The Organization 

DreamYard Vision: 

Building Artists- Building Community- Building Dreams- To change the world. 

Job Description

DreamYard is currently accepting applications for Teaching Artists in Visual Art, Design, Music, Music production, Theater, Poetry, Dance, Entrepreneurship, Career Readiness, and more for the 2023-24 school year. We are looking for passionate, experienced candidates with a strong practice in teaching for social justice and racial equity for in-school, after-school, and summer residency opportunities at our Bronx partner schools and the DreamYard Art Center. TAs must have demonstrated previous experience teaching in their discipline, in NYC public school settings or youth-centered spaces.

About DreamYard

DreamYard Project is committed to being an anti-racist organization. We lead with race because we operate in a country founded on the genocide of Indigenous people, the enslavement of African people, and the oppression of countless others. We acknowledge the role this history plays in perpetuating inequity and dominant white culture. We are intentionally building a path toward racial equity by:

• Challenging oppression and its intersections

• Using art and education as a platform to offer a hopeful vision of the future

• Identifying and uplifting the power and cultural assets that exist within our community of educators, artists, dreamers, young people and life-long learners

• Encouraging the principles of justice, unity, equity, creativity, and joy

• Transforming policies, procedures, practices, and programs (for example: striving for transparency and equity in pay and compensation structures regardless of race, culture, gender, ethnicity, creed, etc)

• Understanding our staff, community members and partners are at different levels on the anti-racist continuum and embracing that we all have a place in this work

As a DreamYard employee, we invite you to join us on this journey.

Co-Executive directors Jason Duchin and Tim Lord founded DreamYard in 1994. Over the past quarter century, DreamYard has worked with more than 100 public schools and over 100,000 young people and families.DreamYard has developed a robust educational community in the Bronx – from its in-school partnerships and launch of the DreamYard Preparatory High School to its Out of School Programs at the DreamYard Art Center in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx. Our role is to nurture, resource, encourage, inspire, and sometimes simply remind our community members of the power and endless possibilities that they hold. We do so by encouraging personal stories, acknowledging and working to change oppressive conditions, and fortifying each individual’s personal power to transform. 

Teaching Artist Position

DreamYard’s Teaching Artists are a powerful force in moving our educational system towards racial equity. DreamYard Teaching Artists are highly skilled artists and educators, committed to creating equitable learning spaces through collaborative teaching practices and social justice pedagogy. They report directly to the Program Director and are supported by DreamYard Department Heads and Program Coordinators. 

In our In School Programs, TA’s work closely with classroom teachers and school administrators. In School Residences are 90-minute or 45 minute sessions per classroom, per week plus weekly planning sessions with the classroom teacher from September through May (30 sessions).

In After School (school-based) Programs, Teaching Artists lead two 90-minute sessions per class, per week from September/October through May/June (60 sessions). 

Out-of-School Programs at our DreamYard Art Center closely mirror the structure of our In School Programs. Teaching Artists lead one to two 90-minute sessions per week and Saturday High School Program Teaching Artists lead 4 hour sessions each Saturday. Art Center Program Residencies run for 25 sessions (October through May). 

In our Legacy Internship Program residencies, Teaching Artists provide real work experiences as well as build career awareness and readiness by unlocking industry-specific knowledge, skills, and networks. Teaching Artists in these residencies exhibit expertise in entrepreneurship within their artform through an educational degree and/or professional accomplishments. A thorough understanding of Work-based Learning and its unique benefits and challenges in bridging the distance between work and school is a plus for this position.

Qualifications

• Expertise in an arts discipline exhibited through an educational degree and/or professional

accomplishment (published writing, exhibited artwork, performance experience etc.).

• Minimum two years full-time (or the equivalent, e.g. 4 years part-time) teaching an arts discipline in a school and/or community-based setting. Teaching experience in NYC public schools preferred.

• Bachelor's degree and/or Masters degree in arts discipline or related area.

• Department of Education fingerprinting (PETS) will be required (cost partially covered by DreamYard).

Responsibilities

Instruction:

• Design and facilitate robust project-based learning through a social justice lens.

• Residencies can include up to 9 hours of weekly planning meetings (with classroom teachers for In School residencies);

• Providing instruction in the arts (development of skills in arts disciplines consistent with NYC Blueprint) and through the arts (the achievement of academic goals as outlined in a school’s curriculum) by:

• Teaching and planning for 2-8 in-schools per week and/or possibly as many as 4 after schools per week;

• Developing long-term project-based unit designs (in collaboration with classroom teachers for In School residencies)

• Assessing participant learning based on learning goals and residency objectives;

• Organizing at least 2 sharings of student work.

For In-School Residencies: 

• Working in close collaboration with classroom teacher partners to:

• Plan lessons and projects during one in-person 45-minute planning session  per week (and via email and phone as well, when necessary);

• Share skills with the teacher to build capacity for arts instruction at the school;

• Co-teach lessons in which both TA and teacher partner have clear roles and responsibilities for generating student learning;

• Coordinate at least one trip to an NYC cultural institution and/or one guest artist per class with a connection to learning in the classroom.

*A note: After-schools are typically not co-taught with classroom teachers but are designed in collaboration with the school administration.

For Legacy Internship Program  Residencies

Responsibilities:

• Attend three 90-minute professional development sessions prior to program launch

• Design and facilitate 132 total hours of project-based entrepreneurship curriculum (6 weeks, 22 hours/week) for a group of ~15 interns, ages 16-19

• Conceptualize and coordinate an opportunity for interns to share their finished work or works in progress with the community during DY’s annual summer “sharings”

• Supervise and mentor one college-aged Assistant Teaching Artist as a part of DY’s Legacy Fellowship program

• Complete mid- and end-of-program evaluation forms for each intern and the assistant Teaching Artist

In addition to teaching and planning obligations, DreamYard Teaching Artists are expected to contribute 

to the life of the DreamYard community and the development of the larger arts education field by:

Documentation:

• Complete Curriculum maps and student rosters and document all project plans using DreamYard templates and planning tools;

• Collecting portfolios of student work for each class through photos, videos, and class artifacts.

Professional Development:

• Participating in DreamYard’s annual Teaching Artist retreat;

• Participating in a total of 40 hours of DreamYard TA professional development;

• Actively pursuing individualized professional development through coaching;

• Actively contributing to the professional development of the TA staff by sharing expertise and knowledge both formally and informally (e.g. leading a department meeting)

Celebrating DreamYard Students’ Accomplishments:

• Collaborating with community, school, and/or DreamYard staff on identifying and preparing student work for public events including but not limited to: school and regional arts festivals, annual DreamYard showcases (DreamFest ), and DreamYard fundraising events. TAs are expected to participate in one or more of these events a year.

Supporting DreamYard’s external communication:

• Collaborate when necessary with Development and Administrative staff on gathering information necessary to communicate DreamYard’s work to funders and the larger arts and education communities
  
  

Competencies

The ideal DreamYard TA is:

• Creative. Brings innovation, passion, and past experience to create a vibrant learning community.

• Collaborative. Flexible and open to ideas and knowledge; proactive, direct, and a sensitive 

communicator.

• Mission-driven. Aligned with DY’s mission for youth development and school and community 

reform.

• Reflective. Holds high expectations for her or his students’ achievement and is thoughtful about 

the process in which they get there; Holds high expectations for self as instructor, is thoughtful 

about his or her effectiveness as an educator, and is committed to ongoing improvement.

• Professional. Punctual to all DreamYard commitments. Completes tasks within the time allotted 

and proactively communicates challenges that may impact accomplishing duties. Abides by DreamYard and school norms (e.g. dress code).

Salary Range (per residency):

$2700 - $7100

Teaching artists typically teach several residencies per year;
To Apply 

Please submit (1) a resume, (2) a cover letter, and (3) contact information for at least three academic or professional references

DreamYard is committed to the principles of arts education, educational reform, and social justice, and fashions its programs to specifically address the needs of urban communities that are typically underrepresented because of race, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Accordingly, we welcome and encourage applications from a diverse range of individuals. Bronx-based and Spanish-speaking applicants are strongly encouraged to apply. DreamYard Project, Inc. employs without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, or any or other attributes not related to superior performance.