VA Life Sciences Teacher

Position Type: Certified Teacher

Job Title: Virtual Arkansas Life Sciences Teacher

Reports to: Virtual Arkansas Principal

Location: Arch Ford Educational Service Cooperative; Telework from home office

Contract Length: Remainder of the 2026-2027 school year

Job Listing Open Date: November 9, 2026

Job Listing Close Date: November 20, 2026: 10:00 p.m.

Contract End Date: May 21, 2026

Essential Qualifications

Science of Reading level required: Awareness

Arkansas Teacher's License: 7-12 Life Sciences Required; AP Biology Experience Preferred

Residency: Teacher must have permanent residency in Arkansas

About Virtual Arkansas: Virtual Arkansas’s (VA) mission is to equip, engage, and empower students through unique digital opportunities. As Arkansas’s state virtual program, we partner with local schools to provide course opportunities to students that might not otherwise be available with local resources. Virtual Arkansas is not an online school or a diploma-granting institution, but serves as a resource for supplementing the education of local students. Virtual Arkansas’s program is implemented through a partnership between the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas Education Service Cooperatives. Virtual Arkansas offers a variety of instructional services, and teachers may be assigned to different services based on organizational needs.

Expectations for Virtual Arkansas Teachers: Adopted in 2023, the Virtual Arkansas Online teacher is evaluated using a unique evaluation instrument, A Crosswalk of the NSQ Teaching Standards and the Danielson Framework. This crosswalk instrument was designed to better articulate the responsibilities of online instructors and to be used by evaluators for use in providing better support to teachers assigned in a variety of learning environments, including online, hybrid, and blended. While the majority of the standards and their components presented in the Crosswalk reflect traditional teacher responsibilities related to instruction, grading, communication, and professional practice, Standard H specifies expectations that are specific to online teachers and describes their unique responsibilities related to curriculum development and the curation of research-based instructional materials, tools, and strategies found to be effective in an online learning environment.

Standard H: The online teacher curates and creates instructional materials, tools, strategies, and resources to engage all learners and ensure achievement of academic goals.

• H1 The online teacher designs learning experiences that use technology to efficiently engage learners.
• H2 The online teacher uses a formative approach to lesson design.
• H3 The online teacher incorporates diverse media into online learning modules.
• H4 The online teacher is able to incorporate subject-specific and developmentally appropriate digital learning resources into online learning modules.
• H5 The online teacher continuously reviews and aligns all course content with applicable course objectives and standards.
• H6 The online teacher creates, selects, and organizes appropriate assignments and assessments to align curricular content with associated standards-based learning goals.

Virtual Arkansas Dedicated Instructor Job Summary:  The Virtual Arkansas high school science dedicated online teacher is responsible for following the established curriculum and providing instruction to students in a virtual learning environment. The teacher will be dedicated to one or more Arkansas school districts and provide instruction specifically for Life Sciences. The teacher will deliver instruction live (synchronously) Monday through Thursday, and every other Friday.  Live instruction will be a mix of direct whole-group instruction and strategic targeted interventions with specific students.  The teacher leverages the capabilities of the digital tools, the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), the Student Information System (SIS), and the course itself to effectively deliver lessons, assess student progress and learning, provide personalized feedback, and identify and intervene with students who are demonstrating difficulty in mastering the standards, learning objectives, and goals of the course.  The Virtual Arkansas dedicated teacher must be adept at engaging students remotely while fostering a positive learning environment and adapting to the unique challenges of digital education. Virtual Arkansas teacher duties and responsibilities are described below and fall into three primary categories: Instructional/Traditional, Curriculum, and Assessment.

Instructional/Traditional Duties and Responsibilities:

• Effectively utilize the Virtual Arkansas technology systems, programs, software, and platforms to perform duties and deliver instruction
• Plan, prepare, and design live (synchronous) digital lessons and assignments
• Learn and utilize effective synchronous and asynchronous student engagement strategies
• Monitor and track student attendance to synchronous sessions
• Implement intervention and enrichment strategies based on assessment data and mastery of standards
• Utilize effective and efficient student feedback tools and strategies
• Monitor student progress and respond appropriately to the needs of the students
• Implement effective/efficient communication strategies with students and local digital learning facilitators
• Attend and participate in required professional development, intervention meetings, and other required meetings
• Meet at least once weekly with the local facilitator(s) to coordinate upcoming lessons and strategies
• Maintain availability for students throughout each school week
• Deliver and respond to communications, including emails and messages, in a timely manner
• Collaborate with all stakeholders (e.g. students, parents, colleagues, local school facilitators, supervisors, etc.) for the purpose of establishing and maintaining effective professional communication and positive relationships 
• Implement ELL, IEP, and 504 goals and accommodations into lessons and assessments
• Maintain a professional home office
• Make occasional site visits to schools to foster relationships with students and school staff
• Complete other duties as assigned consistent with online, digital teaching

Curriculum/Content Duties and Responsibilities:

• Monitor the digital curriculum and make recommendations for continuous curricular improvement through the established curriculum change/support process
• Assist design team members with implementation of requested curriculum changes
• Make curriculum change recommendations based on standard revisions or misalignments between standards, content, and assessments
• Create and enhance online content, including the creation of focus and micro-topic videos
• Engage in bi-annual course blueprint maintenance initiatives
• Update course syllabi and pacing guides, and complete course alignment matrices
• Use various simple tools to create small, fun learning objects to improve the interactive aspect of courses (Learning Objects)
• When enrollment numbers do not meet the desired enrollment threshold, engage in more extensive course enhancement projects

Assessment Duties and Responsibilities:

• Utilize and/or design assessment items that are aligned to the Arkansas Curriculum Standards for each course(or other learning outcomes) and that reflect appropriate DOK levels
• Align assessment items to learning outcomes
• Monitor assessment data and student mastery of standards to inform student learning, instruction, curriculum gaps, and assessment validity

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• None

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines and prioritize tasks
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced and at times, stressful environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal, teamwork, and customer service skills
• Proficiency in using digital tools and platforms
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to monitor, analyze, and interpret student data to then make informed decisions related to student progress and success
• Desire and ability to learn and adapt to new and emerging technologies and teaching strategies

Education, Experience, and Qualifications:

• Arkansas licensure in assigned area (7-12 Life Sciences)
• Possess and maintain special certifications as required for assigned courses (i.e., AP)
• Minimum of a B.A. or B.S. required

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Periodic travel requirements
• Sit, stand, walk, stoop, kneel, or crouch
• Use hands to handle or feel, type, and pick up objects, and reach with hands and arms
• Speak and hear to communicate effectively
• Frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds

Other Information:

• This position will be hired through the Arch Ford Education Cooperative; however, the employee may reside and work remotely from a home office that has robust Internet connectivity, per the terms of the Virtual Arkansas Telework Agreement.
• Virtual Arkansas teachers are engaged in their teaching duties from their home office, although periodic travel may be required.
• Salary will be commensurate with years of experience and education level and will correspond to the Virtual Arkansas 190 contract day salary schedule based on a Daily Rate of Pay Calculation for the remainder of the 2026-2027 school year.

Important Notice:

Virtual Arkansas will not interview applicants who are currently under contract with another district for the 2026-2027 academic year. When applying, please indicate your contract status.

Contact Person: Direct questions to Rebecca Mills at rebecca.mills@virtualarkansas.org