Each year The Taft School awards four to six Teaching Fellowships, which provide an opportunity for talented, recent college graduates to explore the boarding school profession. Two distinguished fellowships are endowed by alumni: the Mailliard Fellowship and the Samuel Carpenter Fellowship. The Fellowship Program features the mentoring of an experienced teacher, a series of seminars on practical teaching matters and pedagogical philosophies, and extensive collegial support.
Fellows are engaged in all facets of boarding school life and education. Typically, a fellow teaches two (or occasionally three) classes; coaches or contributes to an extracurricular program in the fall, winter, and spring; and has dormitory responsibilities. Working closely with a mentor who teaches in the same discipline, if not the same course, the fellow learns about curriculum matters, classroom dynamics, preparation for class, creating and implementing assessments, and other fundamental aspects of the profession. Dedicated to the development of the fellow's teaching proficiency, the mentor is a readily available resource, offering information, advice, feedback, and at all times support. Because the fellow is solely responsible for his or her classes, the mentor assumes an unobtrusive advisory role designed to enable the Fellow to succeed.
At the same time, fellows participate in weekly seminars, facilitated by the director of teaching fellowships, which focus on topics ranging from pragmatic matters directly relevant to teaching at Taft, to more general pedagogical principles and practices, to adolescent development and cognitive research. There is a concerted effort to make these seminars pertinent to the fellow's immediate teaching experience as well as intellectually stimulating and philosophically provocative.
As members of the faculty, Fellows receive a salary, housing and board, medical benefits, and other perquisites. The school also encourages, and often generously funds, professional development undertaken by fellows during their employment. Fellowships are awarded for one year; however, the most promising fellows may be encouraged to apply for a full-time position for the following year if a suitable opening becomes available. Teaching Fellowships are awarded in the following disciplines: biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, French, Spanish, English, and history.
Application Procedure
Applicants for a Teaching Fellowship must be well-qualified in their academic subjects, enthused about teaching and living with adolescent students, and willing to engage energetically in all aspects of boarding school life.
Please complete the on-line application at: taftschool.org/employment/faculty. This application process requires you to include a PDF copy of your resume, cover letter, college transcripts, and two letters of reference.
If you have any questions concerning the Fellowship Program, please contact Steve Schieffelin at schieffelins@taftschool.org or 860-945-7818.
Candidates interested in full-time teaching positions, should refer to the Employment page.
The Taft School is fully accredited by The New England Association of Schools and Colleges. It is the policy of The Taft School to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religious creed, age, sex, pregnancy, marital status, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, veteran's status, genetic predisposition or any other legally protected status.
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