Employment Opportunities

Music Teacher: 6th-8th Grade
Temporary, one-year position

Arbor School of Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit, independent K-8 school with 190 students, is seeking a middle school music teacher for the 2026-2027 school year. Arbor School is situated on a wooded 21 acre campus 20 minutes south of downtown Portland, Oregon. Arbor is a small school with a tight-knit community and collaborative faculty. The middle school has roughly 70 students, with 21-25 students per grade. Middle schoolers (called “Seniors” at Arbor) attend Music twice a week in grade level classes. 

The ideal candidate for this position will be a dynamic and flexible individual who is drawn to supporting the development of children within a school community dedicated to cultivating intellect, character, and creativity, and will:

  • Demonstrate curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to experiment. 

  • Value and build upon Arbor’s inquiry-based approach to Music education.

  • Show readiness to integrate music curriculum with thematic curriculum in collaboration with middle school teachers.

  • Continue to foster a “singing school” by supporting singing in various contexts beyond Music classes.

  • Demonstrate confidence in co-leading weekly all-school assemblies -- leading songs, supporting student presentations. 

  • Relish the opportunity to work with a close faculty in a positive, dynamic, and collaborative environment.

Qualifications:

  • Orff Schulwerk certification preferred

  • Training and experience in general music education preferred

  • An investment in imagining, supporting, and enriching all-school events

  • The ability to invite and develop student singing in various contexts

  • Strong classroom management skills

At Arbor, we aim to foster collaboration, empathy and civil discourse within student partnerships and cross-grade groupings, modeling this within our teaching teams and parent collaborations -- believing that what makes us different as individuals will make us stronger as a community. We hold inclusivity and equity as central values and work to continuously expand our own cultural competence.  

Music instruction at Arbor is based on the Orff Schulwerk approach through which Primaries (K-1) and Juniors (2-3) launch a voyage of musical exploration that builds interest and skill, mining favorite chants and rhymes for rhythmic and melodic patterns to extract, read, play, and notate. At the Intermediate (4-5) level, study of the recorder begins, and children grow in independent musicianship through composition, improvisation, and taking on more performance decisions. At the middle school level, students take on leadership roles, continue to expand their musicianship through singing, putting on a production (such as a musical), and advanced Orff ensemble structures. Barred instruments, ukuleles, recorders, drums, and other instruments are available. Arbor middle school students enjoy two music periods every week, as well as singing frequently at school assemblies -- drawing from the broad selection of favorites we have compiled in the Arbor songbook. Integration with academic themework deepens and enriches classroom studies.

This is a temporary, one-year position, with the opportunity to apply for a permanent position, should it become available. This position is .4 FTE (two days a week) during the academic year. Salary commensurate with experience.

Please send your resume and letter of interest to info@arborschool.org, attention Isaac Enloe.

Arbor Club After-School Program Teacher

Arbor School of Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit, independent K-8 school situated on a wooded 21 acre campus 20 minutes south of downtown Portland, Oregon, is seeking an Arbor Club After-School Program Teacher beginning in September. Arbor Club is an after-school enrichment program that runs from 3:00pm-4:30pm, Monday through Friday, and serves up to 30 students. The Arbor Club Teacher works with two colleagues to plan and lead daily enrichment activities for K-8th grade students. The ideal candidate will be a dynamic, flexible, and imaginative individual who is drawn to working closely with curious and engaged students and will demonstrate:

  • A warm and joyful approach to being with young children and an optimistic view on their development

  • A commitment to centering equity and inclusion in work with children, colleagues, and families

  • A readiness to take initiative in responding to the daily needs of the students

  • Classroom management skills

  • A readiness to collaborate with colleagues

  • Flexibility in responding to the needs of the day

Desired Qualifications:

  • Coursework in elementary education is preferred

  • Experience working with elementary-age children in a structured setting

  • Experience working with children outdoors, in gardens and natural spaces 

  • Strong observation and communication skills

This is a part-time, hourly position, from September 2026 through June 9, 2027. The general schedule is 2:30pm-4:45pm M, T, Th, F, and 1:00pm-5:00pm on Wednesdays, with some flexibility depending on the candidate. The hourly rate is $20-$24 per hour, commensurate with experience. 

Careers at Arbor School

Founded in 1989, Arbor School of Arts & Sciences is an independent K-8 school located on 21 acres of wooded farmland in Tualatin, Oregon. Setting and community influence the professional practice of all our faculty members, who use our gardens and woods to promote outdoor inquiry and environmental stewardship across grades and disciplines. Teachers work in grade-level teams to develop a thematic approach that is responsive to and encouraging of student questions and innovation. We aim to foster collaboration, empathy and civil discourse within student partnerships and cross-grade groupings, modeling this within our teaching teams and parent collaborations.

At Arbor we hold inclusivity and equity as central values and work to continuously expand our own cultural competence as we address issues of race and gender within our curriculum. We recognize many compelling educational reasons as well as a moral imperative to strive toward greater inclusivity, equity and diversity in our school community. (See Fellowship Statement) As a result, we seek to hire teachers who share this dedication and we value experience and expertise in equity, inclusion and cultural competency.

Teachers find a welcoming, supportive, and aspirational community when joining our faculty. Working in professional learning teams to build curricula, study student progress, and continuously refine our own practices, we seek to create an educator community capable of engaging with difficult questions and hopeful possibilities.

Arbor School is also home to the Arbor Center for Teaching, which offers an MAT and Oregon licensure program to a new cohort of Teacher Residents every two years. Working in partnership with Pacific University and local public school districts to prepare new teachers for careers in an ever-changing educational world reinforces our commitment to our own ongoing evolution and improvement. Faculty often serve as mentor teachers and lead graduate level MAT seminars within our Residency Program. Our commitment to teacher training and our lab school model mean that Arbor School seeks teachers with certification or demonstrated interest in working toward certification when hired.

Other Employment Opportunities

If you think that you might be a good fit with the school, regardless of current openings, we would love to review your resume.  Exemplary candidates may be asked to visit the school to speak with the director.  If you would like us to keep you in mind when next we have job openings, please mail your resume to:

Attn: Employment Inquiries
Arbor School of Arts and Sciences
4201 SW Borland Rd
Tualatin, OR 97062

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Arbor School provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.