Part-Time Founding Teaching Position · Reports to the Principal · Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred in Jewish Education, Judaic Studies, Jewish Studies, Rabbinics, or a related field · Deep textual grounding in Tanakh and rabbinic literature required; courses are taught in English · Hebrew proficiency preferred · 3+ years of secondary (grades 6–12) teaching experience preferred; high school (grades 9–12) teaching experience highly preferred · Jewish day, Jewish communal, or faith-based education experience is a plus. Fewer years but exceptional craft? We hire for mastery, not seat time. Are you a Jewish educator who brings Torah and the Jewish bookshelf alive for teenagers? Do you believe Jewish text study belongs at the same level of rigor as any discipline in a college-preparatory school? Are you excited to teach the founding Jewish Studies course of a proudly Jewish new high school? If so, Davis School Chicago wants to hear from you. The Dream Team Davis School Chicago is a proudly Jewish, college-preparatory high school opening in fall 2027 in downtown Chicago, in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of a great city for learning. Every adult at Davis Chicago is an educator and a culture-builder. We hold two expectations at the same time: deep human warmth and uncompromising intellectual excellence. High health and high results, never one at the cost of the other. This is a summary of the characteristics that describe our dream team. Please read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator and more information about our opportunities before you apply. To thrive here you are: • Warm and intellectually formidable. Genuinely kind and seriously bright. We hire for intellectual horsepower; only sharp minds grow students to their full potential. • You bring the room to life. Passion people feel, loud or quiet, with the range to teach, support, and lead. • A builder who owns it. Startup grit, a real growth mindset, open about mistakes, gives the gift of feedback, and the drive to create what doesn’t exist yet. • Teach how to think, not what to think. Rigor, evidence, and a love of hard questions, including the controversial ones. Students reach their own conclusions. • Rooted in tradition, built for what’s next. Ancient wisdom and modern tools, AI included, aimed at today's problems. • Unapologetically Jewish. Israel has a right to exist; that is not up for debate. Everything else is fair game, including spirited debate about Israel’s actions. You’re excited to help build a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel school. What Davis Chicago Needs Davis Chicago is hiring a part-time Jewish Studies Teacher for the founding year. Sections are drawn from Principles of Jewish Learning and its Honors variant, the ninth-grade foundation of a four-year Jewish Studies sequence, taught in English with honest placement so every student is challenged where they actually are. If you are interested in a full-time role and are ready to lead Jewish life schoolwide in addition to teaching Jewish Studies, Davis School Chicago is also hiring a founding Dean of Jewish Life & Studies. This role leads Jewish life and Jewish learning at the school and teaches in it. Who Thrives in This Role • Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence. • A Text-Rich Educator – Brings Tanakh and rabbinic literature alive for teenagers. • A Big-Tent Teacher – Honors the diversity of Jewish thought in one rigorous classroom. • An Entrepreneurial Builder – Thrives in ambiguity, solves problems, and creates programs, systems, and traditions from the ground up. • A Curious and Courageous Thinker – Embraces learning, evidence, critical thinking, and meaningful debate. • Rooted and Forward-Looking – Honors tradition while embracing innovation, technology, and AI. • Committed to Jewish Life and Community – Values Jewish identity, the diversity of Jewish thought, and meaningful engagement in Jewish life. • A Collaborative Culture-Builder – Balances accountability, care, and results while elevating everyone around them. The Role The Jewish Studies Teacher is responsible for delivering engaging, rigorous, and student-centered instruction in Principles of Jewish Learning and its Honors variant. This educator will develop students’ textual skills, interpretive habits, and sense of ownership of the Jewish bookshelf, meeting every Jewish background a founding class brings without watering anything down. The successful candidate will teach Jewish text at the same level of rigor as any discipline in a college-preparatory school and will connect that learning to students’ lives, questions, and identities. As a founding faculty member, the Jewish Studies Teacher will help shape curriculum, establish traditions, contribute to the Jewish life of the school, and collaborate closely with colleagues across disciplines to create a vibrant and integrated educational experience. 1. Instruction and Curriculum • Teach sections of Principles of Jewish Learning, including the Honors variant, as assigned. • Design and implement engaging, text-based lessons that teach students how to read, question, and interpret Tanakh and rabbinic sources with rigor. • Teach Jewish text skills in English, building the interpretive habits that carry students through the Davis Chicago Jewish Studies sequence. • Differentiate instruction across the wide range of Jewish educational backgrounds a founding class brings. • Promote inquiry-based learning, chavruta study, analytical writing, discussion, research, and project-based experiences, including immersive and experiential approaches — simulation, role-play, performance — where they deepen mastery. • Connect Jewish learning to students’ lives, questions, and identities, and to the diversity of Jewish thought. • Integrate Jewish history, ethics, Israel, and contemporary Jewish issues into instruction where the text leads there. • Utilize edu