The Nueva School

Upper School Social-Emotional Learning Teacher

August 2025

The Position

Nueva seeks an inspiring SEL teacher to co-design, plan, and lead core grade-level courses on social-emotional intelligence. In these courses, the SEL educator strikes a balance between providing intellectual frameworks and questions, teaching practices and skills in a student-centered pedagogy, and responding to issues and themes that arise. SEL courses aim to foster both the joy of learning and the habit of metacognition by building a space where students learn to engage deeply with their own mental and emotional models and each other through dialogue, perspective-taking, listening, identity awareness, and trust-building, while acquiring tangible skills in self-management, relationship-building, communication, and more. The SEL class is not a therapeutic space but a proactive skill-based curriculum intended to provide both the pragmatic techniques for lifelong success and the discursive habit for metacognition. Topics range from emotional regulation to civil discourse to holistic models of decision-making (epistemology), and are taught through activities, discussions, reflections, talking through scenarios, projects, and small tasks. 

Nueva’s belief in learning to care for the self, care for others, and care for the community has been fundamental to our commitment since the school’s inception. SEL helps make our motto of “Learn by Doing, Learn by Caring” a lived reality and as such is a stand-alone course in PK-12th grades, but also an ethos, the bedrock of the culture of kindness and emotional intelligence at Nueva, informing how students, faculty, staff, and families in the community relate to each other and to the world around them. Our SEL teachers are an important member of the Upper School faculty, reporting to the Upper School head, and they also liaise with the school wellness team, interfacing with advisors, deans, counselors, equity and inclusion practitioners, etc

Our model of Social-Emotional Learning at the Upper School pulls ideas and frameworks from psychology, cognitive science, therapeutic best practices, equity work, and philosophy to encourage students to learn both concepts and skills that benefit them personally. We hope to create students who are self-efficacious and self-aware, rooted in ethical and responsible decision-making. Because our gifted learners often engage initially with their feelings through intellectual hooks, we lean into teaching complex questions and curriculum, and use this as a catalyst to drive students towards reflection and engagement with the emotional, weaving the theoretical and the practical in each lesson.

We are seeking applicants who represent the full diversity of our community in the Bay Area. Our ideal candidate will possess a deep appreciation for the diverse socioeconomic, racial, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, academic, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community. In joining our team at Nueva, you will become a part of an inclusive, iterative and equity-minded community that recognizes that SEL is particularly powerful when taught and practiced with an equity and inclusion lens. 

In deciding whether to apply for a position at Nueva, you are strongly encouraged to consider whether your values align with Nueva’s Mission, Vision, and Values. 

Primary Responsibilities

• Plan curriculum with the SEL team and teach weekly classes, supporting the development of social and emotional learning skills including community building, collaboration, positive communication, emotional regulation, decision-making, and identity development; background in philosophy/epistemology and/or the kinds of topics taught in a “Theory of Knowledge” course would be very helpful
• Create dynamic, brave, rich, and often joyful spaces for students to discuss social and emotional issues, and help students develop strategies for managing themselves and their relationships through both the curriculum and support outside the classroom
• Liaise with school counseling and other wellness team members, ensuring students who raise concerns are connected to their support for appropriate follow up
• Work with deans, administrators, and advisors to proactively address and respond to grade-specific issues and provide curricular tie-ins that enrich student understanding of what they’ve learned
• Plan parent education events to convey SEL practices, skills, and language to strengthen the school-home partnership
• Co-plan or lead sessions at student onboarding events such as orientation and retreats, suffusing them with the SEL ethos
• Liaise with outside speakers and guest educators for key wellness units 
• Develop and teach courses expertly with the highest standards for each student
• Convey enthusiasm for intellectual inquiry, and model lifelong learning
• Design instruction that emphasizes critical thinking and real-world problem solving
• Collaborate with colleagues in the development and execution of curriculum
• Create hands-on, inquiry- and project-based learning experiences
• Collaborate effectively with students, parents, teachers, and administrators
• Model flexibility in implementing best learning practices
• Attend weekly faculty/staff and student wellness meetings
• Demonstrate interest and ability to serve as an advisor to students, lead student activities, serve as a club advisor, and contribute beyond the classroom to support school programs and activities
• Participate actively in other aspects of the student experience and school functioning: chaperoning trips and events, serving on committees, and developing new programs at the school
• Collaborate with our current faculty as partners in the ongoing design and implementation of our program.
• Lead by example in your commitment to Nueva’s mission: “Our school community inspires passion for lifelong learning, fosters social and emotional acuity, and develops the student’s imaginative mind.”

Position Qualifications

Because a dedicated SEL course is not a common high school offering, excellent candidates may come from a variety of fields (psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, counseling), but will all bring:

• Experience in leading groups of students through a course of study
• Depth of content knowledge (developmental stages of adolescence, theories of social-emotional competencies, background in cognitive sciences and/or philosophy, gifted learners, etc)
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Bachelor's degree and advanced studies
• Minimum of three years’ teaching/school-based counseling experience
• Successful teaching experience in secondary school and/or university
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Genuine interest and excitement to work with students and a desire to support their learning, explorations and aspirations
• A desire to integrate curriculum with other subjects and to teach collaboratively
• Flexibility and creativity in working in a dynamic environment where new ideas, mistakes, and iteration are embraced
• A profound openness to feedback and improvement, modeling lifelong learning of practice as well as subject area

Compensation and Benefits

The full-time equivalent salary range for this position is $77,000 to $141,800. The starting salary is based upon, but not limited to, several factors that include type and years of experience, education level, and expertise.

We offer a compensation and benefits package that includes fully paid medical, dental, vision, life insurance for employees, employer contribution toward dependent insurance premium, a generous match on our retirement plan, long-term disability insurance, flexible spending account, and free lunch. Eligibility rules must be met.

To Apply

Please send your application information (cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information of three references) to the Nueva Employment Website.  To address specific questions, please email Upper School SEL Department Chair Lee Holtzman, lholtzman@nuevaschool.org. 

The Nueva School is an Equal Opportunity Employer – we do not discriminate against any employee or job applicant on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability or sex. We welcome applications from people of color and those with experience outside the education field. 

About The Nueva School

The Nueva School, an internationally-recognized, nonprofit, independent day school, has served gifted and talented students since 1967. Today, Nueva serves nearly 1000 students PK-12. Nueva is located in the neighboring towns of Hillsborough and San Mateo, equidistant between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, serving six different counties throughout the Bay Area of Northern California.

A constructivist school, Nueva is known for its distinctive inquiry-based interdisciplinary studies, project-based learning, and pioneering work in social-emotional learning and design thinking. The Nueva community instills a passion for lifelong learning, fosters social and emotional acuity, and develops the imaginative mind. Our school has received the US Department of Education National Blue Ribbon Award, the US Department of Education National Green Ribbon Award, and the American Institute of Architects Award for School Design and Sustainability; has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished Program and appointed an Ashoka Changemaker School; co-founded the Common Ground Speaker Series; hosts the biennial Innovative Learning Conference, and was highlighted by the Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times best-selling author Thomas Friedman in his book That Used to Be Us in the chapter “Average Is Over.”

For more information about The Nueva School, visit our website: www.nuevaschool.org