Teaching Position Postings
Current Teaching Positions Open
We are passionate about taking good care of our staff, teachers and families – it takes this triangle awareness and nurturing to run a great family-owned business. This is a perfect fit for savvy teachers who may already be teaching but want the added stimulation of working with a great team for part of the week. That’s why we support our teachers by providing competitive hourly rates, curriculum, materials, professional development and ongoing support from our leadership team.
School Background
Opus School of Music is a privately owned school that was founded in 2006. We have been growing artistic spirits since 2006 in a vibrant space music, learning, and fun at 2 locations, one in Ridgefield, Wa and one in Camas, WA.
We have a teaching community that is highly collaborative, passionate about teaching, and well paid. What makes us stand out as a leader in SW Washington is our system of getting students that want to play on their way to performing at gigs, recitals, and concerts if they wish. We cater mainly to children. About 90% of our students are between 3 and 16 years old. We welcome adult students and have many of them but our suburban market area has resulted in a student base of mainly children.
We realize that most of our students will not become professional musicians. We strive to provide a fun but educational environment with well organized administration and first rate equipment and facilities
Why Teach for Us?
A constant flow of new students to keep schedules as full as possible
Over the course of the year, students can move or quit. This can leave a teacher with gaps or holes in their schedule. Most student register and start lessons in September. We advertise and market year round, constantly attracting new students keeping our teacher’s schedules as full as possible. We have also have a high retention rate with our families. Students like taking lessons at Opus, they practice at home, they put practice into play and the families love to watch their kids have fun. We are continually registering new students for our private music lessons even during typically slower registration months like May or June
High student retention
Students like taking lessons at Opus, they practice at home, they put practice into play and the families love to watch their kids have fun.
Extras are taken care of – your only responsibility is to teach and have fun
Our studios have front desk staff to handle all of the details with the family i.e. scheduling, collecting fees, enforcing our policies and procedures, etc. They are also there to assist and support our teachers and communicate with the parents . This means the teacher is free to focus on teaching and not get bogged down by administration.
Our Policies and Procedures protect our teachers and their schedules. We are clear on missed lessons and withdrawal issues that can be difficult conversations at times. Our teachers simply refer any issue to the front desk staff and it gets taken care of.
We organization recitals, concerts and various types of gigs for all our students. We have two recitals and one end-of-the-year large concert in June in a theater with a stage, lights, sound system, smoke machine and an enthusiastic audience.
Your time is respected and you are paid whether or not students show up
Teachers are paid for lessons whether students attend or not. If a student misses classes for any reason, the teacher is still paid. Our priority for our teachers is to make sure that your time is not abused and your teaching day can be as consistent and productive as possible. We have clear and strict policies on missed lessons and discuss them during interviews.
What do our Teachers, Parents, and Students Say?
Teachers
“Opus is a music school that has a very real sense of community, which is very unusual to find at other teaching studios. Another aspect that sets Opus apart from other studios is the amount of performance the students get to do. These performance opportunities help give students a clear goal to work toward as well as a major sense of accomplishment and pride at having played in front of large audiences. Opus is a fantastic place, that helps students grow musically and personally.”
Kevin Van Geem
“From the beginning, I was so struck by the community at Opus. The teachers are constantly thinking of how to create every possible opportunity for their students to make music together.”
-Brenda
I hope everything is going strong – very strong – for Opus. I just wanted to let you know how greatly you prepared me to be a theory teacher here a FSU! The solmizations, approaches, etc. you taught me and used in your curriculum are coming handy seemingly at
every corner. And yet there are many things I lack here at FSU – including the young piano students: there is something really special about teaching such
gifted young students in that setting.
-Ian Guthrie
Parents
“The boys love music lessons they get excited when it’s time to go. We have instruments in the car, currently rhythm sticks that they play to the music. I have told several parents about how much the boys are enjoying it.”
-Carrie
“I just wanted to say we are just SO happy with the instruction she’s getting from you & the vibe overall at Opus. She is really enjoying herself & progressing well and that is so fun to watch. I’ve told several people how happy we are there. We are small business owners as well, so I know word of mouth is important! Happy to spread the word about your awesome studio 🙂 ”
-Lynn
“I just want to say thanks again for creating such a great learning environment for the kids. I think you’re an exceptional teacher and I’m so glad we found our way to you. Zoe enjoys it immensely.”
-Christie
“As a parent, I found that Opus provides a unique style of instruction that
allows students to play music they enjoy and learn the fundamentals
simultaneously. They enjoy learning and playing so much that practicing is
not an issue.”
-Allison
Students
Opus gives kids something musical to be a part of, where they get to play the instruments and the songs that they want to play. Yeah sure the instructors might make you memorize some scales that you don’t want to memorize, but that is how you improve your skills. Overall, Opus looks to move in the direction that the students want to move in. You don’t get that kind of atmosphere in a high school band class.
-Max Vanarnam
You are never too old to play—at least at Opus School of Music.
You may imagine the typical music learner as an elementary or high student. I am in my sixties and now have both the time and drive to reignite a skill I knew as an elementary student. I have thoroughly enjoyed my lessons, have rarely missed a day of practice, and even liked the experience of the bi annual performances. This is one of many opportunities the Opus School of Music provides for it students.
-Barbara AW Wright