Biology Guide

Middle & High School

Starting September 1, 2026  ·  Jelsa, Croatia  ·  Ongoing

About The Field School of Hvar

The Field School of Hvar is an independent enrichment program located in Jelsa, on the island of Hvar, Croatia. We bring together children ages 3 through 15 from around the world for a year-round academic program grounded in experiential learning, close reading, and deep engagement with literature, history, and the natural world. Small groups, meaningful work, and genuine community are at the heart of everything we do.

Our curriculum is organized based on a chronological story of Western human development. In the 2026-27 academic year, we will be centered in pre-history, Ancient Greece, and Rome. All of these civilizations had significant presences on island Hvar and left vibrant traces of their culture. In year two, we will inhabit the Middle Ages and early Renaissance; in year three, the Modern era; and in year four, the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. In the sciences, our focus will move from classical biology in year one, to classical chemistry, physics, and the atomic revolution in years two, three, and four. Ideally, the Biology Guide is a science generalist who will move with us through this arc.

About the Role

The Biology Guide will lead science tutorials for our two oldest groups: 12 children ages 11–12 (middle school) and 14 children ages 13–15 (secondary). You will meet with each group twice per week for three hours per session — four sessions per week in total. Sessions take place primarily in and around a working community garden, with additional time for discussion, direct instruction, and lab work.

This is a part-time position that can be combined with Math or Language roles at the school. It suits someone who is as comfortable digging in a garden as they are leading a Socratic discussion, and who finds meaning in helping young people ask better questions about the living world.

Your classroom work is not just a school project - it feeds into the renewal and growth of regenerative agriculture on island Hvar. More information about that program is here: https://www.fieldschoolhvar.org/regenerative-agriculture

Biology Program

The Central Question

The animating question in biology across the school is: what is life? Students approach this as a factual and philosophical question— one that connects careful scientific observation to deeper questions about personhood and meaning in a post-AI world. Hvar itself — its landscape, its sea, its agricultural traditions — is treated as a living classroom in the spirit of Aristotle’s Lesbos, which sparked his theories of natural science, as the Galapagos inspired Darwin’s The Origin of Species.

Major Projects

Our tweens and teens will take a leadership role in two large service projects over the course of the fall and spring terms.

• In the fall (September 7 - November 28), they will try to come up with a composting system that meets the needs of our school garden. They will test different formulations of compost; work through the practical challenges of gathering and managing green waste from the olive and grape harvests as well as other sources; and research possible business models. This project will be the first step towards creating commercial-scale compost production on island Hvar. Compost and other inputs are currently absent, representing a major obstacle to farmers and individuals gardeners who wish to produce food organically.

• In the spring (March 13 - June 5), students will attempt to create a small plant nursery. As with the composting project, the nursery project will give students the opportunity to learn a great deal about biology, particularly the germination and growth of different kinds of plants. They will simultaneously engage with the practical and strategic questions of creating a nursery. Again, this will project has the potential to fill a critical gap in the island’s ecosystem for organic agriculture.

Session Structure

Each three-hour session weaves direct instruction and hands-on practice together rather than separating them:

• 30 minutes: Focused tutorial from BFSU, introducing or extending a concept. Lower Primary sessions use illustrations and read-alouds to anchor ideas; Upper Primary sessions move more quickly into open-ended discussion.

• 30 minutes: Student discussion — children describe observations, make predictions, and connect the concept to what they have seen in the garden or field.

• 60 minutes: Critical Thinking — students work in groups to make observations, form questions, design hypotheses, and carry out experiments, as well as to design and validate operating models

• 60 minutes: Craft/Experiential — carrying out garden tasks, including digging, turning compost, trimming, creating raised beds, as well as other occasional projects involving food preservation or natural dyes and textiles

Sessions also draw on fermentation and food preservation work through the Field Store project, offering natural entry points into molecular biology over the course of the year.

Secondary School (ages 13–15)

The secondary biology program uses excerpted and annotated texts from Aristotle’s natural science writings as its primary intellectual spine. Students develop first-principles thinking about anatomy, taxonomy, and the nature of living things — learning to observe and reason carefully before encountering modern frameworks.

Topics and activities across the year include:

• Close reading, discussion, and practica drawn from Aristotle — on the soul, on the parts of animals, on generation and corruption — in passages adapted for classroom use

• Plant dissection — careful observation and documentation of plant anatomy

• Fish dissection — conducted with a local fisherman, integrating traditional craft knowledge with biological observation

• Composting (fall) and propagation (spring) as sustained inquiry into life cycles, decomposition, and growth

• An introduction to molecular biology toward the end of the year, ensuring that learners are aware of current scientific paradigms

Middle School (ages 11–12)

The middle school biology program uses Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU) as its primary curriculum framework. Students build conceptual understanding of living systems through direct observation, discussion, and hands-on practice, with the same garden and Field Store work providing the experiential core.

Schedule and Responsibilities

Teaching Days

The school day runs 9:00am–4:00pm, followed by a faculty hour from 4:00–5:00pm. During the faculty hour, teachers manage assessment documentation, communicate with the administrative team, and prepare materials for the following day.

On Fridays, you will help students prepare and present a brief summary of the week’s work for parents. This is a valued part of how we keep families connected to their children’s learning.

Non-Teaching Day

One day each week (equivalent to one day in five) is reserved for non-teaching work divided among three activities:

• Planning and administration — curriculum preparation, collaboration with other guides and specialist fellows, and coordination with the administrative team

• Workshop for local children — a free or low-cost offering for children from the Jelsa community who are enrolled in Croatian public school and cannot participate in the full program

• Workshop for community adults — open to Field School parents and local adults, connecting the school’s activities to a wider audience

Assessment and Documentation

There is very little formal grading. Instead, you will be expected to:

• Maintain ongoing observational notes on each student’s development

• Issue a brief weekly summary of work covered with each group

• Contribute to ongoing program assessment — what’s working, what needs adjustment

The administrative team manages parent communication, disciplinary matters, and family concerns. Teachers are not expected to interface with parents beyond the Friday presentations, community workshops, and everyday pleasantries. Our communication policies are described in detail in the staff handbook.

Annual Calendar

• Fall program: September 7 – November 28

• Winter: December through mid-March — equivalent to summer break at most schools. Teachers take their 20 days of mandated leave during this period; the remainder is used for planning, curriculum development, and preparation for spring.

• Spring program: March 13 – June 5

• Summer: Teachers work through the summer in support of the school’s summer programming and ongoing operations.

About You

We are looking for someone who brings several of the following:

• A strong foundation in biology or the natural sciences

• Experience or deep interest in outdoor, experiential, and garden-based education

• Comfort with close observation and documentation as scientific practice

• Willingness to lead basic dissection lessons (plant and fish) in a calm, instructional manner

• Intellectual curiosity about the history and philosophy of science

• Experience working with middle and high school-age students in a discussion-based environment

• Warmth and adaptability within a small, close-knit school community, including genuine interest in engaging with the wider Hvar community

Fluency in English is required. Croatian is not required but warmly welcomed.

Position Details

• Start date: September 1, 2026

• Duration: permanent (neodređeno) or from September 7 - November 28, if candidate prefers short-term contract

• Location: Jelsa, Hvar, Croatia (in-person)

• Groups: 12 children ages 11–12; 14 children ages 13–15

• Schedule: Part-time — 4 teaching sessions per week per group, 80 minutes each, plus one non-teaching day per week. Can be combined with other part-time roles at the school (math or language).

• Hours: 1:00pm–5:00pm on teaching days

• Salary: €1,500 per month gross (bruto) plus 20% tuition discount

• Leave: 20 days, taken during the winter period (December – mid-March)

• Employment: Through FSHvar, Ltd. (Croatian entity)