Part-Time Founding Teaching Position · Reports to the Principal · Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred in Chemistry or Science Education · Illinois Professional Educator License in high school science preferred and National Board Certification a major plus · 3+ years of secondary (grades 6–12) teaching experience preferred; high school (grades 9–12) teaching experience highly 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 a chemistry teacher who brings precision, safety, and delight to the same lab bench? Do you believe chemistry is where mathematical thinking and the physical world first really meet for students? Are you excited to build an advanced pathway at a brand-new college-preparatory school? 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 https://www.davischicago.org/idealeducator 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 part-time Chemistry Teacher. Chemistry sits at the second step of our science ladder, and Davis Chicago offers an advanced path from day one: students with documented middle-school biology may begin in Chemistry as ninth graders. First-year sections depend on that advanced-entry enrollment; the need becomes certain as the founding class rises, so this role grows with the school. If you are interested in a full-time role and have the ability to teach mathematics in addition to science, Davis School Chicago is also hiring a founding STEM Department Chair https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/davischicago/7fed8022-8bcb-4a6a-a0fd-48c8b604a4d4. This role is a teacher-leader who builds our mathematics, science, and engineering program and teaches in it every day.
WHO THRIVES IN THIS ROLE
- Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.
- A Rigor-With-Joy Chemist – Precision, safety, and delight in equal measure.
- A Builder of Advanced Pathways – Ready to teach the students who arrive ahead.
- 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 –…