Please take a few minutes to visit our Lost and Found.  As you can see from this photo, it is bursting at the seams with a plethora of items.  Remember, items not claimed by May 27th., will be given to charity.  Thank you.   

Summer English Program.  This summer's four-week English "booster" is the perfect, economical opportunity for students needing a grammar, vocabulary, or writing-skills boost.  For more information  CLICK HERE. The cost is much less than typical tutoring, the tutor-to-student ratio is small, and the instructor is Mr. Dybzinski, head of Liberty's English department.  Regardless of whether your student is ahead or behind, he will set your child up to engage our rich English curriculum at LCHS.  Furthermore, he plans to have much fun in the process.   CLICK HERE to sign up.

Teachers are professionals.  This implies considerable autonomy, mastery, and independence.  Having accepted the academic and philosophic mission of a school, the teacher needs to be free to exercise informed judgment in order to fulfill his or her primary role as an educator.

 

	Liberty Common Elementary Teachers, display their holiday spirit by wearing their favorite ugly Christmas sweaters.

As a charter school, Liberty employs all instructors, administrators and support staff on an "at will" basis.  All employment contracts are individually negotiated with each instructor. 

 

	Kimberly Clouser, Latin Teacher at LCS and LCHS

This means Liberty instructors are hired on a truly professional basis (not on a union-wage scale) earning compensation commensurate with their contribution to the organization and professional growth as determined by thorough and routine professional evaluations.  Annual pay raises are a direct function of demonstrated classroom performance and institutional leadership.

 

Holding a state teacher license is not required for employment at our school.  We agree with 2012 findings of Colorado Commissioner of Education Robert Hammond and State Director of Professional Licensing Dr. Jamie Goetz that a state-issued teacher license is not an indication of one's ability to teach and is unreliable in affirming one's instructional competence.  

 

Blake Morgan teaching Physics at LCHS

When Liberty posts job openings, we stress first and foremost the importance of content expertise.  We prefer teachers whose fields of study align with what they will teach to our students.  We recruit in atypical ways. 

 

For example, when we need an economics instructor, we contact business schools at multiple universities and spread the word directly to economics majors and graduates.  We contact academic institutions, policy organizations and think tanks, even specific prominent college professors we think might best help us alert top candidates to our job posting.

 

	Jeff Siener, 4th grade teacher, has taught at Liberty Common School for 19 years.

To get an interview, an applicant must demonstrate strong background knowledge and an appreciation of classical methods of education and curriculum.  We require a letter of application, a current resume, college transcripts, professional references, and a statement of educational philosophy.  As a result, we typically receive applications from throughout the country for job openings at our school.

 

Our interview panels are comprised of key administrators, Members of the school's Board of Directors, school founders, grandparents, and parents with professional expertise relevant to the discipline for which we are hiring. 

 

	Dr. Polhemus, Physics teacher at LCHS

The first portion of our interviews covers education philosophy and pedagogy.  Then we quickly dive deeply - very deeply - into the most important part of the conversation - content expertise. 

 

Our interview documents guide us through fundamental and expert-level academic questions.  Interviewees must demonstrate legitimate mastery of their subject matter, and they must be articulate in their explanations. 

 

Our inquiries plumb the depths of an applicant's academic preparation and training.  We simultaneously assess how clearly they explain things.  Do they communicate like an adept teacher?

 

We also mind what a potential employee believes about the principles of education.  Is it more important that students commit key information to memory, or be able to find it when needed?  What is the proper role of parents in a school?  Do you embrace the school's foundation-stone and capstone virtues?  If so, how should these virtues be reinforced through curriculum, in the classroom, and throughout the school?

 

Our interviews can last a couple hours; often more.  CLICK HERE to see a video of Liberty instructors recalling their job interviews. 

 

Those who rise to the top of our interview process are often asked to return to the school and teach a demonstration lesson to our students.  Adult observers typically line the back row taking notes and critiquing the performance.  Participating students fill out a survey after the lesson indicating which aspects of the mock lecture, in their opinion, had the greatest impact.  The lesson is videotaped.

 

Once we are confident we have divined our top teacher candidate, an invitation is extended to join our organization, and a compensation offer is tendered.  

Upon acceptance of agreeable terms, we announce to the school community the addition of yet another outstanding member of the Liberty Common School faculty.