Teaching Artist

Since 1955, The Young Musicians Foundation’s (YMF) mission is to empower under-served, marginalized students to find creativity, connection and joy through music. YMF’s Teaching Artists are at the heart of our organization’s mission by providing tuition-free weekly music instruction to students and community members. Through partnerships with under-resourced schools and community programs, our accessible and responsive approach to music instruction reaches students ages 4 to adult across the greater Los Angeles area, covering a 195-square-mile area.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the respective Program Manager, TAs are responsible for music instruction for their assigned site(s). Our Teaching Artists work closely with our schools and community teams at YMF and ensure the highest quality learning experience for students participating in YMF programs by creating group lesson plans that: are informed by the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) learning standards; are highly engaging, build skills, are culturally affirming; and create a safe classroom environment that cultivates the holistic growth of students. This position will also collaborate with classroom teachers, administrators, staff, students, parents, and community.

Hours: 

All summer Teaching Artists will be guaranteed a minimum of 2 teaching hours per week. Pending scheduling, there may be opportunities for more. Total hours and placements will vary depending on the location of site(s) assigned. Summer programs will last 4-6 weeks from the middle of June to the middle of August and teaching times will primarily be between 8:00am-3:00pm, with the exception of some after school programs. If you are also interested in applying to teach in the coming school year, there will be a place to indicate this on your application.

Instructional Areas:

We’re currently looking for Teaching Artists who specialize in any of the following areas: 

• Music Technology 
• Guitar, Ukulele, and/or Songwriting

If you are interested in applying but are unable to teach in one of these areas or time frames, you may still submit an application for us to keep on file.

Compensation: 

• $60 per hour for in-person or video/remote based live instruction
• $20 per hour for professional development
• $35 per hour for concerts and program events as required

You are:

• Experienced working with students from diverse and/or underserved communities in a classroom or group setting
• Able to challenge Euro-centric structures inherent in the music education system and actively explore traditional and modern intersections of music across diverse cultural perspectives
• Knowledgeable of a variety of diverse and culturally responsive repertoire, curriculum, and pedagogy
• Experienced with classroom management and organizational techniques that emphasize a positive, anti-bias approach to supporting students 
• Comfortable teaching both in-person and via remote, video instruction
• Punctual, organized, and able to provide consistent, dedicated, and responsive music instruction 
• An effective communicator with excellent interpersonal and communication skills (oral and written) and have ability to excel as part of a team

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Maintain a safe and nurturing environment for students
• Create curriculum informed by SEL and VAPA learning standards that are both culturally responsive and affirming, and appropriate for the length of teaching assignment
• Develop and facilitate music lessons either in-person or via video-based instruction
• Travel to multiple school locations throughout the day as needed
• Track and maintain student attendance as required
• Create detailed substitute lesson plans and arrange for substitute coverage as needed
• Facilitate set-up and cleanup of classrooms/video-based classrooms for lessons as needed
• Additional duties as required

Desired Qualifications:

• Interest in personal growth as an artist educator within a community of like-minded, talented individuals
• Experience with a restorative justice approach to discipline and classroom management
• Ability to differentiate instruction to address a variety of unique student learning styles
• Collaborative and flexible approach to teaching
• A four-year undergraduate degree holder in music/music education and/or equivalent experience; post-graduate degree or equivalent experience a plus 
• Bilingual in Spanish

Physical and Additional Requirements*:

• Position self to interact with small children and occasionally accompany a class around a school campus which may involve ascending or descending up to four flights of stairs. 
• Communicate information clearly in what are often loud environments 
• Access to reliable transportation in order to travel to teaching sites
• May need to occasionally move, set up, and adjust classroom or music equipment weighing up to 40 pounds. 

*We will provide any reasonable accommodations as required. 

We encourage you to apply if this job sounds like a good fit for you even if you don’t feel as if you meet all the qualifications/requirements. Folks who are queer, trans, non-binary, people of color, parents, are/have been system impacted, have different abilities, are immigrants and anyone who has experienced systemic oppression and gender-based violence are encouraged to apply. 

We highly value a diverse team and an equitable work environment where every member of our team is set up to thrive. In an effort to prioritize and maintain this environment, we have recently established an Equity, Diversity, Access, and Inclusion Committee that leads work to transform injustice within the organization, and reviews our policies and practices for equity frequently. Additionally, we expect all team members to take responsibility for co-creating an equitable work community where everyone is able to do impactful, world-changing work. 

How to Apply:

Please complete your application by using the Summer Teaching Artist Application Form. 

Application Deadline: Friday, May 20th, 2022

Disclaimer

The Employer retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.