MIAMI, FLORIDA Director of Middle School Position Start Date: July 1, 2021 MIAMICOUNTRYDAY.ORG DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE SCHOOL POSITION DESCRIPTION CORE Mission+Miami Country Day School is aValues college preparatory learning community committed to educating the whole child. Through the core values of honor, respect, wisdom, and compassion, we prepare students to be lifelong learners. We inspire our children to develop their intellectual, physical aesthetic social, emotional, and spiritual potentials by valuing every student every day. WWW.MIAMICOUNTRYDAY.ORG Fast Facts PK3 - 12 1269 FOUNDED TUITION ASSISTANCE 1938 STUDENT TO $6M+ TEACHER TYPE 9:1 STUDENTS ON COED FINANCIAL AID DAY CAMPUS SIZE 18% STUDENTS 20 OF COLOR ACRES 45% FACULTY W/ADV. DEGREES 60% Portrait GraduateOF A Be intellectually curious and independent thinkers Demonstrate confidence in their abilities and resilience in the face of challenges and disappointments Evidence a commitment to lifelong learning and reading in their personal and professional lives Demonstrate good character and make good choices Practice honor, respect, wisdom, compassion, and mindfulness Possess a strong work ethic in all aspects of their lives College Matriculation LIST Three or More Enrolled, 2016-2020 American University Babson College Berklee College of Music Boston College Boston University Brandeis University Broward College Cornell University Dartmouth College Duke University Emerson College Florida Atlantic University Florida International University Florida State University George Washington University Indiana University, Bloomington Lynn University Miami Dade College Michigan State University New York University Northeastern University Nova Southeastern University Purdue University Syracuse University The New School The University of Tampa 3 OR MORE MEMBERS OF THE The University of Texas at Austin CLASS OF 2016 THROUGH 2020 Tufts University MATRICULATED AT THE Tulane University of Louisiana FOLLOWING UNIVERSITIES University of California, Los Angeles University of Central Florida University of Colorado Boulder University of Florida University of Maryland, College Park University of Miami University of Michigan University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of South Florida, Tampa University of Southern California University of Wisconsin, Madison Wake Forest University EVERY STUDENT. EVERY DAY. Overview For over eight decades, Miami Country Day School (MCDS) has lived out its motto, delivering an exceptional college- preparatory curriculum that educates the whole person. Currently serving around 1,270 students in PreK3 to 12, MCDS has undergone remarkable changes since its founding in 1938. Nonetheless, the faculty and student body at this FCIS-accredited coeducational day school are united in their appreciation and continued respect for the school’s mission, philosophy, and traditions. Across all grades and divisions, MCDS’s students present themselves as creative, poised, confident, multi-talented, and enthusiastic-truly thriving in an environment that nurtures their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, aesthetic, and spiritual potentials. From its nationally ranked chess club to its national champion girls’ basketball team, from its environmental studies center to its Comprehensive Outdoor Education Program, Miami Country Day School’s offerings are as exceptional as they are varied. School History In 1938, Mr. Luther “L.B” Sommers and Mr. C.W. “Doc” Abele opened The Miami Country Day and Resident Schools for Boys in what was then still a young and developing city. Originally and elementary boarding school, MCDS grew quickly in both size and reputation. The transition to its coeducational day program came in the 1950’s ,60’s and 70’s, as the school began admitting female students and boarding rooms were turned into classrooms to accommodate rising enrollment. The Upper School was added in the late 1970’s and MCDS graduates its first senior class in 1981. Miami Country Day School still occupies its original campus north of downtown Miami, but the facilities inhabited by the founding class of seven boys were quite different from what MCDS students enjoy today. While much has changed at MCDS since 1938, the school has retained the holistic approach to learning embraced by its founders, balancing rigorous academics with athletics and cultural enrichment to produce well-rounded and civic-minded young adults. THE SCHOOL Over the course of 80 years, Miami Country Day School has built a reputation of excellence in South Florida. The dedicated team of 178 faculty at MCDS is composed of committed stakeholders: teachers appreciate small classes sizes, cherish autonomy in the classroom, and feel fully supported by the administration. Across all divisions, a classical liberal arts curriculum is enhanced by a number of specialty programs that promote hands-on learning and whole-child engagement. With the rise of new media in recent decades, MCDS has embraced technology as an invaluable tool to improve educational practices, while holding fast to its commitment to ACADEMICS IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL Miami Country Day School offers a college-preparatory curriculum that seeks to educate the whole person. Building off of the foundations built in our Lower School program, the Middle School extends learning to deepen the students understanding of skills and concepts through a focus on the application and transfer of knowledge, so that our students know how to use information and question its relevance to their learning and life. A veteran faculty teach and mentor students to become skilled, critical thinkers so that they learn the importance of consistently asking why, how, and what if, in order for young adults to make connections between their THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM learning experience and the real world. In turn, our middle school students begin to develop their independence, identity, IS CHALLENGING, FOCUSING and sense of purpose. By combining traditional middle school ON CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND coursework with a well-developed elective program rooted THE APPLICATION OF CONTENT. in areas such as the arts, technology, leadership, and outdoor education, students have the opportunity to grow, explore, and personalize their middle years. Additionally, students are encouraged to join an athletic team, learn to play a musical instrument, build a robot, take part in a theatrical Production, develop a service project, or take part in one of our many clubs. IBELONG ADVISING PROGRAM iBelong in the Miami Country Day Middle School was founded in 2013. By focusing on dialogue, iBelong works to create an atmosphere of understanding and inclusivity that will translate Signature into an overall better educational experience for all of our students. It is the mission of iBelong to inspire members of the community to look out for one another. Through effective Programs communication, students will understand each other better and nurture the value of empathy, in the hopes of creating an inclusive community. iBelong is built around two basic ideas: coffeehouse, and support. • Coffeehouse is a symbol of open discourse and free thinking where once a month students participate in vigorous discussions on all types of topics. • With support from faculty and administration, students recognize more and more that the adults on campus care about their unique experiences. Classrooms and offices around campus should always be safe places where students can come to adults. SERVICE LEARNING Service learning is key to community service at MCDS and is an important contributor to one of our core values: compassion. Every student is involved in two service projects with their class during the school year, such as working with the lower school students, cleaning an area of the campus, and writing letters to our troops and more. GATEWAY JR Through hands-on and experiential education, GATEway Jr. prepares our students (our “GATEmates”) to be lifelong learners and true global citizens. The program has taken students on experiences in numerous countries across the Caribbean. Our GATEway Jr. students (grades 6-8) participate in cultural seminars during their time abroad. This opportunity serves as a platform for our students who matriculate to the Upper School to continue to work on a global studies endorsement. LEARNING RESOURCES PROGRAM Our Learning Resource Program embraces that there are all kinds of minds and that we all learn differently. This program is for students with documented learning differences, believing in the potential of all students by recognizing and celebrating their learning intelligences. The program provides a personalized learning/teaching environment that is student-centered with innovative teaching approaches. COEP – COMPREHENSIVE OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM COEP begins in 5th grade and continues through Middle School. It is an exciting, experiential program that serves as an outstanding part of enrichment and electives. They can also opt for overnight camping opportunities and day trips to nearby wildlife and nature reserves. The canal that borders the school also becomes a classroom through canoeing and studying the health of that ecosystem. Arts+Athletics ARTS The arts program is all about empowering students and challenging them to push themselves as artists and performers. Our arts students make things happen on the stage, behind the scenes and in our Center for the Arts gallery. From dance and theater performances to concerts and more, our students are participants in creating