Posted: 18-Feb-26
Location: El Segundo, California
Type: Temp to Full Time
Salary: $66,950 - $110,353
Preferred Education:
High School Physics & Physical Science
Reports to: Head of School— Start Date: ASAP
The School...
Vistamar School is an independent college preparatory day school serving grades 9-12. The founders’ vision was to tap into the diversity of Los Angeles to bring together students who could learn from each other the skills and attitudes necessary for global citizenship. The Vistamar experience is guided by its core values and its mission, which rests on three pillars: challenging academics that engage and inspire students; an intimate atmosphere that supports students with caring relationships; and a diverse community that encourages the authentic exchange of perspectives and leads students to be comfortable crossing cultural boundaries. Vistamar believes there’s a better way to do high school.
Vistamar School serves a highly diverse population of students in grades 9-12, supported by a generous program of Moderated Tuition. Approximately 36% of our students participate in our Moderated Tuition program. Approximately 45% of faculty, staff, and students self-identify as people of color. We seek to attract a faculty and student body who bring a diversity of thought and culture to our school community, and who will be committed to ensuring that we provide an inclusive environment for the respectful exchange of multiple perspectives. Vistamar is located in the easternmost section of El Segundo. The school is close to major freeway interchanges and is well-served by public transportation, including a commuter rail station.
Vistamar opened in 2005 and attracts and enrolls one of the most diverse student bodies in the greater Los Angeles area, with students from over 60 zip codes and more than 80 schools. Both tuition and salaries are competitive with other Los Angeles-area independent schools. Vistamar is fully accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and holds institutional memberships in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Council of International Schools (CIS).
The Opportunity…
You will be joining us as a long-term substitute teacher of Physics & Physical Science. We are looking for someone to start as soon as possible and potentially teach through the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.
The Vistamar Science Department seeks to broaden students’ understanding of how things work through the natural world; build the skills of critical thinking, hypothesis testing, applied mathematics, and inference; establish an appreciation for the tentative and incomplete nature of objective knowledge; help students to use a framework for organizing and evaluating information about living things and the material universe, and consider the social and ethical implications of applied science.
Our science curriculum focuses on integrating disciplines (Physical & Life Sciences) in the first two years. For their Junior and Senior years, students with a solid foundation in all three science disciplines have the opportunity to take science courses of their choice, including AP Courses, Advanced Topics in Science, Anatomy/Physiology, and more. Students with a passion for and high aptitude in science may qualify to take an AP Science course as early as the sophomore year.
A typical week would include the preparation and teaching of four regular courses, each meeting four times per week, serving as a student advisor, assisting with student activities, and engaged participation in faculty and team meetings. Additional responsibilities include maintaining active communication with students & families, active participation in admissions/development events, and other important community gatherings, and other duties as assigned.
Ideal candidates are teachers who…
- Are vibrant classroom facilitators who fulfill our Four Attributes of Excellent Teaching.
- Have a strong practice of cultural responsiveness in and out of the classroom by exercising self-awareness, affirming multiple perspectives, addressing conflict directly and with care, and recognizing the role of power and privilege.
- Will be excited to become part of our vibrant school community by attending events and engaging with students and colleagues outside the classroom.
- Exercise flexibility and direct communication to cultivate strong and collegial relationships with all community members while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
- Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the reflective, iterative nature of teaching by pursuing professional growth and integrating feedback.
- Intentionally design meaningful learning experiences and performance-based assessments using a “backward planning” model that fosters a passion for learning in students.
- Have effective coping skills to manage challenge or stress
- Meets deadlines and has effective organizational skills
- Have teaching experience at the high school level with chemistry and physics.
- Have teaching experience and/or content expertise with AP Physics
- Contribute to all course planning teams with creativity, collaboration, and organization
- Can design inquiry-based learning experiences using NGSS and “backwards planning” as resources, integrating a range of both formative and summative assessments.
- A master's degree, a teaching credential, and teaching experience at the high school level
- Must be available to engage fully with our onboarding process.
Vistamar School is a 501c3 non-profit corporation which does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin or sexual orientation in the administration of our educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, employment, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
How to Apply...
To apply, submit a resume and cover letter to positions@vistamarschool.org; more details at https://www.vistamarschool.org/about-us/employment
Salary Range (depending on experience): $66,950 - $110,353