Assistant Professor of Middle Grades Education (Graduate Level)

THE OPPORTUNITY

The MGE program at NLU believes that schools can and must do better by all young adolescents. Our program is guided by the possibility of teacher-facilitated joyful, civic-minded, and socially conscious student engagement across content areas and populations. We are seeking a faculty member whose commitments to transformative pedagogy aligns with our vision for teacher preparation.

The Assistant Professor of Middle Grades Education (MGE) is a 10-month, professional practice faculty position. The primary responsibility for this role is to demonstrate excellence in teaching, service, and thought leadership borne from a combination of deep familiarity of research and scholarship as well as ongoing opportunities and challenges faced by students and educators in the 5^th-8^th grade band range. This professional educator will also serve as co-chair of the Middle Grades Education program, working collaboratively with the current chair and other adjunct faculty members.

WHO WE ARE

NLU's National College of Education (NCE) understands that serving PreK-12 students as teachers and school leaders is a calling, a commitment, and a career. Our unique style of partnership with students at all levels-from new teacher preparation to advanced professional programs to doctoral degrees-guides all we do as we create today's teachers and tomorrow's leaders.

Our programs are designed with the needs of our students in mind. Graduates frequently cite the National College of Education's top quality professors, convenient locations, flexible course offerings and affordability. Most of all, the commitment to "real world" progressive education is unparalleled. NCE graduates make a difference. Our educators are found in 40% of Illinois public schools and 75% of Chicago Public Schools, collectively impacting the lives of 60,000 students each year.

At NCE, our commitment to learning includes ourselves. We have recently created four new programs and evolved an additional 21 programs to more appropriately address the needs of today's educators.

WHO YOU ARE

You are: A Change Leader.
You are an accomplished PreK-12 educator with a passion for developing students and teachers to their fullest potential. You are an experienced leader who has successfully guided schools and/or district through change. You are a constructive partner who leads the work that needs to be done and advocates for high quality education. You are a veteran educator attracted to university teaching as a new career step and a new level of positive influence on American education. You are deeply motivated by a desire to work in a learning community that is preparing the next generation of life-changing leaders.

You will: Model and Support Research.
You believe in the power of practitioner researchers. You will draw upon current research to inform your instruction. You will use your research agenda to model research methodologies for our candidates. You will support our candidates as they become research practitioners.

You are ready to: Make an Impact.
Each and every day, this program changes lives. You want to be a part of NCE's societally impactful leadership as an educator preparation institution. You are someone who will always look for creative ways for students to earn success. We know this work is challenging, but we are in it together and you are inspired by the opportunity to work collaboratively with other educational leaders to optimize our impact together.

The Assistant Professor of MGE is responsible for student success across the major and concentration including guiding students as they translate theory into practice and work toward licensure. While this is primarily a teaching position, the role will also contribute expertise in the overall coordination, design, development, and implementation of the Middle Grades Education program, which currently delivers instruction both in-person and virtually.

This position requires a high degree of collaboration and communication across programs and units. The Assistant Professor of MGE works in close collaboration with faculty across the National College of Education (NCE), the Office of Field Education (OFE), and the Secondary Education Program. This role also provides service to the institution and engages in thought leadership as required by the National College of Education (NCE) model, which asks all professional practice faculty to engage in ongoing dissemination of and participation in novel approaches to teacher preparation.

Doctoral Degree in Education or ABD (preferably in Curriculum and Instruction or its equivalent). A concentration in Teacher Education and/or Critical Pedagogies preferred.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• A track record of teaching excellence and accomplishments in a variety of middle grades settings (at least 3 years of experience teaching this age range).
• A well-defined vision for training teachers to teach across 5^th-8th grade that aligns with critical, student-centered, and interdisciplinary models of education.
• A strong sense of how teacher preparation should attend to education debts.
• Demonstrated ability to develop unique partnerships with diverse stakeholders (families, community leaders, community organizations, NPOs) to improve outcomes for students and teachers.
• Significant professional accomplishments and strong leadership potential.
• Ability to remain agile and flexible as the program iterates.

Preferred Skills/Expertise:

• Strong familiarity with inclusive, community-centered, and inquiry models of teaching often employed in schools (e.g. UDL, UbD, PBL, Restorative Justice approaches, SEL) and how these models are best optimized to serve young adolescents.
• Familiarity with content-area requirements and standards across the curriculum in 5^th-8^th grade settings.
• An interest in engaging in self-study and formative design research to monitor and improve coursework and programmatic outcomes.

NLU Inclusion Statement:

National Louis University is deeply committed to serving its community, advancing access and equity, and ensuring that all individuals are welcomed and valued. We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. These are more than just words to us: they are truly a way of life for the NLU community. We recognize that differences in abilities, age, ethnicity, gender (identity and expression), race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and background bring richness to our work environment. We affirm diverse perspectives, innovative contributions, and authentic presentations of self from every member within the NLU community. We believe inclusion is grounded in the actions we intentionally take each day. Our goal is to inspire and empower NLU employees and community members to cultivate an environment where we collectively focus on uplifting and advancing our institutional culture.

At National Louis University, we offer our employees an innovative environment to work together and inspire the ideas that will make an impact. As our external environment changes, our employees are provided the opportunities and tools needed to grow both personally and professionally to remain successful. NLU employees and dependents are offered a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to, Health Insurance benefits, Retirement benefits, Paid Time Off and Educational Opportunities. Additional information regarding full-time faculty benefits can be found here.

NLU Faculty salaries are based on rank within each college. The ranges for each rank for the National College of Education are listed below:

2024 NCE 10-Month Faculty Salary Ranges

Compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate. Offers are based on multiple factors permitted by law, including but not limited to: budgetary considerations, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, current/previous faculty rank, market considerations, tenure and standing with the university (applicable to current employees), and internal equity.