Head Elementary Teacher (Grades 1–5)
The Dome School — Takilma, Oregon (Illinois Valley, Josephine County) Part-time to full-time · 2–4 days per week · $15.55/hour, more with certificate or degree Applications reviewed beginning August 21, 2026 — open until filled · Start date August 31, 2026
About us
The Dome School is a small parent-teacher cooperative serving families in the Illinois Valley. Parents and teachers build and maintain the school together: lighting and maintaining the wood stove, chopping and stocking firewood, cleaning classrooms, repairing what breaks, running fundraisers, and sitting on the board that governs the school. Decisions are made non-hierarchically, and everyone has a real voice and an equal vote.
That structure is not incidental — it is one of the most important things we teach, and we teach it by living it in plain view of the children. Our students grow up with a working example of adults serving a common good, and they come to understand service as ordinary, visible, and within their reach.
About the role
You will teach elementary students across the 1st–5th grade range. Groupings are set by reading level rather than strictly by grade — you may work with a group of readers, a group of children still learning to read, or both, depending on this year's enrollment. We're looking for someone comfortable with that flexibility.
The Dome School is deliberately liberal about teaching methods. Emergent and thematic projects, hands-on exploration, direct instruction, long stretches of time in the forests and mountains around us, or any blend of these — the choice belongs to you. We trust our teachers to exercise real professional judgment about how best to reach the particular children in front of them.
Our one firm requirement is that whatever methods you choose must be compatible with our mission and vision and must actively work toward them. Unity, for us, lives in our shared ends, and we welcome a genuine diversity of means for getting there.
That freedom comes with a firm expectation of results. Beneath any approach, there is a floor we hold ourselves to without exception: every child must make real, demonstrable progress in the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, measured against Oregon's grade-level standards, which we meet or exceed.
Responsibilities
- Plan and teach lessons across the 1st–5th grade range, using methods of your own choosing that serve the school's mission and vision.
- Teach reading to children at a range of levels, including those not yet reading independently.
- Ensure each student makes demonstrable progress in reading, writing, and arithmetic, meeting or exceeding Oregon grade-level standards.
- Foster a positive, respectful, and inclusive classroom.
- Supervise students throughout the day and ensure their safety.
- Communicate regularly with parents and staff about student progress and classroom needs.
- Prepare classroom materials and learning activities; keep the classroom clean, organized, and ready each day.
- Share in the everyday work of sustaining the school alongside parent volunteers — including lighting and maintaining the wood stove on mornings when other designated staff are unavailable, and helping with general upkeep.
- Attend staff meetings and participate in the cooperative's collaborative decision-making.
- Perform other reasonable duties that support the daily operation of the school and the success of its students.
What we're looking for
- Experience teaching or working with elementary-aged children (preferred).
- Confidence teaching early reading as well as working with established readers.
- Flexibility across the 1st–5th grade range.
- A clear sense of your own approach to teaching, and the judgment to adapt it to the children in front of you.
- Genuine interest in a cooperative setting — working shoulder to shoulder with parents rather than apart from them.
- A teaching certificate or degree is not required, but does increase pay.
- Background check required.
- Reliable transportation; the school is in a rural setting.
Schedule and pay
- 2–4 days per week, Monday–Thursday; 4 days is considered full-time
- Teacher hours 9:00 AM–3:00 PM; students attend 9:30 AM–3:00 PM
- $15.55 per hour, with an increase for a teaching certificate or degree
- Start date: August 31, 2026
To apply
Email your resume to Trista Kuamoo at [email protected], or call the school at 541-592-3911 with questions. Applications will be reviewed beginning August 21, 2026, and the position is open until filled.
Pay: From $15.55 per hour
Work Location: In person
