Tallgrass Sudbury School, located in Riverside, IL, just outside Chicago, is a democratic K-12 school community where students are free to pursue their interests at their own pace and in their own way. Tallgrass is seeking a staff member to start part-time and potentially transition to full-time as we grow. An integral part of Tallgrass is School Meeting, a body made up of students and staff, which makes all schoolwide decisions. The students and staff have an equal vote in all matters of school governance, including making school rules, approving expenditures, and even staff hiring.

In a typical week as a staff member at Tallgrass, you might:

engage with students, staff, and the greater community
respond to inquiries about enrollment or from potential visitors
work with committees that include staff, students, and parents to make decisions collaboratively
write or revise policies or rule changes and propose them to school meeting
talk to parents about questions and issues
teach classes in response to student requests
act as the staff member on the Judicial Committee
be an active participant in School Meeting
be part of a dynamic community dedicated to living out its democratic principles

Required Qualifications:

Belief in the natural impulse of children (and adults!) to strive for personal growth; commitment to one’s own personal growth.
Excellent communication and literacy skills, including expressing thought in writing and interacting effectively with children and adults from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Be an interested, interesting, engaged, and passionate person.
Strong self-management skills, including high levels of initiative and ability to authentically and effectively prioritize.
Ability to maintain confidentiality of student and family data.
Pass required background checks before beginning employment.
Ability to solve problems creatively with limited resources.
Ability to trust in the school’s democratic School Meeting and peer-based judicial system to adequately resolve rule infractions.

You will join a team of two full-time paid staff as well as regular volunteers, and will have a wide variety of responsibilities. Tallgrass hopes to grow our small community significantly in the near future, and the ideal candidate will be willing and able to act as one of the leaders in this effort. While you do not need to have marketing experience, a willingness to gain skills in this area and to think flexibly and creatively about how we can promote our school are essential. Our school is open 9:00 to 4:00 Monday through Friday, with some hours outside of school hours expected for meetings and administrative or marketing work.

Staff members should be able to act as models of responsibility, resourcefulness, initiative, and good conflict resolution, and be willing to listen to and accept feedback. Staff are expected to work within the Sudbury model.

Please submit a letter of interest and resume to info@tallgrasssudbury.org or, if you have additional questions, contact us either by email or by phone at 708.777.1037. The application period will close on April 13.