Dear Mr. Lindqvist,
I am applying for the History Teacher position at Northgate High School. I am in my fifth year teaching United States History and AP European History, and your posting's mention of rebuilding the department's approach to source work is the reason I am writing.
I built our department's document-based question sequence, which moves students from a single annotated source in grade nine to a full synthesis essay by grade twelve. The point was that no teacher would have to start from scratch each year assuming students had seen nothing.
Northgate's posting says the advanced section has been taught by three different people in four years. A vertical sequence is exactly what does not survive that kind of turnover, and rebuilding one is slower than writing it the first time.
I hold a Pennsylvania Instructional I Certificate in Social Studies for grades seven through twelve, and my AP European History syllabus is College Board endorsed.
I would welcome a conversation about where the department is with the source sequence and how the advanced section is currently staffed. I am available to meet whenever suits.
Sincerely, Nadia Karam