Teacher responsibilities

Because of our commitment to small class sizes and democratic school management, The Kindezi School will employ a small administrative staff and rely on teacher leadership and assistance with administrative and auxiliary responsibilities of the school. Each Kindezi teacher will be responsible for teaching one special (art, p.e., world language, music, etc.) per week with 24 students, supervise one lunch/recess period per week, and lead one whole class (24:1) instruction day per month. In addition, teachers will assist in school administration via one of the following managerial committees:

• Community and Communication
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
• Special Education/Emotional Health

 
In order to allow Kindezi teachers ample time for their instructional and administrative work, the school model includes one “whole class instruction day” per week, in which one of four grade level teachers will instruct all 24 students in that particular grade. As a result, on such days three of four Kindezi teachers will be able to utilize six hours (out of an 8 hour day) of unstructured time for administrative work, professional development, and instructional planning. Two hours of that day will be spent with students in normal small classes: one hour for language arts and one for math.

Kindezi Teaching Calendar
In year one, teachers will begin work on the July 5th. This will allow for an entire month of teacher training, planning, team building, and general preparation for opening a school with 96 students and 19 staff members. In year one, school will start for students at the same time as Atlanta Public Schools (APS). In future years, starting in year two, the academic school year will begin three weeks earlier than the APS calendar, which is typically in mid-August. This will make for an extended school year of 195 school days instead of the typical 180.

Typical Kindezi teacher schedule  (8 hours)

* For any period with a 24:1 student-teacher ratio, teachers will only teach/supervise once every four days.
** All Kindezi teachers will specialize, teaching two core subject areas daily to a homeroom class and a second class.