The Quarry Lane School seeks to attract those who are experts in their fields, love working with children and who, through their teaching, inspire students to reach their highest potential.

The Quarry Lane School is a coeducational, non-sectarian, college preparatory school serving preschool through grade 12, which supports a diverse faculty and student body.  Our mission is to create an atmosphere that inspires a lifelong love of learning so that each student can reach his or her full potential- emotionally, socially, academically, and physically- in order to assume responsibility as a future citizen of the world.  The guiding philosophy of The Quarry Lane School is “I can make a difference.” Within this philosophy we strive to meet the emotional and educational needs of our students and encourage further social and academic exploration.  Our goal is to develop the whole child in a learning environment which promotes self-esteem, encourages natural creativity and provides a solid academic foundation.

Position Summary:

To plan, organize, and implement an appropriate instructional program in a learning environment that guides and encourages students to develop and fulfill their academic potential for our Speech and Debate Program.  This position will be responsible for designing and implementing curriculum for the Speech & Debate electives for Middle and High School.

The Quarry Lane Speech and Debate team has consistently ranked among the top in the nation since the program’s establishment in 2016, earning spot in prestigious, national tournaments and receiving distinction awards in the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) honor society.  Quarry Lane Has achieved coveted qualifying bids to the Tournament of Champions and has broken records at both the middle and high school levels.

The Speech & Debate Coordinator/ Teacher has in-depth knowledge of National Speech & Debate Association competitive debate, experience coaching novice and advanced levels, as well as the  multiple events (such as Original Oratory, Expository Public Forum, Impromptu, Lincoln Douglas Debate, and Student Congress) and a willingness to travel.  This position is expected to plan, organize and implement any on-site tournaments.  This position creates an appropriate instructional program in a learning environment that guides and encourages students to develop and fulfill their academic potential.

Responsibilities:

• Train teams of middle and high school students for regional, state and national competitions
• Develop daily, weekly, and monthly lesson plans to progressively prepare students for various competitions
• Organize registration and judging obligations for local and national tournaments
• Organize travel logistics for national tournaments (booking flights, hotels, rental cars etc.)
• Run after-school club meetings once per week
• Organize and host Quarry Lane’s annual tournament
• Supervise and collaborate with staff to ensure the success of the program
• Select, organize, and publish a schedule of competitions
• Respond to or solicit invitations to tournaments, designation of a competition calendar, and completion of appropriate documentation
• Provide individual and group instruction in preparation for tournament competition
• Travels with team to tournaments locally, regionally and nationally
• Observe and evaluate student performance and development
• Participate in appropriate professional activities
• Ensure the safety of students by adhering to both team and general school rules and regulations while on QLS premises and while traveling
• Facilitate weekly student meetings
• Develop and provide initial season parent information meetings and judging meetings
• Plan and administer an end of the year banquet: organize food catering, make slideshows with acknowledgements etc.
• Completing expense reports and reimbursement forms for personal and club purchases
• Communicating with parents regarding travel details and any necessary fees
• Keeping track of club finances, fundraising, and budgeting
• Delegating student officer roles and responsibilities
• Occasional judging of speech and/ or debate events at travel tournaments
• Running parent information session and judge training nights
• Maintain student records on National Speech and Debate Association website and release/ publicize to school newsletter Cougar Weekly

Speech & Debate Teacher Responsibilities:

• Grade student work, and maintain/ update grades
• Build and maintain positive relationships with students and instructional teams
• Communicate effectively with students and families
• Ability to work outside the normal schedule periodically in collaboration with colleagues
• Utilize both formative and summative assessment for student mastery
• Develop unit plans and lesson plans based on current topics
• Run mock debates for a variety of debate events
• Curate a speech collection for students to perform in practice and at tournaments
• Assist students in writing and developing debate cases and cutting speech scripts

Other Attributes:

• Self-started who is driven to learn and constantly seeks ways to improve professional skills
• Team-player who is willing to collaborate and support colleagues when needed
• Life-long learner who is optimistic, flexible, and passionate about helping all student reach their potential
• Strong commitment and desire to work with youth and adults in a collaborative environment
• Enjoy the challenge of implementing new teaching methods and educational tools in an ever changing and strategic environment
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree is preferred
• Willingness and ability to work with student of all ages, ranging from grades 7-12