About the Role
The Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy at the Goldwater Institute promotes understanding, appreciation, support, and defense of the U.S. Constitution and its founding principles. This new center recognizes the need to reach students, teachers, school leaders, parents, and other public audiences through scholarship, education, and communication.
The Civics Education Specialist will assist in the implementation of Van Sittert Center initiatives and serve as a liaison to school districts, charter schools, private schools, libraries, and other community/grassroots organizations and institutional partners to advance the center’s work.
Primary Duties
- Review civics/social studies instructional materials used in elementary, secondary, and/or higher education settings, including teacher preparation programming.
- Assist in the creation of a repository of high-quality teacher generated civics, history, and government related instructional resources & syllabi.
- Liaison with teachers, school leaders, and other public and private educational providers to promote the integration of high-quality history/civics resources and curricula.
- Promote greater collaboration amongst educational institutions serving students across the different levels of K-16 who are committed to instilling constitutional appreciation.
- Coordinate with institutional partners to facilitate the distribution of the center’s original educational materials.
- Collaborate with partner organizations to organize professional development workshops for teachers that focus on American history/civics.
- Develop and coordinate program for Van Sittert Center teaching fellows in K-12.
- Arrange speaker opportunities in partnership with school or community-based organizations.
- Support the implementation of the center’s civics related initiatives including student essay writing contests, scholarship program opportunities, and the dissemination of teacher/student questionnaires regarding civic knowledge / appreciation.
- Review citizenship test outcomes and other measures of constitutional literacy across educational institutions.
- Coordinate with communications team to assist with development of digital communications efforts (e.g. podcast series, videos, etc.) promoting principles of constitutional republican government.
Minimum Requirements
- Teaching or administrative experience in elementary, secondary, and/or higher education.
- Experience with school district or charter school curriculum procurement, professional development, lesson planning design, tutoring, and/or teacher training.
- Expertise in American history and/or constitutional principles.
- Effective writing and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work full-time from the Phoenix office.
- Ability to travel–primarily within the Phoenix metro area and nationally on occasion–as needed.
- Additional desired qualifications include:
- Classroom teaching experience in elementary or secondary schools.
- Familiarity with Arizona schools, especially in the Phoenix area.
- Experience / familiarity with the Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story and related resources.
- Experience with multiple forms of education (public, private, home-based instruction).
- Project management experience
To Apply
Please provide cover letter, resume, salary expectations and references directly to kday@goldwaterinstitute.org.
Salary and Compensation
The Goldwater Institute offers competitive salaries, bonuses and benefits including employer-paid group health insurance, health savings accounts, a 403(b) plan with an employer match, long-term disability insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, life insurance, and generous vacation and leave policies.
The Goldwater Institute is an equal opportunity employer. The Goldwater Institute was established in 1988 as an independent, non-partisan research and educational organization dedicated to the study of public policy. Through its research and litigation, the Institute promotes public policy founded upon the principles of limited government, economic freedom, and individual liberty.