SY 26/27 Elementary STEAM Teacher

Position Overview:

Every member of the Team & Family at KIPP KC plays a critical role in ensuring our students are on the path toward college, career, and beyond. Our educators are passionate advocates for our students and families, working tirelessly to connect them with access to opportunity for lives of power and choice. As a Literacy Teacher Assistant, you will deliver exceptional instruction and assess student growth. You are dedicated to constant learning and proactively provide academic and cultural support to your school and team. You are deeply committed to educational equity, building relationships with students and families so they are safe, seen, heard, and loved.

Key Responsibilities:

Instructional Delivery and Assessment

• Develop or internalize year-long Missouri State standards-based (or other curriculum-based), backwards-planned unit plans and lesson plans that meet all students’ learning needs

• Use assessment data to modify short and long-term plans in order to promote all students’ academic performance

• Embrace and incorporate feedback in the spirit of constant improvement

• Maintain accurate records, grade book, and data tracking systems

• Teach One KIPP adopted curriculum with fidelity

• Design and facilitate a cohesive K-8 "Maker" curriculum that leverages the Engineering Design Process (EDP) to solve complex, real-world problems using both high-tech tools like 3D printing and traditional prototyping consumables.

• Facilitate rigorous, inquiry-based STEM instruction that requires students to apply the Engineering Design Process to solve complex, real-world problems aligned with Missouri Learning Standards for Science and Math.

• Develop grade-level specific milestones using LEGO Education (such as SPIKE Prime) to transition students from foundational spatial awareness to advanced mechanical engineering and block-based coding.

• Visual Arts Integration: Integrate fine arts principles into lab projects, teaching students to use mixed-media, sketching, and structural design to enhance the aesthetic and functional quality of their prototypes.

• Cultivate a studio-lab culture where students use storyboarding to iterate through ideas and "productive struggle" to refine their work, emphasizing KIPP’s focus on growth mindset and technical persistence.

• Oversee the organization of a multidisciplinary resource library while leading quarterly "Innovation Galleries" where students present their comprehensive portfolios and engineered models to community partners.

• Guide students in mastering 21st-century technical skills (such as coding, artificial intelligence applications, CAD, or laboratory protocols) specifically designed to help KIPPsters earn STEM-focused Pre Market Value Assets  as part of their workforce readiness.

Academic and Cultural Support

• Assume personal responsibility for student achievement

• Collaborate with content and grade-level teams to promote an environment of critical thinking and academic rigor

• Establish and maintain working relationships with students and families based on trust and respect

• Participate in the daily functions of the school such as morning, lunch, and afternoon supervisory duties

• Attend critical school events such as staff meetings, open houses, and student-led parent conferences

• Meet professional obligations including timeliness and consistency in meeting deadlines

• Exemplify the school cultural expectations

Real World Learning Facilitation

• Deliver high-quality, rigorous instruction directly connected to authentic, real-world learning experiences that promote college persistence, career exploration, and workforce readiness for all KIPPsters.

• Lead and facilitate transformative student experiences, including class-connected projects, professional mentorships, internships, and shadowing opportunities that bridge the classroom and the community.

• Teach a minimum of one to two courses explicitly aligned with KIPP KC’s Real-World Learning initiatives, consistently integrating applied learning and interdisciplinary cognitive skills into daily instruction.

• Actively collaborate with students, staff, and regional industry partners to design meaningful learning experiences that provide students with professional exposure and measurable real-world outcomes.

• Organize and lead quarterly RWL Showcases at each grade level, providing a platform for KIPPsters to demonstrate their mastery, present their projects to community partners, and celebrate applied learning growth.

• Use student performance data and feedback from industry partners to continuously refine RWL experiences, ensuring they meet KIPP KC’s standards for academic excellence and 21st-century skill development.