First Grade Teacher

Job Description

Overview

Saint Francis Classical Catholic Academy in Bally, Pennsylvania (SFCCA), a new independent school in its first year of operations, is seeking joyful, faith-filled, and intellectually inspiring educators to become members of its elementary faculty. Nestled in the bucolic rolling hills of Butter Valley Berks County, Saint Francis is located on the beautiful campus of Most Blessed Sacrament Parish (MBS,) the oldest Catholic church in the original Thirteen Colonies (1741). SFCCA is an apostolate of MBS and operates with the full blessing of the Diocese of Allentown. There has been a school at this site continually operating since 1743, and SFCCA is proud to carry-on that legacy of evangelization and catechesis that began when intrepid Jesuit Missionary Theodore Schneider began teaching classes thirty-three years prior to America's Declaration of Independence. It is truly back to the future as we seek to form missionary disciples who can spread the Gospel everywhere.

Year One Success/Year Two Growth

In its first year of operations, SFCCA attracted 60 students from 30 families in all grades PK-8, and so far, we are on track to enroll over 100 students in 2024-25, including a new preliminary 9th/10th Grade high school cohort. As a result, we anticipate requiring the services of additional teachers, especially in the early grades, as we build our school from the ground-up. Saint Francis sees itself as part of the renaissance in authentic Catholic education that began with the New Evangelization movement under Saint John Paul II, which called for the laity to take a much larger and more intentional role in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Consequently, we consider parents the primary educators of their children, with schools there to assist parents in forming "Smart Saints". Truth, beauty, goodness, prayer, and worship permeate our approach, with Christ at the center of all we do, for, as the Catechism observes, the purpose of a Catholic education is to know, love, and serve God.

Job Description

SFCCA seeks applicants for a First-Grade position who are devoutly Catholic, classically trained, and ideally have experience working at a Classical Catholic school in the early elementary grades. SFCCA follows an historically sequenced, integrated, incremental curriculum that takes students on a journey through the history of western civilization and the teachings of the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, along with instruction and formation in classical literature, Latin, phonics, spelling, cursive, mathematics, astronomy, nature studies, and other applicable elements of the trivium and quadrivium. At the introductory grammar level, students are introduced to the founding civilizations and eras of our culture, with Kindergarten focused on the Cradles of Civilization; Grade One the Ancient World; Grade Two the Medieval World; Grade Three Renaissance and Enlightenment Europe; and Grade Four America. For the Grades 5-8 logic stage, we repeat the cycle of Ancient, Medieval, Modern Europe, and America, only at a higher level of sophistication, and the same would be true for the high school grades 9-12 and the rhetoric stage. The result is a student who loves the Lord, learning, and the critical thinking necessary for advanced study.

Qualifications: Applicants should possess the following credentials and character traits:

• A love of children, a desire to inspire wonder, and a capacity to model virtue and discipline in the classroom.
• At least a bachelor's degree in the liberal arts or sciences.
• Classroom experience in a Classical Catholic School elementary school a plus.
• A passion for the Catholic liberal arts tradition and a continual interest to learn more about it.
• An ardent practicing Catholic willing to sign an oath of fidelity to the Magisterium.
• Teaching certification not required.
• A commitment to the five marks of an authentic Catholic education: 1) supernatural vision; 2) Catholic anthropology; 3) communion & community; 4) Catholic worldview; 5) Gospel witness.
• The ability to teach Latin, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Fine Arts, and Athletics all plusses.

Application Process:

Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, statement of Catholic educational philosophy, and a list of three references to headmaster@mbsbally.org. Compensation commensurate with experience and demonstrated excellence. St. Francis, pray for us!

About the Employer

Mission

Through the tradition of the Catholic liberal arts, the mission of Saint Francis Classical Catholic Academy is to assist parents in the education of their children-mind, body, spirit- inspiring them with joy and wonder to better understand the truth of Christ's Gospel, the beauty of God's creation, and the goodness of loving our neighbor.

Overview

Saint Francis is located on the beautiful campus of Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, where there has been a school at this site continually operating since 1743. SFCCA is proud to carry-on that legacy of evangelization and catechesis that began when Jesuit Missionary Theodore Schneider began teaching classes thirty-three years prior to America's Declaration of Independence.