Downloadable PDF – Poet in Residence Posting
** UPDATE: We’re no longer accepting applications. Thank you to all who have applied! We will follow up with all candidates.**
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Mission & Programs
The Chicago Poetry Center’s mission is to connect people and poetry, equitably engage poets with communities, and foster creative literacy in the city and beyond. We do this work through poetry education programming across Chicago, public poetry events, Critical Conversations @ Work, and special projects and online resources.
Culture
We are a small and actively growing organization that sets our goals into action through collaboration, clear communication and expectations, and strategic and creative thinking. Staff work both independently and as part of a team. Our culture is one that supports feedback, communication, and growth, and values artistic and creative expression and creative community.
Commitment to Inclusion
The Chicago Poetry Center values diversity at all levels and understands that a safe and supportive environment is necessary to facilitate our work in valuing and uplifting creative expression. The Chicago Poetry Center commits to inclusion and will not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, age, religion, national origin, marital, parental, or veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We strive to uphold our values in action through our decisions, programming, community building, and fostering an environment of continuous learning. CPC works in an ADA accessible building with gender neutral bathrooms. CPC supports a staff, teaching artist team, and program participant community that is diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, and ability, and leadership continuously audits our practices to deepen our inclusion.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Chicago Poetry Center has been an arts partner to Chicago schools for over twenty years. Our teaching artists (Poets in Residence) are active Chicago poets with K-12 teaching experience. Poets in Residence are paired with schools to conduct residencies, typically starting in fall/winter and ending in spring.
POETS IN RESIDENCE:
- write custom lessons for their residencies
- teach engaging, culturally responsive residency sessions
- read, discuss, and write poetry with their students in each lesson
- publish student poems each week
- have paid opportunities to read and perform their own poems at schools, community centers, and more
QUALIFIED APPLICANTS ARE:
- enthusiastic about teaching poetry to students
- experienced educators who can create structured and responsive lessons
- skilled at working with young people in K-12th grade classroom settings
- open to collaborating with cooperating teachers on student engagement strategies and learning goals
- comfortable using WordPress to publish student poems
- reliable and committed communicators
Applicants who can teach in Spanish and English, as well as those with primary and intermediate grade (2nd-5th grade) teaching experience are highly encouraged to apply.
The Chicago Poetry Center values diversity at all levels and understands that a safe and supportive environment is necessary to facilitate our work in valuing and uplifting creative expression. CPC will not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, age, religion, national origin, marital, parental, or veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to the principles of equal opportunity, and we strive to go above and beyond the regulations of anti-discrimination law in fostering a workplace of equal opportunity and inclusion for all. CPC works in an ADA accessible building with gender neutral bathrooms. CPC supports a staff, teaching artist team, and program participant community that is diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, and ability, and leadership continuously audits our practices to deepen our inclusion.
FURTHER DETAILS
This is an hourly paid, independent contractor position (with annual scheduled pay increases for returning poets). Poets are paid for training, instruction, and prep. Poets must be able to teach CPC lesson plans and to design their own lessons —we utilize a mixture of the two to create customized programs for each individual classroom. Poets must commit to weekly residency sessions through the academic year, attend training sessions, and complete weekly publication of student work via the residency blog. Weekly residency sessions will take place at mutually agreeable times for each Poet in Residence at their partner school(s). Poets may have multiple residencies within one school and may partner with multiple schools.
COMPENSATION
First-year teaching artists earn $30 per hour, and the pay rate increases annually. For each hour of instruction, CPC pays for one hour of prep time. Total compensation for each hour of teaching is $60 (2 hrs x $30). CPC pays for training hours and a predetermined set of pre-term and mid-term prep hours.
HOW TO APPLY
Send a letter of interest and resume/CV to Helene Achanzar at jobs@poetrycenter.org with the subject: Your Name: Application for Poet in Residence. In your cover letter, please clarify the specifics of your teaching experience (ages, grades, type of teaching, years of experience), as well as your experience with poetry. If you’re excited about education, if you believe in creativity in the classroom—we want to know about it.
POSITION TIMELINE
There are six (6) Poet in Residence positions open, so we encourage applicants to share this opportunity with others. Interviews will take place on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. Successful applicants will participate in paid training in September. Most poets begin their first residencies between October and December. Additional residencies will launch in winter and spring, and will be offered to current Poets in Residence as they become available.
