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Overview

The Kew-Forest School, a co-educational day school serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, founded in 1918 in Forest Hills, NY, seeks a Part-Time Librarian for the Lower School (Grades Preschool through Grade 5). Kew-Forest is proud to enroll an astonishingly diverse student body representative of Queens and New York City, including approximately nine percent international students. Kew-Forest students come from diverse cultural, racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, and many are multilingual. The Kew-Forest School promotes diversity in its hiring process and is committed to supporting its inclusive community by hiring culturally diverse faculty to work with our equally diverse students and families.

At Kew-Forest, our mission is to do more than just educate—it is to deeply inspire. The Kew-Forest School is embarking on an exciting new chapter as it enters its 108th year of operation. The Kew-Forest School is an International Baccalaureate (IB) candidate school for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP). The individual who fills this position must be energetic, creative, imaginative, and thoughtful in their approach to curriculum and pedagogy and will contribute substantially to the revamping of our Lower School program as the School enters its era of Kew-Forest 2.0.

Position Description

The Kew-Forest School seeks a resourceful, creative, and collaborative Lower School Librarian who will empower students to be enthusiastic life-long readers, skillful researchers, critical thinkers, and ethical users of information and media. The librarian acts as an instructional partner as well. They work closely with teachers and the IB Coordinator to support units of inquiry, integrate library resources into the curriculum, and strengthen connections between student research needs, curricular content, and information literacy. The librarian also provides leadership in developing a dynamic, inclusive collection that reflects the diverse identities and interests of the school community and ensures the library program aligns with the school’s mission.

Library Administration And Management

• Plan, implement, and evaluate the library’s program and services to support the School’s mission.
• Build and maintain a well-organized, diverse, and inclusive collection of books and multimedia materials in collaboration with faculty and students that reflects student interests, supports diverse formats and perspectives, and represents the language profiles and identities of the school community.
• Oversees the growth and maintenance of the collection, including maintaining a system for classifying, cataloguing, and circulating library materials; identifying gaps in the collection; and selecting resources.
• Maintain a collection of current professional resources for teachers.
• Loan materials to students, staff, and families.
• Develops and maintains an environment that is organized, inviting, safe, collaborative, inclusive, and conducive to learning.
• Communicates library services, programs, and updates with the school community.
  
  

Teaching and Learning

• Teaches a library class to each grade level once per week that supports students in effectively using library resources to locate and access information. The schedule is set with the Head of Lower School.
• Promotes academic integrity and guides students in the ethical use of information.
• Designs and delivers single-subject units of inquiry aligned with the IB PYP framework, the school curricula, and state/national standards.
• Teaches and reinforces the IB Approaches to Learning skills in Library classes.
  
  

Leadership and Collaboration

• Promotes an appreciation of children’s literature and enjoyment in recreational reading.
• Coordinates school-wide literacy initiatives such as the Global Read Aloud, book fairs, author visits, and book clubs.
• Works with the PYP Coordinator, teachers, and students to promote the IB Learner Profile and the mission of the IB programme.
• Collaborates with the PYP Coordinator and teachers to integrate library resources into transdisciplinary units of inquiry and to provide instruction in research skills, information literacy skills, and media literacy skills to support the PYP units of inquiry.
• Supports teachers and students to ensure the success of the PYP Exhibition.
• Teaches all members of the learning community to engage with and use information in a global society.
• Evaluates, introduces, and models emerging technologies for the learning community, and uses technology tools to supplement school resources.
• Attends faculty meetings and any other special meetings as requested by the Head of School and/or Division Head.
  
  

Professional Growth

• Models inquiry-based teaching and continually reflects on lessons, instructional approaches, and students' learning processes as a means of ongoing professional development.
• Pursues intellectual and professional growth by seeking observation opportunities such as conferences, courses, professional literature, and other learning experiences.
• Cooperates with and participates in professional observations, evaluations, achievement of annual goals and objectives, and adheres to professional guidelines and standards of professional excellence.
  
  

Family And Community Engagement

• Demonstrates the IB Learner Profile and contributes positively to the wider life and ethos of the School.
• Collaborates with families to involve them in their child's reading journey, offering guidance and resources for reading-related activities at home.
• Ensures interactions with students are predictable, supportive, and respectful of the growing and developing child.
• Communicates effectively with individual parents regarding their child's specific needs and responds to parent questions and concerns in a timely and professional manner.
• Holds conferences as required by the division or as needed to support student progress.
• Shares regular updates with parents through class newsletters, emails, or other appropriate channels and collaborates with classroom parent representatives.
• Assists the School's leadership in developing and implementing events such as Back to School nights, parent education courses, Open Houses, and other events, as requested.
  
  

Education and Certification

• A Master’s degree or current enrollment in a Library Sciences program is preferred.
• International Baccalaureate experience is a plus.
  
  

The ideal candidate is a trustworthy, compassionate, and reflective individual who has:

• A passion for creating a joyful, inclusive, and engaging learning environment.
• A commitment to empowering all members of the learning community to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, curators, and ethical users of information.
• A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
• The capacity to identify and respond to students’ individual needs.
• A deep understanding of promoting social-emotional competencies in elementary grades to support students’ intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive development.
• A passion for children’s literature and is well-versed in library technology.
• Familiarity with, and enthusiasm for, designing a library program aligned with the IB philosophy and the Primary Years Programme (PYP) (preferred).
• A strong understanding of the AASL Standards Framework for Learners.
• Experience working with students from diverse backgrounds.
• A desire to stay current with best practices, trends, and innovative techniques in elementary education.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• A collaborative spirit and a willingness to build partnerships across all professional levels—including colleagues, administrators, families, students, and the broader community.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Excellent listening, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Flexibility, patience, grace, and a genuine willingness to learn.
  
  

Salary Range

$30,000 - $55,000, commensurate with experience, plus benefits package

To Apply

Please send a resume, cover letter, and list of at least three references to Human Resources at hr@kewforest.org , and include “LS Librarian” in the subject line.

Accreditation

The Kew-Forest School is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and the New York State Department of Education. Kew-Forest is also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Independent School Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY), and the Guild of Independent Schools of New York (GISNY).

To learn more about The Kew-Forest School, please visit our website: www.kewforest.org .

MISSION

We are The Kew-Forest School.

Our community nurtures lifelong learners from around the world.

Our educators inspire young people to think boldly and find their voices.

Our students support each other and explore thoughtfully as they shape the future.

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION

The Kew-Forest School believes that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity. The School prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, culture, background, physical or mental disability, or any other legally protected classes or classifications. No employee or job applicant will be discriminated against in recruitment, compensation, promotion, or termination practices. #J-18808-Ljbffr