Career Center

SUMMARY: Plans and implements developmentally-appropriate activities designed to promote, social-emotional, cognitive, and physical growth in children in the Early Childhood Program. Communicates effectively with parents and colleagues and demonstrates a professional demeanor as well as an ongoing interest in personal growth and professional development. Valid Lead Teacher Child Development permit or above and two years of experience, or comparable equivalent, as a Lead teacher in an early childhood/preschool classroom required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following.

• Along with co-teacher, plan and implement age-appropriate and play-based curriculum for individual, small, and large group activities, both indoors and outdoors, that promotes learning in the areas of social-emotional, language, cognitive, and physical development and that motivates enthusiasm of children for active participation in the learning process.
• Co-teachers are equally responsible for the planning and execution of all curricula, materials preparation, classroom organization, and supervision of students.
• Create, plan and execute a curriculum that is reflective of the diversity of our families and aligned with our expressed goals around anti-bias education.
• Model strong team-teaching practices and collaboration with the co-teacher, grade-level teams, division, and specialists.
• Respectfully engage in a peer-review process with associate teachers, that gives colleagues specific feedback to improve teaching and learning.
• Solicit, eagerly receive and engage in dialogue around feedback from supervisor and team members to improve professional skills.
• Regularly meet with the teaching team and grade level team to ensure alignment of instructional vision and delivery in the classroom and to collaboratively problem-solve approaches, strategies, and methodologies to support student learning needs.
• Regularly meet with the Director of Early Childhood Programs, and other members of the Academic Affairs team, to ensure vertical alignment of instruction to curricula objectives, school mission, and core values. Along with the Director of Early Childhood programs, create individual action plans to support student challenges and family needs.
• Together with teammates, create physical classroom environments (indoor and outdoor) conducive to collaborative and individual learning, freedom of movement, and the development of student independence.
• Clearly and compassionately communicate verbally with children and verbally and in written form with parents, administrators, and colleagues about curriculum, children, and child development issues and maintain a sensitive, cooperative, and flexible demeanor in interactions with others.
• Collect information about students using a variety of informal and dynamic assessments. Use results to inform instruction and share with colleagues. Share student information in articulation meetings with other faculty when children are in transition.
• Keep current in contemporary pedagogical thinking, strategies, and techniques by regularly reading professional journals, active participation in Early Childhood division discussions, and regular attendance at professional conferences, workshops, and courses.
• Mentor and collaboratively plan with associate teachers. Supervise and coordinate the efforts of interns, student teachers, and other adults in the classroom as needed.
• Maintain and update curriculum (and lesson) maps in conjunction with grade-level teams.
• Coordinate parent volunteer opportunities in the classroom related to curriculum units and classroom community events.
• Demonstrate professionalism through reliability, punctuality, participation in meetings, and staff development opportunities, as well as personal appearance and self-care, and maintain personal integrity and a respectful attitude in professional relationships.
• Provide for the physical safety of children through anticipation and removal of hazards, visual observation of children active or at rest, and appropriately responding to injuries.
• Follow the guidelines of the Emergency Response Plan and take responsibility for students' safety in an emergency situation, or drill.
• Positively contributes to the schoolwide community.
• Other duties may be assigned.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty to the satisfaction of the administration. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Minimum of Bachelor's or higher degree in the area of child development, education, or related field. Lead's degree preferred. Minimum of Early Childhood Lead Teacher Child Development permit or above and two years of experience, or comparable equivalent, in an early childhood/preschool classroom as a Lead/Lead teacher.

BEHAVIORAL SKILLS: Demonstrates personal integrity, friendliness, patience, fairness, openness, non-defensiveness, sensitivity, flexibility, and enthusiasm.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret written documents, professional literature, and material pertinent to child development and education. Ability to write reports, child evaluations from a developmental perspective, curricular plans, letters to parents, and others. Ability to verbally present information and respond to children, parents, colleagues, and administrators in the areas of early childhood curriculum and child development, as well as speak and write from a child-specific perspective.

TECHNICAL SKILLS: Ability to use simple tools and machines, such as copiers, laminators, and telephones. Ability to use computers for word processing to write reports, compose letters, create documents such as newsletters, prepare and send messages on Microsoft Outlook, e-mail, access the Internet, and maintain class web pages.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to solve practical problems and apply common sense in dealing with everyday and emergency situations. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, and schedule form.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a teacher to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee is required to stand, walk, sit, climb, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move children of all sizes in the classroom. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a teacher encounters while performing the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. The noise level in the work environment varies from quiet to moderate to noisy.

About The Center for Early Education

Founded in 1939, The Center for Early Education educates students from Toddler through Grade Six. Our urban West Hollywood campus houses 538 children in instructional building with rooftop playgrounds, unique 'green' planting and underground parking. The Center combines a challenging academic curriculum with a nurturing environment that harkens back to the founders' focus on the inner life of the child. Both the student body and faculty/staff are very diverse with 50% students of color. The Center offers an ample Financial Aid program with inclusion awards but also strives for socioeconomic diversity among its families. Generous donors and a mature advancement program keep tuition below the median of comparable schools in the Los Angeles area. The Center offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits to employees. A long-standing commitment to professional development allows all employees to further their professional and personal growth.

Connections working at The Center for Early Education