Music Teacher: 6th-8th Grade

Music Teacher: 6th-8th Grade

Temporary, one-year position

Arbor School of Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit, independent K-8 school with 190 students, is seeking a middle school music teacher for the 2026-2027 school year. Arbor School is situated on a wooded 21 acre campus 20 minutes south of downtown Portland, Oregon. Arbor is a small school with a tight-knit community and collaborative faculty. The middle school has roughly 70 students, with 21-25 students per grade. Middle schoolers (called "Seniors" at Arbor) attend Music twice a week in grade level classes.

The ideal candidate for this position will be a dynamic and flexible individual who is drawn to supporting the development of children within a school community dedicated to cultivating intellect, character, and creativity, and will:

• Demonstrate curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to experiment.
• Value and build upon Arbor's inquiry-based approach to Music education.
• Show readiness to integrate music curriculum with thematic curriculum in collaboration with middle school teachers.
• Continue to foster a "singing school" by supporting singing in various contexts beyond Music classes.
• Demonstrate confidence in co-leading weekly all-school assemblies -- leading songs, supporting student presentations.
• Relish the opportunity to work with a close faculty in a positive, dynamic, and collaborative environment.

Qualifications:

• Orff Schulwerk certification preferred
• Training and experience in general music education preferred
• An investment in imagining, supporting, and enriching all-school events
• The ability to invite and develop student singing in various contexts
• Strong classroom management skills

At Arbor, we aim to foster collaboration, empathy and civil discourse within student partnerships and cross-grade groupings, modeling this within our teaching teams and parent collaborations -- believing that what makes us different as individuals will make us stronger as a community. We hold inclusivity and equity as central values and work to continuously expand our own cultural competence.

Music instruction at Arbor is based on the Orff Schulwerk approach through which Primaries (K-1) and Juniors (2-3) launch a voyage of musical exploration that builds interest and skill, mining favorite chants and rhymes for rhythmic and melodic patterns to extract, read, play, and notate. At the Intermediate (4-5) level, study of the recorder begins, and children grow in independent musicianship through composition, improvisation, and taking on more performance decisions. At the middle school level, students take on leadership roles, continue to expand their musicianship through singing, putting on a production (such as a musical), and advanced Orff ensemble structures. Barred instruments, ukuleles, recorders, drums, and other instruments are available. Arbor middle school students enjoy two music periods every week, as well as singing frequently at school assemblies -- drawing from the broad selection of favorites we have compiled in the Arbor songbook. Integration with academic themework deepens and enriches classroom studies.

This is a temporary, one-year position, with the opportunity to apply for a permanent position, should it become available. This position is .4 FTE (two days a week) during the academic year. Salary commensurate with experience.

Please send your resume and letter of interest to info@arborschool.org, attention Isaac Enloe.