Trombone Instructor – Private Lessons (Rachel Carson Elementary)

Merit School of Music seeks a part-time Trombone Instructor to teach private lessons through our Merit Music in Communities (MMIC) program at Rachel Carson Elementary School (5516 S. Maplewood Ave., Chicago, IL 60629), with the opportunity to also lead a beginning brass sectional.

Through the MMIC program, the instructor will work with 8 to 10 trombone students in Carson’s band program, which serves 100 to 110 students in grades 4 through 8. Students receive band instruction three times a week after school, weekly private lessons, and weekly sectionals for first-year students. The Trombone Instructor will teach the private lesson studio for trombone students and may also be considered to lead the beginning brass sectional. Additional teaching opportunities through Merit may be available in the future.

Must-Have Characteristics
• Bachelor’s degree in music or equivalent experience and training.
• Proven success teaching elementary to middle school trombone students at varying skill levels, from beginner through advanced.
• Strong classroom management skills.
• A high level of personal musicianship.
• Ability to collaborate and work well with colleagues, school faculty, and administrators.
• Punctual, professional, and communicative, with a flexible and adaptive disposition.
• Be an ambassador for Merit School of Music by representing the organization professionally in all settings and by counseling families and students to pursue their musical studies at the deepest levels.
• Reliable access to transportation, with the ability to commute to off-site teaching locations.
• A genuine commitment to Merit’s mission and to dignity-centered communication with students, families, and colleagues.

Preferred, But Not Required
• Experience working with staff and administration to support programming.
• Bilingual or multilingual; Spanish is especially valuable in this role, as many of our Rachel Carson families communicate primarily in Spanish.

Responsibilities of the Trombone Instructor include, but are not limited to:

Teaching and Instruction – 85%
• Deliver high-quality instruction to students in private lessons and, when applicable, the beginning brass sectional, commensurate with Merit’s curricula, teaching philosophy, mission, and values.
• Communicate with Rachel Carson Elementary School’s band director to determine individual student needs and goals.
• Communicate with on-site Merit Band Program faculty to coordinate instruction and support student development.
• Provide Merit staff with assessments and student recommendations for additional Merit programming.

Administrative Duties – 15%
• Complete student attendance records for private lessons and, when applicable, the sectional.
• Correspond with Merit staff, school administration, and students/families in a timely fashion to manage the private lesson studio.
• Recruit students to the private lesson studio and to Merit classes and programs.
• Attend Merit faculty meetings and/or department meetings as scheduled.
• Other projects as assigned.

Merit School of Music is a nationally accredited community music school headquartered in Chicago’s West Loop, with additional branches in Chicago’s Old Town and South Shore neighborhoods. Merit’s primary goals are to help young people transform their lives and experience personal growth through music by providing access to sustained participation. For more than 45 years, Merit has been home to a diverse community of talented young musicians and has served as a springboard for them to achieve their full musical and personal potential. Our 125+ passionate and experienced teaching artists provide access to high-quality music education, engaging between 2,500 and 3,000 students annually through programming at three branches and in 25+ schools and community centers across the Chicago region.

Merit students, who reflect Chicago’s socioeconomic and ethnic diversity, have the rare opportunity to learn together, dream together, teach each other, and broaden their horizons as they build inspiring lives through music. Merit develops musicians and equips young people with the tools they need to excel in life; virtually 100 percent of Merit graduates attend conservatories or colleges, with 50 percent choosing to study music at the postsecondary level.

Merit School of Music is committed to building a world where historically underrepresented groups can attain access to quality music education. Simultaneously, Merit endeavors to be an organization that genuinely reflects Chicago’s richly diverse community. Merit is dedicated to being an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and anti-racist organization and continually examining our efforts in this area.