community to define the policies of the school library program, and to guide and direct all activities related to it. The school librarian maximizes the efficiency and effectiveness of the school library program by:
- using strategic planning for the continuous improvement of the program
- ensuring that school library program goals and objectives are aligned with school and district long-range strategic plans
- using effective management principles, including the supervision of personnel, resources, and facilities, in developing and implementing program goals and objectives
- using evidence of practice, particularly in terms of learning outcomes, to support program goals and planning
- supervising and evaluating support staff, which may include educational assistants, computer education assistants, volunteers, and student assistants
- establishing processes and procedures for selection, acquisition, circulation, resource sharing, etc. that assure appropriate resources are available when needed
- creating and maintaining in the school library a teaching and learning environment that is inviting, safe, flexible, and conducive to student learning
- selecting and using effective technological applications for management purposes
- participating in the recruiting, hiring, and training of other professionals; assistants, students, and volunteer staff
- arranging for flexible scheduling of the school libraries to provide student accessibility to staff and resources at point of need
- ensuring equitable physical access to school library facilities by providing barrier-free, universally designed environments.
Qualifications:
- Bachelors Degree, required
- Masters degree in Library and Information Science or related fields, preferred
- Extensive knowledge of childrens literature
- Must be able to exchange accurate information in a professional manner with parents, students, faculty and staff
- Prior experience working with children in grades K - 8
- Experience using and maintaining research databases
- Ability to manage a Library Management Software system
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
FPCSs policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants and employees regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, status as a special disabled veteran, or any other protected criteria as established by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to recruitment and hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfer, layoff, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment. Employment decisions at FPCS are based solely upon relevant criteria, including an individuals capabilities, qualifications, training, experience and suitability.