What does the Path of Life High School offer you as a teacher?

Dedicated Staff and a rich history with Tree of Life K-8, the Edison Neighborhood, and the community of Kalamazoo.

Deeply Personalized Learning – Every student has a unique, project-based curriculum that is determined by his or her interests, needs, and learning style. Students spend two days per week outside the school working with mentors on real-world projects that they develop based on their interests. All assessment is based on student exhibitions and extensive teacher narratives.

Diversity – Path of Life High School is in the Edison Neighborhood. The 10,000 people in our neighborhood are the most diverse in our county. Our students come from a wide range of cultural, academic and socio-economic backgrounds.

Anointed- God has shown himself in miraculous ways through the inception of POL and we have faith that He will continue to do so!

How Do I Apply for a Teaching Position?

Please send a resume, two letters of reference and teaching credentials. We are now accepting applications through February and will be conducting interviews in March.

Job goals:

To help students in their development as mature, able, knowledgeable, and responsible individuals so that they may transform the world around them to the glory of God.

Basic function:

Under the general direction of the principal, and in conjunction with the staff, a POL Advisor helps students learn to lead successful lives rooted in Christ. The advisor’s job is to create a Learning Plan that encompasses the student’s passions and also stands as an educationally sound document. Finally, the POL Advisor’s job is to create a safe, trusting space in which students are allowed to grow, worship and work through issues they encounter on a daily basis.

Distinguishing characteristics:

The position of a POL Advisor is a 4-year journey. Each advisor is responsible for 12 students within his or her advisory; facilitation of parent, student and mentor meetings; and for measuring the progress of each student as s/he goes through the year. The advisor is also responsible for the internship placement of each student in his or her advisory. The advisor will also help each student get into God’s presence throughout each day.

Representative duties:

• Arrive on time on a daily basis

• Lead students into God’s presence throughout the day.

• Fine-tune student Learning Plans four times per year

• Facilitate four Learning Plan meetings, with each family or guardian, one Learning Plan per marking period

• Strive to implement by discernment of the Holy Spirit, and by instruction and action, the Big Picture School’s philosophy of education.

• Celebrate student accomplishment and hold students accountable to standards of specific grade, advisory, campus, and school

• Advocate for, and on behalf of, students and families

• Forecast educational needs of each student

• Ensure that each student has an internship

• Plan a program of instruction that is both challenging and that meets the individual needs, interests, and abilities of each student

• Monitor student LTIs through site-visits (bi-weekly), phone calls (weekly), and mentor meetings (monthly)

• Explicitly state each student’s progress, educationally and socially, through marking period narratives, phone calls to parents, and weekly student meetings

• Run multiple student one-on-one meetings per day (Mon, Wed, and Fri.)

• Facilitate internship searches using phone calls, shadow days, information interviews, and other available means

• Attend weekly staff meetings, retreats, and yearly training sessions

• Facilitate additional educational services for each advisee as needed

• Mediate student conflict to the best of advisor’s ability

• Maintain accurate, complete, and factual records (transcripts) on each student as required by school and law

• Employ a variety of educational techniques in pursuit of educative goals and establish clear objectives for each student

• Work with school team on strategies for grade level, campus, and team

• Provide supplemental and educational resources in order to support student growth

• Facilitate student learning outside of the school building via camping, museum trips, and outdoor leadership excursions

• Identify learning opportunities and internships for students

• Ensure that each student employs materials prescribed by the Big Picture School (Learning Plans, Supercalendar, journals)

• Make provisions for being available to students and parents for education- related purposes outside of the traditional prescribed times and days when required or requested to do so (within reason)

• Strive to improve professional competence

Terms of employment:

• 200 days

• Salary to be determined based on experience, certifications, and education level

• Length of employment based on performance and contract

Knowledge and abilities:

• Basic knowledge of all teaching subjects and a specialty in one teaching area

• Basic knowledge of pedagogical theories, perspectives, and developments

• Basic classroom management skills

• Good oral and verbal communication skills

• Ability to improvise and work through uncertainties

• Follower of Christ leading others to Christ through Worship and Prayer

Education and experiential requirements:

• Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts Degree

• Appropriate Teaching Certificate(s)

• Life experience

• Excellent problem-solving skills

Working environment:

• School building

• Community

• Internship Sites

• Retreat Sites

FAQ’s

How does each student’s learning unfold?

When students first come to the POL, we work with them to identify their strongest interests, to understand their learning style and history, and then to develop a Learning Plan, which combines their interests with our school wide learning goals and requirements (see below). The anchor of this Learning Plan is usually a real-world internship where the student works closely with an adult mentor who shares the student’s interests. Student work also includes service-learning projects, reading groups, journaling, public speaking, school committees, workshops, senior projects, summer projects, autobiographies, and much more. Each marking period students do an exhibition to demonstrate progress toward their Learning Plan, and their progress is evaluated by their learning team. Rather than assigning grades, the student’s advisor then writes a detailed narrative that discusses the student’s progress and what needs to be done next.

Is the POLHS model effective?

The BPL model has been successfully implemented around the globe with any type of student regardless of their ethnicity, culture, acumen, or socio-economic status.

What does a typical week look like at the POL?

Our schedule varies from campus to campus, and we have many special events that change our highly flexible schedule. But “typical” weeks are divided into school days (Mon/Wed/Fri) and internship days (Tue/Thu).

School days begin with a school wide “pick-me-up” that includes worship, prayer and announcements with student leadership or a guest speaker. Then advisories meet for an hour and do small-group learning activities across a wide range of subjects. Students then work on their various projects for two hours until lunch. In the afternoon, students participate in reading groups, workshops, committees, town meetings, and other activities. They also continue project work. Advisories then reconvene for the last half hour of the day. On internship days, students are either at their internships or engaging in a wide variety of activities related to finding an appropriate internship. These activities include interest exploration, informational interviews, and job shadows.

What is the teacher/advisor’s role in all this?

POL advisors help students create Learning Plans, identify interests, and develop internships and other projects. Nurture the development of their advisory as a group and as individuals. Although advisors by no means need to be experts in all content areas, Need to be enthusiastic and creative learners who facilitate student learning across a wide range of topics. Need to work closely with parents and internships mentors, including spending time at internship sites. More than at most schools, POL advisors develop personal relationships with students and their families, often becoming confidants, coaches, and intermediaries. This becomes possible because advisors have primary responsibility for only 12 students, work with them for multiple years, and have considerable one-on-one time with them. Different advisors also get involved with student interests ranging from music to martial arts to computers.

Am I making a multi-year commitment?

Yes. Since advisors stay with the same students for all four years of high school, we ask applicants to make a four-year commitment to working at the POL.

What is the weekly and yearly schedule for POL staff?

The POL’s strong commitment to planning, evaluation, and change requires more time for staff meetings and development work than at most schools. Our school day lasts from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm for students. Advisors must arrive by 8:00 am and typically have staff meetings two afternoons per week until 5:00 pm. Advisors also need to be available for evening activities – exhibitions, Learning Plan meetings, family nights – an average of one evening per week.

Our school year starts after Labor Day and ends the first week of June.

What if I am not a certified teacher?

For strong candidates who are not certified, it might be possible to obtain temporary credentials, particularly for applicants whose backgrounds are related to high-need areas such as math, science, foreign languages, and special education. It might also be possible in other areas. If you think the POL School is right for you, please don’t let this issue stop you from applying. Please contact us to discuss this issue further.