Working at Urban
Located in the heart of the historic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, Urban has boldly charted its own course for almost 60 years. A proudly diverse and progressive institution since our founding, we do things a little bit differently than other independent schools. Our unique three-term academic year for instance, with fewer classes each term and much longer class periods, allows for deeper exploration and a range of teaching methodologies. Our enviable location in the center of one of the world’s most exciting and accessible cities allows for fieldwork, field trips, and meaningful service to the larger community that are integrated into our daily schedule and reflect the core values of the school. Whether you are one of our 420 students, a teacher, coach, staff member or administrator, you are part of a shared and idealistic vision of what a school can be.
Share your materials with Us
We're always on the lookout for creative thinkers who bring unique perspectives and skills to our school community. Ideal teaching candidates should have curriculum development experience and at least two years’ experience teaching at the secondary level. Applicants for non-teaching positions should have at least two years of relevant experience in their field. We invite you to share your materials with us whether or not there is currently an open role for you.
For further information about Urban’s mission and programs, including the Curriculum Guide, please peruse the Urban website.
For a descriptive list of faculty job duties and other responsibilities, please visit here.
Visit our Career Center to apply for current open positions or to submit your materials to our Talent Community for consideration.
Open Positions
Urban's Unique Culture
Professional Development
One of Urban’s core values is this: We are committed to reflection, evaluation, evolution and innovation as means to improve teaching and learning. Faculty and staff have abundant opportunities to deepen and expand their practices both in regular collaborative work with colleagues and in conferences, workshops and programs, both in the Bay Area and around the world. Opportunities include but are not limited to: Access to a generous professional development budget.
- WEEKLY teacher collaborative teams
- All-faculty professional development days
- Funds for staff career and skills development
- Advanced degree program support
- Dan Murphy Fund for Education Innovation and Faculty Growth
- Summer curriculum grants
- Summer enrichment grants
Support in Transition to Urban
All teachers new to Urban participate in a yearlong New-to-Urban cohort designed to orient and support new faculty as they learn the practices and adapt to the systems of Urban’s teaching and learning culture.
Getting Involved in the Life of the School
Faculty and staff at Urban are asked to participate in a range of academic and non-academic programs and experiences in order to better connect with students and with each other. These opportunities may include grade level advising, athletic coaching, club advisory, committee memberships and chaperoning of trips, dances, and performances.
Nondiscrimination Policy
Urban School is an equal opportunity employer. The school has an institutional commitment to diversity and actively encourages applications from candidates of diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.Urban's employment policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, physical disability, mental disability, pregnancy, medical condition, genetic characteristics, citizenship, military or veteran status, age or any other basis protected by California state law, federal law or San Francisco ordinance. Urban's policy also prohibits discrimination based on a perception that anyone has any of those characteristics, or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.
The Haight
While the Haight is a busy tourist destination year-round, plenty of local San Franciscans drop by for shopping, food, and fun and our open campus means everyone has a favorite lunch or coffee spot to recommend. Our campus is connected by a protected walkway between Page Street — a slower residential street — and Oak Street, directly across from Golden Gate Park. Numerous public transportation options and bike lanes crisscross our centrally-located neighborhood, making Urban accessible from all corners of the city.
Academics
In our classrooms,At Urban, we value depth of understanding over content mastery, and we believe that offering an extraordinary range of electives inspires student curiosity. And because full-time faculty teach only three courses each term, and typically across the range of their departmental offerings, they have more time and more freedom to to engage with students and the subject areas that inspire their own professional development. We also offer an ever-changing array of ungraded “U” period electives that give students and faculty/staff a chance to collaborate on projects or explore particular interests just for the fun of it.. From building musical instruments, to learning the basics of bike repair, to studying the arcana of tarot, to anime, these electives infuse the weekly schedule with levity and learning beyond the pressure of grades or homework.
Non-Teaching Positions
Urban assumes that all of our employees understand and embrace the core values of the school. We believe that the engagement and voice of every member of our diverse adult community is essential to our shared strength.
Benefits
A comprehensive benefits package is provided, which includes medical, dental, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, employer subsidized commuter benefits, financial planning, a 403(b) retirement plan, and more.
Visit our Career Center to see the full scope of benefits we offer.