UPPER SCHOOL SPANISH TEACHER

Hawken School seeks skilled, collaborative educators with the passion, commitment, and ability to help each student learn deeply while feeling seen, heard, and valued.
The ideal candidate for a teaching position in Hawken’s Upper School:
  • Builds strong, supportive relationships with students and colleagues
  • Thrives in a team-oriented environment
  • Embraces opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and students
  • Is reflective about their practice, seeks feedback, and is eager to grow as a teacher and curriculum designer 
  • Designs and facilitates learning experiences that promote deep understanding and high-quality student work 
  • Has experience working in a diverse community and is committed to the ideals of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice 
  • Creates meaningful and relevant learning experiences that students remember 
THE POSITION 
Hawken School is seeking a full-time Upper School Spanish teacher for the 2026-2027 school year. The ideal candidate has experience with a language-acquisition, proficiency-based approach to second language instruction. 
The Upper School Spanish program currently offers 8 courses of Spanish, including AP Spanish Language and Culture. The program also partners with a school in Chile and participates in a student exchange every other year.
The ideal candidate will be comfortable teaching all levels of Spanish, able to travel internationally, and is enthusiastic about collaborating with departmental colleagues within a language-acquisition framework.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 
  • Teaching 4 sections of Spanish
  • Actively collaborating with other members of the Modern and Classical Languages Department
  • Planning, organizing, and leading student educational travel every two years
  • Assisting with planning and hosting exchange groups from Chile or other countries where Spanish is the primary language
  • Engage meaningfully in extracurricular activities within and beyond the department
  • Advising a group of 8-10 students, supporting their academic and social growth
  • Performing other non-teaching duties as assigned by the Upper School Director and Head of School
Because Hawken believes in supporting teachers’ passions, in deepening their expertise, and in fueling their spirit of innovation, we provide substantive professional development opportunities that lead to the kinds of excellence that are a hallmark of our community. 

QUALIFICATIONS 
  • Bachelor’s degree in Spanish or related field required; an advanced degree with at least three years of experience is preferred
  • Native or near-native fluency in Spanish
  • Enthusiasm, flexibility, and a collaborative spirit
  • A deep understanding of adolescent development and a passion for working with teenagers as they engage with complex, real-world issues
  • A commitment to designing creative, innovative programming within the department and across disciplines
  • Experience developing curriculum that reflects interdisciplinary approaches, diverse and inclusive perspectives, and experiential learning
  • A commitment to continuous professional growth and alignment with best practices in second language acquisition, personalized learning, technology, and beyond 
THE SCHOOL 
Founded on the ideal that “the better self shall prevail and each generation introduce its successor to a higher plane of life,” Hawken School is a coeducational independent day school with 1,550 students from toddler through grade 12. Our four campuses are located within 25 minutes of downtown Cleveland, with two campuses in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, a campus on Cleveland’s west side, and a campus in University Circle, home to the Mastery School of Hawken and also our school-wide center for experiential and service learning. A nationally recognized leader in innovative programming, Hawken prepares students to meet the challenges of tomorrow's world. 
This position is for our Upper School, located in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland and situated on over 300 acres featuring sprawling lawns, wooded trails, and both modern and historic buildings. To execute the school’s forward-focused missions, Stirn Hall—Hawken’s state-of-the-art academic building—offers expansive classroom space and common spaces, fabrication and media labs, a science wing, a learning commons, a writing center, and more. The adjacent building known as the White House serves as the primary dining facility at Hawken’s Gates Mills campus and is a stunning reminder of Hawken’s historic charm. 
The Gates Mills campus also features an expansive athletic complex that includes two gymnasiums, one of the best competitive swimming pools in Ohio, a weight room, and a wrestling room. Surrounding grounds include eight tennis courts, a stadium, a track, artificial turf fields, and a high and low ropes course with 15 separate challenges. 
To learn more about us, visit www.hawken.edu. 

INTERESTED?
Submit an employment application through this link. Address your cover letter to Matt Simon, Director of the Upper School.

Hawken School is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to promoting all forms of diversity in the workplace and in our student body. We strongly urge all qualified individuals to apply.
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An independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school, toddler through grade 12

Early Childhood, Lower, and Middle Schools, 5000 Clubside Rd, Lyndhurst, OH 44124
Birchwood School of Hawken, 4400 West 140th Street, Cleveland, OH 44135 
Upper School, PO Box 8002 (12465 County Line Rd), Gates Mills, OH 44040
Mastery School of Hawken, 11025 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106
Gries Center, 10823 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106

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