Working at MKA

When you join the MKA faculty and staff, you will meet committed and enthusiastic professionals who deeply engage in their work with young people. MKA continuously seeks to add to its ranks educators who not only are experts in their fields of study, but also take a creative and flexible approach to working with students and with each other.

We look for educators who see themselves as learners. MKA’s robust faculty development program supports teacher growth in a variety of ways: teachers attend in-house summer enrichment workshops, participate in national conferences, create curriculum with the support of school-sponsored grants, and develop personalized, inquiry-based questions to drive their learning during the school year.

Teachers new to MKA should expect to join a faculty in full swing, one that examines current research, considers new instructional strategies, explores new uses of technology, and collaborates to develop ideas. Also, they should expect to work deliberately and persistently with their peers to create a collegial and collaborative atmosphere based on mutual respect, intellectual curiosity, and institutional loyalty. MKA promotes an inclusive environment that celebrates differences and supports all members of our community.

Our salaries and benefits are competitive with other leading independent day schools of similar size in the East. Across-the-board raises, merit pay, and special one-time bonuses shape the structure of our compensation. Our benefits package, which includes dental and life insurance, is among the strongest of all private schools in New Jersey. Opportunities for administrative experience are also available as the school takes pride in cultivating its own leadership.

MKA's Essential Professional Qualities

Successful MKA faculty members

  • Engage joyfully in their work with young people, connect with diverse students and see the best in each of them.
  • Exhibit a student-centered approach that leads them to be both flexible and versatile in their attempts to spark understanding, persistence and inspiration in all the students in their care.
  • Collaborate generatively and respectfully. They are open to partnering with students, parents and colleagues, and are willing and able to understand multiple points of view without being judgmental.
  • Focus consistently on growth. They actively seek learning opportunities and job opportunities that will stretch them to become the best educators they can be, and they model this growth mindset for their students.
  • Demonstrate content mastery and humility, and are self- aware about the ways in which their actions and attitudes help to build an inclusive community.
  • Take initiative as creative problem-solvers. They neither leave problems for others to solve, nor approach problems in solely traditional ways.
  • Dedicate themselves to their work, because they are innately passionate, perseverant and resilient.

Employment Opportunities

It is MKA's policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background or disability not related to the requirements for being a successful employee at MKA.

TRI-CAMPUS:

Extended Day Staff Member

Extended Day is hiring a part-time, tri campus, position. Staff will work approximately twenty hours a week, 2:00-6:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Extended Day Staff members are responsible for watching and engaging students, grade Pre-K through eighth grade, in daily activities and providing homework help to students as needed.

If you are interested in the position, please email Teri Butler or call 973-509-4872.

UPPER SCHOOL — GRADES 9-12: 

Montclair Kimberley Academy, an innovative PK—12 independent day school with a strong national reputation and a recognized 1:1 laptop program in Montclair, NJ, seeks a full-time Visual Arts teacher for the Upper School, grades 9-12.

The role includes teaching all levels of Drawing & Painting, including Advanced Placement Studio Art. Additional duties will include: serving as an advisor to a small group of students as well as being the set painter for the theatrical productions. Read full job description.

Interested candidates should send or email a letter of interest and resume to: Christa Leonard, Upper School Fine and Performing Art Department Chair.

MIDDLE SCHOOL — GRADES 4-8:

There are no open employment opportunities at this time.

PRIMARY SCHOOL — GRADES PreK-3:

There are no open employment opportunities at this time.

 

Faculty Who Love to Learn:
Professional Development
at MKA

MKA faculty members are exceptionally accomplished–and learners at heart. An ingrained part of the school’s professional growth culture, the professional development program is a hallmark of the community. MKA’s rich array of professional development offerings engage teachers in examining current research on learning and teaching, learning new instructional strategies, increasing knowledge in their discipline, exploring new uses of technology, collaborating to develop ideas, and planning how to move students forward in their learning. In addition, meaningful professional development accompanies any significant curricular change.

Dedicated to their own learning as well as their students’, MKA faculty are committed to a continuous process of inquiry.

They always seek to answer, “How can I most significantly improve teaching and learning in my classroom?” Faculty take ownership of and are supported in individual, professional growth as they participate in professional development options that spark their interests and best meet their needs.

MKA allocates significant funding to support faculty members’ professional learning.

Approximately 80% of faculty voluntarily engage in MKA-funded summer professional development each year, and all faculty participate in 11 annual in-service days each school year.

The Professional Growth Process (PGP) engages every faculty member in a continuous process of inquiry, reflection, and adjustment of practice.

This is informed by feedback from peer observations, student questionnaires and analysis of student work to uncover trends. Faculty reflect on this feedback and confer with colleagues to identify adjustments that will improve teaching and learning in their classrooms.

On-site professional development workshops provide opportunities for faculty to inquire, explore, collaborate, and experiment with new ideas.

Grounded in current educational and scientific research, MKA workshops provide time, space and inspiration for faculty to examine current practice and adjust learning experiences for their students. They facilitate shared inquiry, learning from colleagues, and the creation of classroom-ready products and practices. On-site learning opportunities include:
  • Multi-day institutes in integrated ethics and in teaching and learning with technology
  • Workshops on topics such as diversity and inclusion, assessment for learning, how the brain learns, curriculum design, and teaching active reading
  • Idea Lab collaboration days to support both individual and team curriculum-development projects
  • Open Innovation days to address individuals’ curriculum and technology needs

Other MKA-funded learning opportunities for faculty include.

  • Funding for graduate coursework related to teaching at MKA
  • Blauvelt Professional Study Advancement Awards, which allow faculty to enhance their knowledge of ethics, reflect on an area of ethics integrated into the MKA curriculum, and design lessons to help students develop related moral and intellectual habits in keeping with MKA Character Standards
  • Faculty Trust Grants, sponsored by the Parents’ Association of MKA (PAMKA), which encourage first-hand learning and personal renewal outside a traditional academic setting. (These often involve travel, in-depth study, or both.)

Faculty Who Live to Teach

As I reflect back on my MKA experience, what I valued most were my fellow students, our faculty and the engagement in scholarship, community, and friendship that occurred between students and faculty. — Michael Feldman '80

Faculty-student bonds: Students enjoy close relationships with extremely caring and highly qualified teachers.

MKA faculty members are committed to the intellectual, academic, social, emotional, and ethical development of each child. Surveys and interviews consistently reveal that relationships with their teachers are among the most transformative aspects of students’ MKA experience.

Faculty accessibility: Beyond the classroom, teachers welcome students’ questions and enjoy acting as guides for learning.

Middle and Upper School teachers are available during Common Work Periods, lunch, and after school. More than teachers, faculty members are students’ advisors and often act as their mentors and coaches.

One school, three faculties: Each campus faculty is dedicated to teaching students at the appropriate developmental level.

Teachers’ keen awareness of what students need to grow as both scholars and people provides one of the most important foundations for student-centered classrooms.