Library & Digital Media Specialist

About Burke’s

Burke’s is an independent K-8 gender-inclusive all-girls’ school located on a 3.5-acre campus in the Richmond/Sea Cliff neighborhood of San Francisco. Our mission is to educate, encourage, and empower girls. Our school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life. Based on more than 100 years of educational excellence, Burke’s today is one of California’s leading K-8 schools combining strong academic and co-curricular programs with an emphasis on personal growth in a diverse and inclusive community.

Our Library’s 40,000 item collection is deep, diverse, and tailored to meet the ever-evolving needs of our students, faculty, and families. Housed in a modern 5,000-square-foot space located at the center of our campus, it serves as a hub for teaching, learning, and community life. Blending the tried and true with innovation, the Burke’s Library supports 21st-century teaching and learning in its own curriculum and throughout the school program.

Position Description

The Library & Digital Media Specialist will work with students, teachers, and administrators to continue to implement a vision for a cutting-edge 21st century library that furthers the school’s mission to “Educate, Encourage, and Empower Girls.” This role is part of the Library and Makery Team and reports to the Director of Curriculum and Program Innovation.

In their work, the Library & Digital Media specialist will empower students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information and ideas by guiding them to read for understanding, breadth, and pleasure An ideal candidate is dynamic, committed to learning and growing as a professional, willing and able to collaborate with colleagues, and experienced in educational and library best practices.

The Library & Digital Media Specialist will work with our Lower School students and teachers (Grades K-4), collaborating with a counterpart who works with Upper School students and teachers (Grades 5-8) and with the Makery Facilitators and Technology Integration Specialists (Grades K-8). The division and nature of this work may evolve over time; we are looking for a candidate who is eager to be part of an ongoing dialogue about how our curriculum, pedagogy, schedule, and spaces can best meet our instructional goals.

Core Competencies

• Creative and Innovative Educator: Designing and facilitating learning experiences that integrate existing and emerging children’s fiction, nonfiction, and research resources into classroom curriculum and instruction.
• Effective Communicator: Communicating with empathy and clarity with multiple stakeholder groups: students, families, faculty, and staff (both internally and externally).
• Life-long Learner: Developing the knowledge, skills, and understandings needed to meet new or evolving needs.
• Flexible and Resilient: Responding to new challenges and emergent needs with a growth mindset and solution-oriented approach.
• Technological Acumen: Working effectively to leverage technology as a tool for learning.
• Team Player: Working with colleagues to achieve the school’s mission to educate, encourage, & empower girls.
• Creative Problem Solver: Developing original solutions to complex problems by leveraging resources in efficient and purposeful ways.
• Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Work: Understanding, communicating, and effectively interacting with people across backgrounds and cultures to respect, seek to understand, and value individual differences to serve students better.

Responsibilities

• Plan, teach, and co-teach lessons
• Instill a love of learning in all students and ensure equitable access to information and ideas
• Co-manage the day-to-day operations of the library, including budget, program, collection development, circulation, readers’ advisory, physical spaces, and online presence.
• Provide Library services to students, teachers, and families
• Assess, document, and report on student learning, including sharing information with other teachers, families, and school leadership
• Participate in ongoing dialogues with teachers, administrators, and the Library/Makery team related to the integration of literature, media, technology, and other library resources within and across divisions
• Train and support faculty in use of the library, its resources, and academic technology
• Work with the Library and Makery Team and classroom teachers to develop and coordinate media literacy, research skills, and digital citizenship curricula
• Collaborate with faculty to creatively and effectively harness a variety of ever-changing educational technologies and pedagogies
• Participate as a member of the Lower School faculty including participating in division meetings, attending assemblies, serving on school-wide committees, chaperoning field trips, and sharing supervisory responsibilities

Note: While the Covid-19 health & safety related protocols of our hybrid and distance learning plan has limited access to the Library spaces, our program has grown stronger as our flexible & resilient Library team reimagined the Library’s work. It is possible that the health & safety protocols will continue into the 2021-2022 school year. We are looking for someone who embodies a growth mindset and will continue this work furthering the Library’s mission-driven work both on day one and as we transition back to a more normal use of our spaces.

Professional Skills & Experience

• Required
  Bachelor’s Degree (MLS, MLIS, or related Master’s degree preferred)
• Library and classroom teaching experience (K-4 preferred)
• Vast knowledge of and deep passion for children’s and young adult literature
• Experience designing and implementing curriculum that is informed by a deep knowledge of both child literacy and child development
• Forward-thinking vision and a demonstrated interest in exploring ways literature, media, technology, and other library resources can transform learning
• Experience with and commitment to Library work centered around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion best practices
• Proven collaborator with a history of working closely with a variety of colleagues
• Expertise with project-based learning and educational technology

Preferred

• Understanding and appreciation of the social-emotional development of girls
• Familiarity with Responsive Classroom and Toolbox curriculum
• Teaching credential and/or National Board Certification
• Experience with the Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework and Project Based Learning
• History of coaching and/or leading faculty professional development
• Expertise with Apple technology (OSX and iOS), Google Workspace for Education, SeeSaw, Follett Destiny, and eBook deployment

Compensation

Burke’s offers competitive compensation based on prior experience and position requirements. Comprehensive benefits are provided. More information about the school can be found on the website at www.Burkes.org.

To Apply

Apply for this role at burkes.workable.com.  No telephone calls, please.

Burke’s is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to continuing to build an inclusive educational community and therefore are actively pursuing diversity in our administration, faculty, and student body. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.

Tagged as: K-6