Work With Students

Teaching Artist and Classroom Assistant Inquiry Form

Thank you for your interest in joining the Arts Corps teaching team!

We’re always looking to grow our network of professional teaching artists to deliver arts classes all across King County, as well as to cultivate the skills of classroom assistants, who will become the next generation of teaching artists. Whether you’ve been teaching for years or are new to the concept of teaching artistry, if you are committed to our mission and social justice values, we can find a place for you at Arts Corps. Please submit your inquiry below and we’ll be in touch soon!

For the full Teaching Artist and Classroom Assistant job descriptions, click here.
 

 

 

Teaching Artists

Arts Corps’ teaching approach is based on the model of culturally responsive pedagogy. Teaching artists create a flexible environment that allows space for students’ full identities, cultures, and beliefs. TAs create lesson plans that foster the practice of artistry, imagination, critical thinking, persistence, risk-taking and reflection. Arts Corps classes typically meet on a quarterly basis–Fall, Winter, and Spring–once or twice weekly for between 8-12 weeks. We work in both in-school and after-school K-12 settings. Occasionally we hold special projects during the summer. Currently we anticipate the majority of our work to be in-person teaching for the 2022-2023 school year. Vaccination is currently required for in-person teaching. We place the safety of our faculty as the highest priority and provide all necessary PPE and at-home COVID tests.

Ideal Team Members:

  • are practicing artists in one or more disciplines
  • are dedicated to helping young people expand their creative capacities
  • have a love of working with youth of all backgrounds and abilities
  • have experience working with K-12 youth and/or teaching arts
  • are reliable and flexible artist-educators
  • are committed to teaching through a social justice lens
  • are culturally aware and responsive
  • draw upon a range of teaching and engagement strategies in response to student needs
  • are willing to join a cadre of peers to learn and grow together
  • are willing to participate in self and peer evaluation
  • have an interest and passion for the mission of Arts Corps’ work
  • have excellent communication skills with Arts Corps office staff and community partners
  • can meaningfully partner with classroom assistants and classroom teachers
  • are vaccinated for in-person teaching 
  • are able to travel to school and partners sites in South Seattle and South King County (SeaTac, White Center, Tukwila, Renton)

Compensation: Arts Corps teaching artists are paid on a 3-tier system depending on experience and longevity with the organization between $70-$100 per hour. Typically new teaching artists start at the Level I or Level II rate with the opportunity to be promoted. Teaching artist rates are raised by a cost of living adjustment (COLA) every other year. Additionally, teaching artists are paid $40/hour for meetings, mileage reimbursement over 5 miles from their home, and offered monthly paid professional development opportunities ranging in topics from classroom management strategies, pedagogy, curriculum planning, race and social justice trainings, and more. Arts Corps also provides a 1% matched 401k option for all teaching artists and the opportunity to buy into group rate dental and accident insurance.

Arts Corps welcomes applications and inquiries at any point during the year, but we generally look to hire new teaching artists in the summer, so that we can place teaching artists at sites for the entire academic year. We operate classes on a quarterly basis, which are generally eight-weeks long each: fall, winter and spring. Our classes typically meet after school once or twice a week depending on the site schedule. We also host in-school residencies and workshops throughout the year. Occasionally we hold special classes and projects during summer quarter, depending on specific grants and partner collaborations.

Assist in the Classroom

Arts Corps also hires classroom assistants who have some experience working with children and/or adolescents and are interested in building their teaching artist skill set.
In the classroom, assistants are expected to support the teaching artist’s daily lesson plan and paperwork requirements, in addition to assisting with classroom management. We are looking for dedicated, reliable, and flexible individuals who are great communicators and are committed to our social justice values.

Structure

Placements for positions occur before the beginning of the school year in September, and are updated quarterly as needed. Classroom assistants are expected to commit to a school year, or roughly three eight-week quarters. Classroom assistant rates are between $30-$35/hour

If you are interested in being a classroom assistant for Arts Corps, please tell us more about yourself by completing the form. Arts Corps alumni and current teen students nominated by their teaching artists are strongly encouraged to apply.