ETM Teaching Artists

 Music Teachers Needed

General Music, Music Technology, Strings & Band

Education Through Music (ETM) is a New York City non-profit organization that provides inner-city schools with quality music programs. ETM forms long-term partnerships with both public and private schools, helping them to provide comprehensive, sequential music and arts instruction to all students. We help schools integrate arts and academic curricula to enhance learning in both areas.

ETM Music teachers provide full school year music programs for grades PreK through 8^th grade in both NYC public and parochial schools. Teaching schedules vary from 1 to 5 days per week, and run continuously from September to June. Typically, teachers see the same students once per week for the entire school year.

ETM favors candidates who seek a leadership role and embrace the opportunity to take ownership of their program in building it as an indispensible part of their school's culture and identity.

Job responsibilities include acting as school music faculty, coordination and development of the in-school music program with program staff, and producing two all-school concerts each year.

Each music teacher's program is designed in consultation with ETM Program Staff and based on ETM's curriculum and benchmarks. Lesson planning is required and will be reviewed on a regular basis.

Applicants should have a minimum of a BA in music or the fine arts (Music Education a plus) with previous teaching experience in a classroom setting.

Health benefits (employee contributed) and sick days are offered.

General Music (Choral) Full-Time  - September 2010 Openings - Our General Music teachers are responsible for building a musical foundation for all students. Instilling a love and appreciation for music through a comprehensive and sequential music curriculum is the key to a successful program. Pedagogical approach is Orff influenced, and we provide many tools and resources including hand-percussion, Orff instruments, handbells, keyboards, recorders, guitars and technology. Singing, conducting, keyboard, guitar, and presentation skills are all pluses. The daily teaching schedule follows a typical school day beginning approximately 8:00am and ending near 3:00pm.  Teaching Artists will see a variety of grade levels with class sizes generally between 20 to 25 students. Two concerts per year are produced in which all students perform. The current opening is grades 2 to 5, located in the Soundview section of the Bronx.

General Music (Band)  - September 2010 Openings - Our band teachers are responsible for teaching woodwinds, brass, and percussion to beginning band (grade 5) students. Band is an elective, and is not required, but every fifth grade student is eligible to participate.  There are two key components to our instrumental program:  Pull-out lessons and band rehearsals.  Qualified applicants should be comfortable teaching individual lessons and running large group rehearsals with 50-90 Fifth grade students.  Band rehearsals will take place outside the regularly scheduled school day, but each participant will have one group lesson per week.  In addition, the band teacher may teach some general music classes with students ranging from Prek through 5^th grade.  Please see General Music job description for details on that component of the position.

General Music (String Orchestra) - September 2010 Openings - Our orchestra teachers are responsible for teaching violin, viola, cello, and bass to beginning and intermediate orchestra students, grades 4 – 8. Orchestra is an elective, and is not required, but all students in grades 4 – 8  are eligible to participate. There are two key components to our instrumental program:  Pull-out lessons and orchestra rehearsals.  Qualified applicants should be comfortable teaching individual lessons and running large group rehearsals with 40 - 70 students.  Orchestra rehearsals will take place outside the regularly scheduled school day, but each participant will have a group lesson once per week during the school day on a rotating pull-out basis.  Please note we prefer a combination of pedagogical approaches. In addition, the orchestra teacher may teach some general music classes with students ranging from Prek through 8^th grade.  Please   see General music job description for details on that component of the position.

Music Therapist - September 2010 Openings - Our music therapists work in public and parochial ETM Partner-Schools throughout New York City.  Strong candidates will have completed a minimum of 600 clinical hours, Music Therapist-Board Certified (MT-BC) preferred.  The mission of Education Through Music is to serve every child with quality music education. Our Music Therapists work primarily with student populations that require a more specialized/individualized instruction than can be achieved in the general music classroom. These populations include diverse special needs groups and inclusion classes. We hope to instill a love and appreciation for music into each of our students, while teaching them life-skills.  We provide many resources including Orff instruments, keyboards, recorders, guitars, technology, and hand percussion.  Daily schedule follows a typical school day beginning at 8:00AM and ending by 3:00PM. Experience with IEP’s, guitar, keyboard, conducting, singing, and dance are all pluses. Class sizes generally between 10 to 15 students. Two concerts per year are produced in which all students perform.

General Music Teacher / Music Technology Specialist - September 2010 Openings - Our music technology specialists are responsible for teaching the general music curriculum to every student grades 6 through 8, using music technology. Each student station will be equipped with an apple computer, midi keyboard, and electric guitar. The 31 station, state-of-the-art music technology lab will be networked using the Korg Group Controller. Candidates should be comfortable with computers, notation software, sequencing software, and smart-technologies. Guitar and keyboard skills are required. Certified music teachers and those seeking to earn certification are preferred.

All those invited to interview will be asked to present mock lesson specific to the discipline of the desired position.

To apply for a teaching position with ETM, CLICK HERE  

• What exactly is ETM?
• What are the qualifications to be a teaching artist with ETM?
• Would I be an employee of ETM?
• How much do I get paid?
• How do I get paid?
• Does ETM provide any benefits for ETM teaching artists?
• Will I receive any training?
• What materials does ETM provide for students and ETM teaching artists?
• Who do I report to?
• Is there summer work available?
• Can I collect unemployment during the summer?
• How is my schedule made?
• Is my schedule flexible so I can audition and tour?
• About how much preparation is necessary to teach each week?
• How am I evaluated?
• How much should my kids know at the end of the semester?
• What can I do with an "unteachable" class?
• Could this be a career?
• How do I apply to be an ETM teaching artist?

Q: What exactly is ETM?

A: Education Through Music ("ETM") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that promotes the sustainable integration of music into the curricula of elementary and middle schools in order to enhance students' academic performance and general development.

Founded in 1991, ETM's first partner school won a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Education; in 2000, one of our public partner schools was named a New York State School of Excellence. Since 1995, ETM has maintained multiple partnerships each year with both public and private schools, to help them use the arts to support learning.

ETM's goal is not to make professional musicians, but to introduce children to music using a skills-based, sequential curriculum. ETM uses music as a tool to increase cognitive thinking, enhance self-esteem and foster socialization.

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A: ETM requires all of its teaching artists to have degrees in performance, music education, or music therapy. Most of ETM's teaching artists are conservatory trained musicians and or hold degrees in music education.

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A: All ETM teaching artists are employees of ETM. Taxes, social security, etc. are withheld as directed by law.

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A: Because ETM can offer substantial and sustained employment throughout the school year, it can also offer a dependable and consistent level of income. While new ETM teaching artists are generally hired at the rate of $30 per hour, teaching experience and educational qualifications may also have bearing on the starting rate. Merit raises are considered once a year, typically during the summer months.

A: ETM is on a semi-monthly payroll. ETM teaching artists are paid for classes and all other activities taught during the previous two weeks. Pay day is the 15th and last day of the month for the previous period.

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A: ETM Teaching Artists who maintain a regular teaching schedule of 3 or more days per week are eligible to enroll in an employee-contributed health insurance plan. Each Teaching Artist also receives a number of sick days equal to the number of their regularly scheduled weekly teaching days

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A: ETM provides a five-day training course during August for all new Teaching Artists covering topics such as classroom management, lesson planning, curriculum development, and a range of other concepts and strategies that supply new teachers with the tools needed for success. Additionally, during the first week of  September, all ETM Teaching Artists attend the three-day Teaching Artist Academy which offers seminars on varying topics from using Orff songs and games, to Choral Conducting techniques, to exploring Body Percussion and an array of other exciting and useful resources to use in the classroom.  There are also three similar one-day trainings spread throughout the school year. All seminars and trainings are paid. ETM's Program Staff provides on-going support and mentoring throughout the year to all Teaching Artists.

Additionally, all ETM teaching artists attend a two-day training seminar in early September and additional shorter seminars throughout the year.

All seminars and meetings are paid at a training rate of $20/hr. (Except for New Hire Training, which is paid on a stipend basis.)

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Q: What materials does ETM provide for students and ETM teaching artists?

A: ETM provides an assortment of general music classroom instruments such as hand percussion, recorders, xylophones, etc., as well as lesson plans, a lesson planner, various types of curriculums, markers, giant staff paper, instrument posters, music history times lines and other visual music learning aids and decorations. There is also a resource lab located in our main office on 42^nd Street which is available to our Teaching Artists any time during office hours and is stocked with a wide array of music education books and learning materials. In addition to this, many of our schools have been successful in getting keyboards and string instruments donated.

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A: Teaching artists report to the Director of Programs.

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A: ETM's in-school programs cease during July and August and in general, there is no work available for Teaching Artist during that time. However, there are limited employment opportunities as workshop presenters at our summer trainings for some of the more seasoned and experienced Teaching Artists.

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A: As a non-profit educational organization chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, ETM teaching artists fall under the same provisions as regular teachers. If it is anticipated that a teacher will be returning to a position in September, then unemployment benefits are not available during the summer. If, however, a teaching artist will not be returning to teach in September due to termination then unemployment eligibility is determined by the state.

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A: ETM is willing to accommodate a limited amount of absence due to touring, recording sessions or auditions if they do not amount to more than two weeks per school year. If such interruptions exceed these two weeks or become too frequent, then instructional consistency will suffer and continuing as a Teaching Artist may not be feasible. However, a principal's recommendation of the Teaching Artist's value to the school and that principal's willing to accommodate the necessary rescheduling on the Teaching Artist's behalf may offer a suitable solution in some cases if program quality is not compromised.    

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A: While this varies depending on background and training, it is not atypical, especially for beginning teachers, to spend an hour or more preparing each lesson plan. Thorough planning is critical to success in the classroom. Homework, worksheet, quizzes, projects and other assignments also take time to assess and record.

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A: Each ETM teaching artist receives informal observations from the program staff on at least a monthly basis. Formal observations are conducted twice a year. Observations focus on lesson planning, pacing, classroom management, student interaction, integration, etc.

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A: This depends on how much previous music instruction the students have received. Along with a curriculum, ETM has created benchmarks of skills to be attained for each grade.

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A: The first person to speak to about an unruly, or unteachable, class is the classroom teacher. Ask for his/her advice and suggestions. If the problem still seems unmanageable speak to the Director of Programs who will help you resolve difficult classroom situations. There's nothing wrong with asking for help -- we don't expect you to solve every problem by yourself. Please address the situation as soon as possible. We can't help if we don't know something's wrong.

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A: At present, ETM has several teaching artists who have worked for the organization for more than four years. Most teachers are actively pursuing their professional music careers and often find other employment after a couple of years. Others supplement their income through private teaching.

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Q: How do I apply to be an ETM teaching artist?

A: See the above link - "To apply for a teaching position with ETM, CLICK HERE"

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