Teaching at Unity
Unity’s core purpose is to provide all students with an exceptional educational experience that empowers them to lead fulfilling lives.
As a small, open-enrollment, community-based charter school that proudly serves the families of central Brooklyn in grades 6-12, a Unity education is best described as personalized, inclusive, well-rounded, and keenly focused on each child’s long-term growth and development as skillful learners and whole-hearted human beings.
Given these qualities, Unity’s most important resource as a school is the talent and dedication of our faculty and staff. At its core, a school is only as good as the learning experience of students over the course of each day. We invest significant time and resources to ensure that we, as a team, are providing all of our students with daily learning experiences that are healthy, safe, engaging, supportive, and appropriately challenging.
We aim for each and every one of our students, upon graduating from Unity, to be empowered with the skills, knowledge, experiences, and disposition to succeed in their postsecondary endeavors, lead fulfilling lives, and positively impact their communities.
Our Recent Accomplishments
Regardless of where students are academically or otherwise as they enter our school, our focus is on accelerating growth and on cultivating long-term academic and non-academic success. This focus has reaped impressive results for our students and families in recent years. Among our accomplishments:
- 94% of our first three graduating classes earned their high school diploma in four years.
- 100% of our graduates had formal college and career plans with a college matriculation rate of 76%. This compares favorably to a 58% college matriculation rate for students in NYC.
- 95% of our graduates complete at least one Advanced Placement (AP) course in high school. This compares favorably with the 33% of NYC graduates who enroll in AP courses during their high school tenure.
- Our students who comprise subgroups that traditionally have been least effectively served by our education system, including students classified as economically disadvantaged, Black, Latino, and students with disabilities, have consistently outperformed their district and state peers in our high school graduation rates.
- In holding true to our belief in providing a truly empowering education, a vast majority of our students experience the following over their seven years at Unity:
- After-school extra-curricular activities, including athletics and clubs;
- Formal community service initiatives;
- End-of-year middle school Roundtable presentation – a 45-minute oral presentation given to families, Unity faculty, and community members, and;
- Intensive counseling in College & Career Readiness beginning in 9th grade.
Who Are We as a Team of Educators
We are key agents for advancing social justice.
➤We see our work as a calling, not just a job.
➤As public school educators, we work to level the playing field and ensure that all doors are open to our students.
We strive each and every day to be our best for our students and each other.
➤We take pride in perfecting our craft and putting our full heart into everything we do.
➤Time is precious – we seize every learning moment for ourselves and our students.
We are relentless in promoting academic growth among all of our students.
➤We measure our success through our students’ consistent, accelerated, yearly growth.
➤As “warm demanders,” we balance our high expectations with high support.
We are a team of educators who all take full responsibility to develop our students as whole-hearted human beings.
➤We embrace the vibe of being a small, community-based, 100% open-enrollment school.
➤We hustle to offer a rich and bountiful education in the liberal arts & sciences along with extensive extracurricular opportunities.
Compensation:
As a school that truly values the impact that caring and talented educators have on a child’s educational experience, Unity’s compensation is among the highest in the city.
Through our unique career ladder for teachers, salaries among Unity teachers range from $70,000-$130,000 depending on a teacher’s achieved level within the ladder, which, in turn, is based on a teacher’s demonstrated skill and impact on student learning and our school. More information on our career ladder and corresponding compensation among Unity teachers can be found here. Compensation among administrators and non-teaching staff are also highly competitive with other charter schools and networks in New York City, depending on roles and responsibilities toward meeting one’s annual core goals.
Benefits:
- Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with low copays and out-of-network coverage options
- 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan including an employer match
- Access to financial experts for student loan forgiveness and personal finance
- Personalized workshops to assist in navigating the New York State Teacher Certification Pathway, including financial assistance for application fees, workshops, and certification-related assessments
- Generous paid time-off (PTO) policies, including:
- Sick and personal time available, in addition to time off for all school holidays and extended break periods (spring break, winter break, midwinter break, summer break, federal holidays, etc.)
- Six to eight weeks of fully paid leave for new primary caregivers and three weeks for secondary caregivers
- Designated, paid caregiver flex time (after twelve months of employment)
- Participation in the NYS Paid Family Leave program (including additional time off for bonding with a newborn or taking care of a dependent)
- Short-term disability, long term disability, and life insurance at zero cost to employees
- Long-term tuition support for employees continuing their educator pathway
- MacBook Air and classroom setup budget allocation
- Gym reimbursement options
- Other Supports: Support with matters concerning mental health, sustainability, employee wellness, and balance, including access to telehealth counseling services
Teacher Promotion System (pdf):
