Position: Campus Director, Growing Place Early Childhood Lab School
Location: 1802 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Status: Full-time, Exempt
Reports to: Executive Director
Start Date: July 2026
THE ORGANIZATION:
Growing Place is a non-profit 501(c)(3) child development center, established in 1985. Our mission is to create a better future by helping children develop into confident, compassionate, and creative problem solvers. Our unique program unifies children, parents, and teachers into a community that learns together. Growing Place provides the young children of working families with high-quality, full-day, year-round early education. Our philosophy holds that all children learn from interactions with other children and from interactions with the environment, as well as from interactions with adults. We are in dialogue with Reggio Children and use best practices from their school systems in our context. We fundamentally view children as competent, resilient, and curious individuals; teachers as researchers, facilitators, and collaborators of learning for children and adults; parents as authentic partners.
We operate two NAEYC accredited campuses in Santa Monica and are in partnership with the City of Santa Monica and Santa Monica College operating a third campus, Santa Monica Early Childhood Lab School (SMECLS), which opened in 2021. This campus serves as a demonstration site for ECE students enrolled at Santa Monica College.
Description of the Position
The Campus Director collaborates with children, staff, families, Santa Monica College, and the broader community to carry out the values and mission of the Growing Place. The Campus Director serves as the catalyst of the school to continuously reflect, innovate, and contribute to the evolution of the school. Working in concert with the Executive Director and community partners, the Campus Director is responsible for leading the school in a social constructivist curriculum design and implementation.
The Campus Director, with support from the Assistant Director, directs, manages, monitors, and maintains control over all aspects of campus operations. The Campus Director is responsible for all center operations, and leads the center’s pedagogical and curriculum development and implementation through a close collaboration. The Campus Director is responsible for the partnership between GP and SMC; and strives to ensure SMECLS is an exemplary demonstration site for all learners. The Campus Director holds a strong and clear vision of the organization’s purpose statement and how to actualize the school’s goals and objectives as outlined in our Strategic Plan.
The Campus Director is creative, organized, analytical, flexible, reflective and collaborative.
Responsibilities and Duties
Promote Effective Teaching and Learning
Work with Children
Collaborate with staff and Educational Coordinating Team (ECT) to design and implement curriculum for the entire campus that is in accordance with the Growing Place philosophies and pedagogy
Ensure that all children are given opportunities to thrive and structures are in place to support children with learning and/or developmental variations
Build respectful, trusting, and positive relationships with all children
Work with Families
Assure all staff have the skills and disposition to create authentic partnerships with families
Welcome families and create relationships so they feel a sense of belonging
Support with orienting new families on philosophy and pedagogy
Participate in parent-teacher meetings and conferences
Lead family events and engagements related to pedagogy; such as Coffee & Conversations, Parent-Teacher Dialogues, Back to School Night etc.
Effectively communicate with families about the life of the school
Publish newsletters and other relevant communications to families and the wider community regarding the work and mission of Growing Place
Work with Staff
Cultivate a positive, healthy, and professional work environment
Cultivate a culture of curiosity, reflection, innovation, and critical thinking and feedback
Work alongside staff to promote positive language, constructivist teaching practices and developmentally appropriate practices
Participate in consistent and authentic feedback from employees, including having a continuous performance management plan
Ensure that staff understand and implement the Growing Place mission, values, and practices
Effectively lead and facilitate meetings
Design and lead professional development plans; specific to an employee, age-cohort, team, campus-wide or organizationally wide
Lead and participate in creating, reviewing and editing documentation for classrooms and across campuses
Work with Community and SMC
Deepen a working partnership with SMC E/EC Department faculty
Deepen an understanding of SMC’s E/EC department and program
Lead endeavors that highlight the teaching and learning model at ECLS
Ensure opportunities for all adult learners to engage in learning at Growing Place
Cultivate a strong, positive, and professional relationship with the Board of Directors
Attend and participate in professional development relevant to furthering the organization’s mission
Present at conferences that enhance the presentation of the Growing Place in the wider community
Assist staff to prepare and present work to parents and the professional community
Network with other schools to create partnerships and places of inspiration for future learning opportunities
Fiscal Responsibilities
Collaborate with Executive Director, Business Manager, and Assistant Director to develop an annual budget that reflects the school’s values and educational goals
Support a spirit of philanthropy with parents, community, and foundations
Follow the fiscal policies and procedures handbook
Collaborate with the Assistant Director on program report due to SMC and to implement operation agreements between SMC and GP
Enrollment and Marketing
Support Assistant Director to conduct tours of the center for prospective parents
Ensure all members of the community (parents, staff, etc.) understand the mission, values, and practices of the Growing Place
Collaborate with appropriate parties to ensure that all communication/marketing materials reflect Growing Place’s mission, values, and practices
Ensure visibility at Preschool/Career Fairs and local community events for recruitment of families and staff
Operations and Business
Support positive partnerships to promote good business practices
Stay abreast of best practices and research regarding children, families, teaching, learning, organizational structures
Campus Facilities
Plan and ensure that the campus environment promotes teaching, learning, development of trusting relationships, beauty, richness, connection to the natural world and the context of the school, and safety for children and adults
Provide training, direction and oversight so that materials in the center reflect our pedagogical and environmental values and are within our operating budget expense
Additional responsibilities will be assigned by the supervisor and outlined in the work plans.
Minimum Qualifications/Requirements
A Master Degree in a related field (ie. Early Childhood Education, Educational Leadership/Administration)
Experience in leadership, administration, supervision, mentorship
Two (2) years of experience working with children ages 3 months-6 years old in a licensed quality child care program, NAEYC accredited child care center preferred
Demonstrate an understanding of child development
Demonstrate and easily communicate social constructivism, Reggio Emilia approach
Meet requirements of the CA Department of Social Services (TB status, required immunizations, CPR certification, fingerprint clearance)
Competencies
Values parents as important partners in the work of the school
Pays attention to the many ways that children make meaning of the world
Collaborates with children and adults in positive ways
Exhibits a positive, team player spirit
Has a keen interest and curiosity about the nature of learning and teaching
Finds joy in working with children and adults
Approaches teaching as a life-long learner
Embraces reflection as a tool for growth and learning
Demonstrates commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity
Seeks out resources to continually improve one’s practice
Values learning from mistakes
Establishes professional boundaries with children, parents, and colleagues
Demonstrates professionalism in dress, attitude, communication, and punctuality
Shows and values integrity for oneself and others
Provides value add to the organization beyond the job position
Demonstrates strong writing and communication skills
Demonstrate skillful dialogue and relationship building with parents
Working Conditions
Ability to stand and sit in indoor and outdoor environments designed for children ages 3 months - 6 years
Ability to move rapidly from a sitting to standing position, and to be able to get down and up off the ground as needed
Ability to push, pull, or lift up to 50lbs
Working in all weather conditions
Some travel, evening and weekends are occasionally required
Requires developmentally normal hearing abilities and visual acuity
Requires strong communication skills with children, families, faculty, and staff
Salary and Benefits
Starting Annual Salary: $95,000 - $120,000 (salary commensurates with experience)
Benefits:
4 Weeks Synchronized School Closure
10 days additional Paid Time Off (PTO)
9 Paid Days National/State Holidays
Up to 72 Hours of Paid Sick Leave (PSL)
Unused PSL will roll over to the next school year as Paid Time Off (PTO)
Medical, Dental, Vision Benefits Covered at 100% for the base policy
Life Insurance with a fully paid premium and a $25,000 benefit
403(b) retirement plan with a 50% match up to 3%
Application Process
Qualified candidates will be contacted to participate in a phone interview. Candidates who advance through the interview process will participate in an in-person interview with Growing Place administration. Finalists will be invited to participate in a ½ day interview that will include an opportunity to observe our classrooms and engage with constituents from our community (Board Members, parents, and staff).
The Growing Place is an early childhood education center established in 1985. Our mission is to help children develop into confident, compassionate, and creative problem solvers. Our program unifies children, parents, and teachers into a community that learns together. We operate three centers in Santa Monica; Our three sites are licensed to serve 257 children and positively impact approximately 500 working parents and 80 early childhood educators.We use a social constructivist approach to working with teachers, children, and families; in partnership with Reggio Emilia. We fundamentally view children as competent, resilient, and curious individuals, teachers as researchers, facilitators, and collaborators of learning for children and adults, and parents as authentic partners.