How to hire a teaching artist

How to hire a teaching artist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step teaching artist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a teaching artist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new teaching artist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a teaching artist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a teaching artist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A teaching artist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, teaching artists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of teaching artists.

   Type of Teaching Artist	Description	Hourly rate
   Teaching Artist	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$18-53
   Professor	A professor is a teaching professional who provides instructions to students on various academic and vocational subjects in colleges, universities, and vocational schools. Professors design curriculums for courses and ensure that they meet college and department students... Show more	$42-134
   Music Internship	Music Internship is a work experience offered by employers for students or graduates to gain exposure in the music industry's vast segments, such as from a media conglomerate, a music platform, or a music production company. For instance, a music production internship at Tik Tok entails assessing audio and music quality, composing different music styles, designing sounds for various applications, cross collaborating with engineers to produce musical products, and assisting the production team in music cataloging.	$15-59

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Art Curriculum
   • Arts Education
   • Art Lessons
   • Public Schools
   • Creative Drama
   • Poetry
   • Classroom Management
   • NYC
   • Art History
   • Musical Theater
   • K-12
   • Visual Arts
   • Graphic Design
   • Shakespeare

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Perform weekly at NYC schools, lead talkbacks, and conduct workshops for students of all ages.
   • Lead an outreach art program in a public school in the Bronx for 4th and 5th grade students.
   • Utilize computers and software to develop teaching materials, manage classroom records and email, and produce PowerPoint presentations.
   • Demonstrate effective communication skills, well-execute and expedient application of makeup to achieve the look guests desires.
   • Participate in OFAR's social sculpture and create an installation-base film dedicate to social justice and engagement
   • Teach classes in improv, sketch, acting, and playwriting

   More teaching artist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the teaching artist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A teaching artist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a teaching artist in Hawaii may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level teaching artist. Additionally, a teaching artist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average teaching artist salary

   $66,565yearly

   $32.00 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level teaching artist salary

   $39,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 31, 2026

   Average teaching artist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$96,237	$46
   2	New York	$88,544	$43
   3	Massachusetts	$84,248	$41
   4	Connecticut	$82,935	$40
   5	Oregon	$82,217	$40
   6	Pennsylvania	$80,634	$39
   7	Ohio	$69,450	$33
   8	New Jersey	$68,460	$33
   9	Iowa	$63,849	$31
   10	Georgia	$63,630	$31
   11	Illinois	$63,391	$30
   12	Missouri	$62,974	$30
   13	Florida	$61,610	$30
   14	Oklahoma	$49,775	$24

   Average teaching artist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The New York Pops	$91,222	$43.86
   2	Baptist Health Home Care	$89,907	$43.22
   3	Lyric Opera of Chicago	$86,562	$41.62
   4	Camino Nuevo Charter Academy	$80,058	$38.49	1
   5	Manhattan School of Music	$79,755	$38.34
   6	Los Angeles County Museum of Art	$72,719	$34.96
   7	Newton Montessori School	$71,391	$34.32
   8	The Joffrey Ballet	$70,161	$33.73	4
   9	BRIDGES Charter School	$69,965	$33.64
   10	LA Promise Fund	$67,823	$32.61
   11	Berklee College of Music	$64,654	$31.08	3
   12	New City Kids	$64,188	$30.86
   13	ACES	$64,141	$30.84	1
   14	SFJAZZ	$63,804	$30.68	1
   15	Shift	$62,828	$30.21
   16	Ravinia Festival	$60,090	$28.89
   17	P.S. ARTS	$59,920	$28.81
   18	Drake University	$57,812	$27.79
   19	One River School	$56,819	$27.32	1
   20	The People's Music School	$54,285	$26.10	2

4. Writing a teaching artist job description

   A teaching artist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a teaching artist job description:

   Teaching artist job description example

   Handel and Haydn Society seeks a practicing, professional artist to educate, inspire, and engage students in twice-weekly music classes. Students are in grades K1-3 at the Hurley K-8 School in Boston's South End and will receive their music instruction in Spanish.
   
   The successful candidate has a strong background in elementary general music methodologies; approaches their work with equity at the core and a desire to further justice through their music classroom; prioritizes singing and the development of the voice in their teaching practice; and is well-versed in elementary level repertoire and materials. The Teaching Artist engages students in developing music literacy skills, experiencing the joy of music through active participation and hands-on learning activities, and exposure to live music performed by professional musicians. This comprehensive approach to music education, delivered through a sequential, student-centered curriculum, provides exciting enhancements to the school's dynamic culture and supports the social, emotional, academic, and artistic growth of its students from an early age.
   
   The Teaching Artist teaches twenty (20) classes weekly during the school day. Scheduling is flexible based on availability of the artist and alignment with the school schedule. Instruction takes place with the classroom teacher present. Should distance learning be incorporated into the student experience, the Teaching Artist will adapt their instruction for this environment.
   
   We are seeking a candidate to perform the duties of The Teaching Artist, and in addition, is willing and able to run an after school chorus once per week for additional wages.
   Qualifications: A passion for sharing music with all people, in particular with children. Prior experience teaching in a youth educational setting, preferably in an urban environment at the elementary level. Experience with remote instruction is desirable. Fluency in Spanish is critical. Collegiate study in music and/or education and excellent musicianship skills is preferred. Vocal/choral artists are especially encouraged to apply. Demonstrated knowledge of music pedagogy and expertise with Gordon's "Music Learning Theory," First Steps in Music, Conversational Solfege, and/or the Kodaly method is highly desirable. Exceptional interpersonal skills, including the ability to relate to and engage young children with genuine warmth and energy and to create positive workplace relationships. Enthusiasm for working collaboratively with school communities. Exceptional communication skills and attention to detail. Pro-active approach, flexibility, reliability, ability to work independently, and positive attitude extremely important. Sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds of students. Authentic interest in advocacy for music education and the Handel and Haydn Society. Duties: Deliver curriculum and instruction in music literacy and singing that is culturally relevant, joyful, and challenging to the students at the Hurley School, beginning in the 2022-23 school year. Teaching schedule to be set by the Hurley School and H+H administrations. Maintain lesson plans and collaborate with classroom teachers to incorporate themes from other areas of the students' learning as much as possible. Prepare and lead students in performances for the school community and other engagements, including in collaboration with other musicians of H+H. Maintain a weekly journal to record anecdotal data on program developments and student performance and develop relevant tools for measurement and assessment that are useful in evaluating student progress and effectiveness of teaching practice. Attend school celebrations, special events, meetings and other functions deemed necessary by the Hurley K-8 School and Handel and Haydn Society administrations. Be available to meet with Board members, donors, and funders during the year and participate in events that maintain and cultivate interest in the H+H Education Program. Act as a representative of H+H at social events, educational meetings, and/or conferences. Other duties as assigned.
   Compensation: Salary for 3 teaching days per week: $32,000-$37,000 annually, paid biweekly on Fridays
   The Handel and Haydn Society is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace by maintaining a staff that represents the traditions and voices of contemporary Boston.
   The Handel and Haydn Society requests Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) for all members of the Education Program faculty.
   
   
   
   Job Posted by ApplicantPro

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find teaching artists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your teaching artist job on Zippia to find and recruit teaching artist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit teaching artists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new teaching artist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the teaching artist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new teaching artist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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