Friends Select School seeks a highly dedicated and collaborative community member who has expertise in designing and teaching digital art courses for students in grades 9-12 in digital photography, illustration, video production, animation, digital fabrication tools, and publications. The school’s visual arts program endeavors to nurture each student’s creative potential through practicing skills and engaging with art-making as a means of communication, personal expression, and creative problem-solving. Courses may include Foundations of Digital Art, Digital Photography, Illustration & New Media, Video & Animation, Advanced Digital Art, and Digital Art Portfolio. This position will also involve advising the yearbook.
This role will also include serving as Department Chair for the 2026-27 school year (and beyond), overseeing the Pre-K-12 visual arts program. The department chair is directly accountable to the division directors and is responsible for establishing and maintaining professional and curricular standards for the department. The department chair manages the curricular scope and sequence, staffing, budgeting, and exhibitions. They are a support person for all art teachers in the department and run regular after-school meetings.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Create and implement a challenging, developmentally appropriate, values-driven curriculum that is engaging, real-world connected, and responsive to students’ strengths and interests
- Develop engaging and relevant art and technology lessons that are highly differentiated
- Take a friendly and collaborative approach to teaching in order to create an inclusive learning environment for all students
- Maintain LMS (Blackbaud) for assignments and grading
- Participate actively in upper school life, including student clubs, committees, and other activities
- Oversee the art department, including staffing, budget, curricular scope and sequence, as well as all exhibitions
- Collaborate with the art department and the wider faculty
- Advise the yearbook and an art-related student-led club
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in art, design, media production and/or art education; master’s preferred
- Effective classroom management skills and a working knowledge of the developmental needs and learning differences of upper school age students from a variety of backgrounds
- Significant experience with the Adobe Creative Suite
- Experience with digital fabrication tools, such as 3D printers and laser cutters
- Experience maintaining a computer lab and video and photo equipment
- Comfort teaching multiple levels and mediums simultaneously in the same class
- A collaborative spirit with an interest in multidisciplinary art practices and interdisciplinary teaching and learning
Interested applicants are welcome to submit a letter of interest and resume to Chris Singler, Upper School Director, via the school's website:
https://www.friends-select.org/about/employment-opportunities
Additional materials, including a portfolio of personal and/or student artwork, may be requested during the application process.
Friends Select School is a co-educational, pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, college preparatory, independent school located in center city Philadelphia, serving over 600 students. The school carries out its mission in a manner reflective of the spiritual and social testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends. Friends Select School provides programs and services and equal opportunity in the administration of its educational and admissions policies, financial aid programs, employment and the selection of its governing board without regard to gender, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, handicap status, or any status recognized by federal, state and local civil rights and non-discrimination laws.