Josee Molavi—known to students as “Profé J”—holds multiple roles at The New Century School. She teaches Spanish to the 6th through 8th grade and the kindergarten class daily, English language arts and global studies to the 1st through 4th grade cohort, and music to K through 8th grade. “I get to see every student every day—all age groups,” she explains. “It’s amazing how I found a place that was looking for a music teacher, a Spanish teacher, and an English Language Arts and Global Studies teacher, because those are all of my passions. I’m very lucky to have found them here.”

Becoming a Teacher

Before coming to TNCS, Profé J worked as a freelancer doing “a variety of different creative things”—photography, videography, music, and journalism. She had also taught Spanish and music but not full-time until her arrival at TNCS. “I’ve always had this language tie-in to everything and a progressive mindset about everything—wanting to tell stories and engage people with the work I was doing and creativity,” she says. “Those are kind of my three big things: being creative, a progressive mindset, and storytelling through media.”

Teaching became the thread connecting all her interests, she explained: “With being a teacher, you get to tell stories, you get to be creative, and you get to help students understand the world around them and what it means to be a global citizen.”

What drew her to TNCS specifically were the small class sizes and the ability to tailor the curriculum both to her strengths and what her students’ needs. She also felt ready to leave the freelance life “for a little more routine and rootedness in a classroom and school community.”

Background

Profé J is from Maryland, growing up in Severna Park. She attended American University in Washington, DC, graduating in 2020 with a degree in political science and Spanish. “In school I was always just enthralled by so many things,” she explains. Her multidisciplinary background informs her teaching approach.

Now living just outside Baltimore, she spends a lot of time in the city. “I love Baltimore a lot. I think it’s a really special place with a lot of interesting history, and having a school here in Fells Point especially is really nice.”

Teaching Philosophy

Profé J’s teaching philosophy centers on understanding and supporting her students as whole people. “Feeding off their energy and bringing the best energy that I can to the class is my most important thing—just imparting in them confidence and good character and compassion for each other,” she says.

She’s found surprising commonalities across age groups: “The kindergarten brain is so different from the middle school brain, but they’re really all motivated by a want to do good and be understood. I think being understood is really important for kids. My role in creating a good environment is to stop and consider, ‘What do these children need today?’ Because they all just really want to be understood. That’s been really beautiful for me—the social-emotional part of being a teacher.” She finds this aspect of teaching energizing: “Being a teacher takes so much out of you, but I really look forward to coming into the classroom every day.”

English Language Arts and Global Studies

Of her three instructional roles, Profé J says the priority varies by day. “We have the winter concert coming up, so music is a big focus right now. Spanish was huge during Hispanic Heritage Month because we were preparing for that celebration. But top of mind most days is what I do first in the day, which is teaching the 1st through 4th grade how to read, write, and relate to the world and understand their place in it. I think that’s a really important and crucial role.” With different age groups in the room, she says she puts a lot of energy into making sure that class time is engaging for them.

The class meets in the back of the middle school classroom from 8:30 to 10:10 daily—about an hour and 40 minutes. The class began with books focused on perseverance and goal setting: The Magical Yet, which “encourages children to find their yet and what they can’t do yet,” and Stacey’s Extraordinary Words, “about perseverance and showing up and doing your best even when you face challenges.”

When weather permits, she takes her class outside or to Thames Street Park to read poetry, such as Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. They’ve also read books exploring cause and effect like Too Many Pumpkins and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, along with fables like “The Lion and the Mouse” and “The Tortoise and the Hare.” A novel study is potentially coming up soon.

Music

Profé J’s approach to music represents a departure from her own background. “I am a vocalist. I grew up in choir, and I know that has so many benefits.” With younger students, she does incorporate vocal study—”they’re singing and finding their voice and using pitch and rhythm in the vocals.” But with the middle school students, she took a different path. “Rather than asking them to do something that they didn’t want to do, I decided to approach it as: What instrument do you want to play? What do you want to do? How do you want to do this song?”

She teaches them parts by ear with visual references rather than focusing on sheet music and perfect singing; “how you fit into the group and contribute positively to the song is more important,” she explained. The approach allows students with leadership qualities to rise as section leaders and gives them choice, which, she says empowers that age group.

The middle school students will accompany the younger students at the winter concert. “This lets students show their stuff.”

She worked with the instruments already available at the school, like bucket drums, keyboards, and glockenspiels, and filled in some gaps with djembes, part of a drum kit, and hand drums. “I was excited to discover the glockenspiels,” she said. “They represent an opportunity for students who maybe don’t have much of a musical understanding because the letters are written on the keys. It sounds good—it’s different, and I love that.” Some students have also been keen to incorporate guitar, piano, and violin.

Spanish and the Language Lab

For Spanish instruction, Profé J teaches kindergarten in the language lab in building South. Middle school students are taught in their homeroom. Each class runs about 40 minutes.

TNCS Community

The staff has made a strong impression on her. “I walked in the first day without an idea of what to expect, and I was amazed by the diversity—I’ve never been in a work environment where so many people seemed to be speaking different languages and coming from different backgrounds.” Being half Iranian and speaking fluent Spanish, she can relate. “I carry with me a mixed and diverse sense of identity, and that’s reflected in the student body too. I think that’s just awesome.” She says the staff has been so supportive of her through the challenge of coming to a new school. “It has been a challenge finding my footing as a first-year teacher here and learning everybody and learning the school and also really doing as much as I can in each subject. But I hope that over time the music program can grow. This is just where we’re starting from, and I’m pleased with it so far.”

Her message to parents reflects what she heard at recent parent-teacher conferences: “The resounding idea from all of the parents is that they really want their children to be confident and doing well and encouraged and feeling good, and that’s my priority—that the students feel like they have a place where they’re supported and that we’re working with them to not only just help them excel in academics but help them develop as people.”She sees her multidisciplinary background as an asset:

Showing kids the multidisciplinary nature of what so many of them are—because so many of them are interested in music or math or science or English or Spanish or Chinese—working to their strengths, I think being a model and example of that is important for them.The through line is your passion and your compassion for others and your why and your what. I think kids look for that in the teacher. They are not looking for ‘When does this paper need to be completed?’ but ‘Why? Why do I care?’ And I think that comes from more than just ‘You are getting a grade.

Ultimately, Profé J brings to her multiple roles a deep commitment to helping students find their place and voice. “That’s me.”

Life Outside School

Profé J is an active musician with her own artist project. She describes her music as “soul with a pop and rock twist—very multi-genre. I call it alternative soul.” She leads a band of five and also sings in another project with a band of 10. They perform up and down the East Coast, particularly in Baltimore and DC, including at such famous places like the 9:30 Club. See where she’s playing next on her website: joseemolavi.com.

Her other passions include travel and cooking.