STEM DEPARTMENT CHAIR (MATHEMATICS & SCIENCES)

Full-Time Founding Leadership Position · Reports to the Principal · Master’s degree required in Education, Educational Leadership, Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field; doctorate preferred · Illinois Professional Educator License in high school math and science preferred and National Board Certification a major plus · 3+ years of successful teaching experience required · Some form of leadership experience is required; Department, administration, or instructional leadership preferred · College-preparatory, independent, Jewish day or faith-based school experience is a plus · Being Jewish is not a requirement for this role · Fewer years but exceptional craft? We hire for mastery, not seat time.

Are you an accomplished educator and academic leader passionate about teaching and learning in STEM? Do you want the opportunity to shape and lead a world-class STEM program that prepares students for college, leadership, innovation, and impact? Are you passionate about cultivating intellectual curiosity, academic excellence, problem-solving, research, and innovation in the lives of young people? If so, Davis School Chicago wants to hear from you.

The Dream Team

Davis School Chicago is a proudly Jewish, college-preparatory high school opening in fall 2027 in downtown Chicago, in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of a great city for learning. Every adult at Davis Chicago is an educator and a culture-builder. We hold two expectations at the same time: deep human warmth and uncompromising intellectual excellence. High health and high results, never one at the cost of the other. This is a summary of the characteristics that describe our dream team. Please read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator and more information about our opportunities before you apply.

To thrive here you are:

Warm and intellectually formidable. Genuinely kind and seriously bright. We hire for intellectual horsepower; only sharp minds grow students to their full potential.

You bring the room to life. Passion people feel, loud or quiet, with the range to teach, support, and lead.

A builder who owns it. Startup grit, a real growth mindset, open about mistakes, gives the gift of feedback, and the drive to create what doesn’t exist yet.

Teach how to think, not what to think. Rigor, evidence, and a love of hard questions, including the controversial ones. Students reach their own conclusions.

Rooted in tradition, built for what’s next. Ancient wisdom and modern tools, AI included, aimed at today's problems.

Unapologetically Jewish. Israel has a right to exist; that is not up for debate. Everything else is fair game, including spirited debate about Israel’s actions. You’re excited to help build a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel school.

What Davis Chicago Needs

Davis Chicago is hiring a rigorous, inventive STEM Chair to build our mathematics, science, and engineering program from its first course map, and to teach in it every day. As a founding leader, the Chair is a member of the team opening a school from scratch. Therefore, the person needs to be a builder-leader: someone who can take a bold founding vision and turn it into a living school, then run a department in that school at a level of excellence every student, parent, and teacher can feel.

Davis School Chicago has also posted part-time Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry Teacher roles. If you want to teach your subject without leading the department, apply for the part-time role that fits; if you are open to either, apply to both.

Who Thrives in This Role

Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.

A Teacher First – Leads from the classroom and teaches every day.

A Rigorous Problem-Solver – Models mathematical and scientific thinking students can feel.

An Entrepreneurial Builder – Thrives in ambiguity, solves problems, and creates programs, systems, and traditions from the ground up.

A Curious and Courageous Thinker – Embraces learning, evidence, critical thinking, and meaningful debate.

Rooted and Forward-Looking – Honors tradition while embracing innovation, technology, and AI.

Committed to Jewish Life and Community – Values Jewish identity, the diversity of Jewish thought, and meaningful engagement in Jewish life.

A Collaborative Culture-Builder – Balances accountability, care, and results while elevating everyone around them.

The Role

The STEM Department Chair is the academic and instructional leader of the STEM Department and serves as a key member of the school’s academic leadership team. Reporting to the Principal, the Chair provides vision, leadership, supervision, and support for faculty and curriculum across the STEM disciplines, including mathematics, science, engineering, and computer science.

This is a founding seat. Build a STEM program respected for academic excellence, and make Davis Chicago a destination for exceptional STEM education. The STEM Chair will establish a cohesive departmental vision, cultivate a culture of professional excellence, and develop an innovative, college-preparatory curriculum that reflects Davis School Chicago’s mission and values. The Chair will champion interdisciplinary learning, evidence-based instructional practices, student-centered pedagogy, and authentic assessment while helping to build a signature STEM program recognized for intellectual rigor and academic distinction.

This is a teaching chair, and the balance evolves by design. In the launch years, the Chair carries a substantial teaching load while building the department from scratch. As the school grows, the role carries increasing dedicated time for curriculum development, classroom observation and coaching, and professional development planning — the steady state Davis Chicago is building toward.

1. Academic Vision and Department Leadership

Develop and articulate a compelling vision for STEM education that aligns with the school’s mission, strategic priorities, and educational philosophy.

Lead the design, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement of a vertically aligned STEM curriculum across mathematics, science, engineering, and computer science.

Exercise founding-level design authority: architect the STEM course sequence from first principles — integrated, accelerated, and other ambitious models are welcome — provided the result meets or exceeds AP frameworks and prepares students for the most selective colleges.

Ensure curricular coherence, rigor, and relevance across all grade levels and disciplines.

Promote interdisciplinary learning experiences that connect STEM with the humanities, Jewish studies, arts, and real-world issues.

Monitor emerging research, best practices, and innovations in STEM education and integrate them into departmental programs.

Evaluate emerging trends in artificial intelligence, engineering, computer science, sustainability, and innovation education.

Analyze student achievement data and assessment outcomes to strengthen teaching and learning.

Build a culture that values scientific inquiry, creativity, innovation, problem-solving, and intellectual curiosity.

Build the department around the accomplished-practice standards for mathematics and science teaching (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards), including their signature commitments: students reason and think mathematically, investigate and explore patterns, and work with equipment and resources as similar as possible to those used by practicing scientists.

Build relationships with universities, research institutions, technology organizations, healthcare systems, and industry partners and develop signature STEM experiences that distinguish Davis School Chicago among leading college-preparatory schools.

Serve as an ambassador for STEM education within the school and broader community.

Showcase student achie