Match Charter Public School is a free, high-performing charter public school in Boston. We are a PreK-12 school serving up to 1,250 students. Our mission is to prepare students—particularly multilingual learners and those who would be the first in their families to earn a college degree—for success in college and careers in order to achieve economic security and mobility. Students gain acceptance to our schools via an annual blind public lottery open to all Boston residents.
Our families bring amazing racial and cultural diversity to the school community—they represent over 20 different countries of origin with over 20 different languages spoken at home. 98% of our students are people of color. Our students bring a diversity of needs to our school, and we are prepared to serve them: 23% of our students qualify for special education services; 19% of our student body are English Language Learners.
Match’s core values are Equity, Freedom, Teamwork, Innovation, and Accountability. We are working to reframe our organizational processes and policies to be truly anti-racist. At Match, we believe that three aspects of our work and organization—a staff that is diverse by race and other factors, a professional environment that is inclusive of all perspectives, and a curriculum in our PreK-12 school that is culturally competent—are vital to our goals and mission.
A large body of evidence shows that our students learn and grow more when they are taught and mentored by a highly skilled, diverse staff. The Match Associate Teacher (MAT) Program is designed to quickly and effectively launch the teaching careers of aspiring educators, especially those who share key identity intersections with Match’s students. The program is structured as a one-year cycle, with the possibility of a second-year extension for MATs whose pathway to teaching includes extended development and who demonstrate strong potential for continued growth.
The MAT program is built on the the foundational beliefs that:
- Great teachers are developed, not born: Through constant reflection, feedback, coaching, and practice, MATs become unusually effective first-year lead teachers upon completion of the MAT program.
- Associate Teachers learn and develop best when their day-to-day workload is manageable: The MAT program is designed to provide MATs with the training/ practice they need without burning anyone out.
- Teachers in training should be compensated competitively - transparent pay trajectories allow teachers to plan their careers, and their lives. To that end, Match’s current MAT compensation trajectory* is as follows:
- Associate Teacher Year 1: Base of $52,500
- Associate Teacher Year 2*: $55,650
$52,500 + $3,150 development stipend
- Lead Teacher Year 1: $67,403
Base of $64,903, plus $2,500 retention bonus for MATs hired as lead teachers at Match
- Lead Teacher Year 2: $72,554
Base of $70,054, plus $2,500 retention bonus for MATs who continue as lead teachers at Match
- Lead Teacher Year 3: $74,174
- Lead Teacher Year 4: $79,325
- Lead Teacher Year 5: $83,446
- Lead Teacher Year 6: $86,537
- Lead Teacher Year 7: $92,718
- Lead Teacher Year 8: $97,869
- Lead Teacher Year 9 $105,080
- Lead Teacher Year 10: $113,322
* Pay scale is based on current year (25-26)
Licensure & Certification
The MAT Program positions participants to obtain provisional licensure in Massachusetts by
- Providing guidance and information on completing certification requirements in Massachusetts
- Embedding coursework related to Moderate Disabilities Licensure into MAT programming
- Requiring all Associate Teachers to obtain their SEI endorsement through participation in a Match organized SEI course that is taught by a DESE approved course provider.
What is the MAT experience?
Match Associate Teachers (MATs) are placed on grade-level (K-5) or subject level (6-12), or Special Education teams, at Match Public Charter School for an intensive year-long apprenticeship. Throughout the year, MATs are coached and mentored by expert teachers and leaders at Match and gradually assume more classroom responsibilities. MATs receive highly practical, hands-on training in effectively designing and implementing rigorous instruction, and in building classroom cultures consistent with achievement, purposefulness and joy. Through extensive self reflection partnered with feedback, coaching and classroom experience, MATs develop and strengthen their practice as educators with the goal of becoming unusually effective rookie lead teachers at one of the Match campuses in the following school year.
How it works:
- The MAT programmatic year runs from August 1- July 31 at the nationally acclaimed Match Charter Public School, which serves students in grades pre-K-12 in Boston.
- Approximately twelve aspiring teachers convene to make up the MAT cohort. Members of this cohort are placed at one of Match’s three campuses, either the elementary, middle or high school.
- MATs spend full days in classrooms with host teachers where they observe, assist, and gradually assume student teaching responsibilities.
- Throughout the year, MATs attend wrap-around training and support through professional development designed specifically for their cohort as well as professional development with their campus based colleagues.
- The MAT’s dedicated mentor teacher and school leaders provide frequent personalized feedback to MATs as their teaching experiences and responsibilities are ramped up.
- At the end of the program, successful MATs who have gained Massachusetts “provisional” licensure are highly prioritized for open positions at Match in the following school year.
- To continue their training, MATs who will return to Match have the option to teach Summer Academy. This serves as an opportunity for MATs to gain more experience in preparation to become a lead teacher.
Duties & Responsibilities
Responsibilities of a Match Associate Teacher gradually increase and include, but are not limited to:
Serve as a teaching assistant in the classroom.
- Observe and provide in-class support to a host teacher.
- Actively receive and implement coaching from Match staff.
- Teach in a host teacher’s classroom with a gradual increase in teaching responsibilities as the school year progresses.
- Support the host teachers with grading, material development, family communication, etc.
- Support school-wide duties (breakfast, lunch, dismissal, etc.) as needed.
Qualifications
- A Bachelor's degree required
- An unwavering commitment to and belief in the mission of Match Education, including Match’s values and educational model
- Dedication to continuous learning and improvement
- Ability to be both introspective and reflective
- Strong habits of both self-sufficiency and self-advocacy
- Eagerness to receiving and applying feedback to develop and strengthen teaching practice
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
Application Process
While we accept applications on a rolling basis, pre-interview screens and final interviews will take place in cycles. Please review the schedule below for information:
Priority Round One
- October 27- November 21:
- Application review & Phone Screen
- Initial Interview with Director of New Teacher Development
- December 1- January 9: Campus Based Interviews
- Week of January 12: Decision messaging
Priority Round Two
- January 12 - February 6:
- Application review & Phone Screen
- Initial Interview with Director of New Teacher Development
- February 9 - 13 & Feb 23 -March 13: Campus Based Interviews
- Week of March 16: Decision messaging
Priority Round Three
- March 23 - April 17:
- Application review & Phone Screen
- Initial Interview with Director of New Teacher Development
- April 27 - May 22: Campus Based Interviews
- Week of May 25: Decision messaging
* Hiring continues on a rolling basis after round three if cohort spots still need to be filled
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ABOUT MATCH EDUCATION
Match Education (www.matcheducation.org) is the shared brand name of Match Charter Public School and The Match School Foundation, Inc. Match Education is an engine of discovery and applied innovation in education. We operate a high-performing urban charter public school and a unique associate teacher program that trains teachers for high-poverty schools. Out of this applied work, we refine, validate empirically, and eventually disseminate new ideas and practices on core questions in education reform.
The Match Foundation, Inc. and Match Charter Public School prohibit discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in employment and application for employment.
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