How do you get a job as a prep school teacher?

janesmith
Wed, 06 Sep 2017 01:28:50 +0000

To get an idea of the kind of jobs out there in independent schools, and what they’re looking for, you could check out the NAIS site:

http://careers.nais.org/jobseekers/

At the tippy top schools they will want a master’s degree. Could be an MA in your subject area, an M.Ed., or an MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching). Independent schools post the degrees of their faculty on their websites, and the percentage of faculty with advanced degrees is something that school ratings take into account.

The best advice I can give you is to develop an activity that you can use as an extracurricular at private school. Many of it not most private schools will expect you to lead an activity outside the classroom. Always needed is the ability to coach a sport. My daughter got her first permanent teaching job at a top day school because she could coach a non-mainstream sport.

As a classics major, perhaps you’re interested in debate, or theater? The whole selling point of private schools is enhanced teacher-student interaction, so they will expect you to do something to interact with students outside the classroom. Most likely, they’ll want you to be an advisor as well. If you can take a course in adolescent psychology it might be useful.