Curriculum Design Specialist, Contract Position

About inquirED

inquirED was founded by teachers to bring rigorous and joyful learning to every student. We’re a fast-growing start-up, serving more educators and students every day. Inkwell, our integrated ELA and social studies curriculum, brings two core subjects studies together into one coherent instructional experience that builds knowledge and literacy skills, saves time and resources, and supports meaningful learning for both students and teachers. Inquiry Journeys, our elementary social studies curriculum, is used in schools and districts across the country to help students develop deep social studies knowledge and the inquiry skills essential for a thriving democracy. Join our team of designers, advocates, guides, thought leaders, and makers to help us make an even greater impact. Together, we can shape the future of education.

About the engagement

The Project:

We’re building an integrated K–5 Core ELA and social studies curriculum designed to meet the needs of diverse learners while making it easier for elementary teachers to meaningfully incorporate social studies without sacrificing literacy goals.

As part of this work, we're looking for part-time Curriculum Design Specialist Contractors to support the ongoing development and refinement of instructional materials. Contractors will work from existing lesson drafts, instructional frameworks, templates, and design guidance to develop and revise complete lessons and individual lesson components. Drawing on their grade-level expertise, they will strengthen standards alignment, student engagement, developmental appropriateness, and accessibility for diverse learners.

This engagement focuses on strengthening the clarity, coherence, and instructional quality of curriculum materials. Contractors will collaborate with our curriculum team to incorporate feedback, refine instructional activities, and ensure materials are standards-aligned, engaging, and consistent with inquirED's pedagogical vision.

Initial engagement Dec 2026 – March 2027, with potential extension based on project needs.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

In this contract, you'll collaborate with our curriculum team on a defined scope of deliverables focused on reviewing, revising, and refining elementary instructional materials.

You are someone who believes that high-quality curriculum should engage students in meaningful learning while building knowledge and literacy skills. You have a strong understanding of elementary instruction and can recognize what makes a lesson effective, developmentally appropriate, and accessible to diverse learners.

You are comfortable working within established curriculum frameworks and using provided models and guidance to revise instructional materials. You welcome feedback, ask thoughtful questions, and collaborate effectively with others to produce clear, engaging, classroom-ready materials.

Deliverables:

• Develop and revise complete lessons and individual lesson components using existing drafts, instructional frameworks, templates, and design guidance.
• Review lessons and instructional activities in development, providing actionable recommendations to strengthen standards alignment, student engagement, grade-level appropriateness, and accessibility for diverse learners.
• Ensure instructional materials align with established learning goals, ELA and social studies standards, and unit learning progressions.
• Apply established instructional strategies, pedagogical approaches, and design specifications to ensure materials are coherent, engaging, and consistent with inquirED's curriculum expectations.
• Incorporate feedback from curriculum reviewers to improve the clarity, accuracy, and instructional quality of assigned materials.
• Review and refine materials for completeness, consistency, and classroom usability before submission.
• Complete assigned deliverables within established timelines, following team workflows and communicating progress, questions, or areas needing clarification as they arise.

Qualifications:

• 4+ years of experience in elementary education, curriculum development, or instructional design, with K–5 classroom teaching experience strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of elementary instructional practices, including developmentally appropriate learning activities, student engagement strategies, and scaffolding for diverse learners.
• Experience developing, reviewing, or revising high- quality instructional materials, including lessons, activities, and student-facing resources.
• Strong knowledge of elementary ELA or social studies standards and the ability to apply provided standards and learning objectives to evaluate and revise instructional materials. Knowledge of standards in both content areas is preferred.
• Experience working within established curriculum frameworks, instructional models, and design guidelines to develop or refine instructional materials.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to incorporate feedback to improve the accuracy, consistency, and instructional quality of materials.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to manage assigned deliverables, meet deadlines, and collaborate effectively with a remote team.

Tools You’ll Likely Use:

• Google Suite and collaborative content development systems (e.g., Airtable)
• AI content generation and editing platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, in addition to potential proprietary internal tools)
• Curriculum tagging systems and rubrics aligned to focus standards

Hourly rate for this engagement is $60/hour based on experience. Hours range expected from 10-15 hrs per week based on availability.

*Please note that because of high application volume, we are only able to respond to applicants moving forward in the process.

Must be U.S. based.