EMPLOYMENT AT SPRING RIVER
Our School
Spring River School, established in 2015 as part of The Playgarden Community, serves approximately 60 students in grades K-6 from all over the Jacksonville, FL area. We plan to add grade 7 and 8 in consecutive years. Beginning in the fall of 2021, Spring River took our programming 100% outdoors on daily field trips and is the only "All Outdoor School" in Northeast Florida. Our families are registered homeschoolers, and we believe that is what serves our community best at this time; however, our strategic plan includes steps toward Florida Independent School status and AWSNA (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) accreditation in the future, while still continuing to serve and support our homeschooling families. Our pioneering teachers are supported by an enrollment director, financial controller, committed board of directors and a vibrant community. We offer hands-on creative programming inspired by Waldorf Methods of learning, meeting each family with warmth and joy. Spring River is a Florida non-profit organization with a commitment to serving our families.
Spring River supports and embraces diversity in all of its forms, including differences in ethnicity, cultural and religious heritage, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, geographic origin, and family structure. We provide our students with a rich, inclusive curriculum that reflects the world in which we live and fosters a safe atmosphere where every member of the community is respected, and multiple viewpoints can be peacefully expressed. Diversity within our community is an asset. For this reason, we actively cultivate this diversity in all aspects of school life including the composition of our student body, staff and leadership. We commit to work through the tensions that arise in the midst of genuine community and to use those tensions as a vehicle to self-reflect critically and fearlessly. We believe this commitment to diversity will help prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s world.
Our Community
With the support of our community, we are working toward building a campus that will be home to outdoor pavilions and a biodynamic garden. In the meantime, our classes, which for several years operated indoors in churches and community centers, have been moved to local parks steps from the ocean in the Beaches Area. Our teachers and families are committed to outdoor schooling and to our mission to encourage independent thought, nourish imagination and cultivate social responsibility. We believe that our connection to nature helps us all learn to be better stewards of the world around us. Jacksonville is a welcoming, multicultural city that offers "big city" amenities that include a flourishing art and theater scene, street fairs and markets, thriving museums, professional sports and world-class fishing. We are blessed with year 'round outdoor living whether on the historic St. Johns River, eco-adventures along our shaded forest trails, or sandy walks on our 22 miles of friendly neighborhood beaches. Jacksonville proudly boasts the largest urban park system in the country with more than 80,000 designated acres including 400 city parks, seven state parks, two national parks and dozens of gardens and arboretums [from visitjax.com].
Current Positions
2021-2022 School Year
Forest School Teacher's Assistant (click here to link to Job Description)
Email: Attn: Carrie Dooley Zarka
EOE Statement: We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
It is the policy of Spring River School to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, status as a covered veteran, or any other legally protected status, in accordance with federal and state law, and not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, benefits, promotion, demotion, layoff, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.