Lead Teacher Pre-Kindergarten

Summary of Position

The Community Children Center provides full-time early care and education services for homeless children and support services for parents, in an atmosphere of safety, nurturance, and stability. A Supervising Teacher is responsible for the daily operation and supervision of a classroom and reviews important decisions with their Education Leader. The Supervising Teacher supports and follows all Horizons for Homeless Children policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

Staffing and Supervision

• Serve as a role model for all staff in interactions with children and their families.

• Orient new team members to classroom routines and curriculum implementation.

• Supervise performance of classroom Teachers and conduct performance reviews and regular assessments.

• Using reflective supervision practices, conduct monthly observations, feedback and goal setting of teaching staff.

• Participate in decisions regarding probationary action and termination of employment

Curriculum

• Supervise and lead team members in designing and implementing curriculum with a focus on trauma-informed practices and developing Individual Learning Plans.

• Supervise and model the implementation of positive behavior management techniques in guiding children's development.

• Orient and support new parents with classroom routines, curriculum, and communication systems.

Communication

• Model engaging, respectful, and culturally responsive interactions with parents.

• Supervise and lead the team in daily positive communications between Teachers, children, and their families.

• Supervise team in designing and implementing additional classroom communication systems (e.g. bulletin boards, newsletters, etc.)

• Oversee and conduct children's progress reports and parent conferences.

• Supervise and plan parent engagement opportunities to reinforce that the parent is the child's first teacher.

• Work closely with staff and community partners to provide coordinated care for the child and their family based on their individual needs (e.g. Early intervention, JF&CS, Family Partnership, Admissions, Family clinic, etc.)

• Guide and model effective communications among classroom teaching team, including planning meetings and other job-embedded learning.

• Attend regular meetings.

Classroom Management

• Maintain appropriate standards of health and safety in accordance with state regulations and Horizons for Homeless Children policies and procedures.

• Understand and implement emergency procedures.

• Develop and maintain an enriching environment for children to encourage appropriate play and learning.

• Organize classrooms schedule to allow for child-initiated and teacher-directed activities, as well as individual and small group learning.

• Coordinate the transitions of children to and from classrooms with teachers and parents.

• Complete daily and monthly reports to ensure that classroom equipment is in good repair.

• Monitor use of and coordinate the ordering of classroom supplies regularly as needed.

• Schedule classrooms teaching teams for any long- and short-term staffing shortages.

• Ensure that all classrooms records and reports are submitted in a timely and accurate manner.

Starting salary range, compensation, and benefits

$52,250 – $62,000 is the starting salary range for our Manager level roles with a 4% premium uplift for Bilingual English/Spanish. Your starting salary will fall within that range depending on your competencies, experience, and skillset.

Your total compensation package includes the following benefits:

• Health coverage options designed to be as comprehensive and affordable for you as possible, with Horizons covering between 70-75% of premiums (a value that ranges from an additional $8,000 – 20,000 per year based on your enrollment choices).
• While you have a choice between an HMO and PPO plan for medical coverage, most employees pay $76 for individual, $147 for 2-person, or $288 for family coverage per bi weekly paycheck and never pay more than $300 for individual or $600 for 2-person/family toward deductibles.
• Visit The Benefits of Working at Horizons for more details on the rest of our benefits package

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

We recognize the value of looking within to ensure our policies, practices, and culture are aligned with Horizons’ vision. Creating a more equitable world has always been at the center of Horizons’ mission, but in the last several years we’ve recommitted to the role Horizons plays in rectifying some of the problems we see and wish to address. Visit our DEI page to learn more about what that looks like at Horizons.

For more information about Horizons, please visit www.horizonschildren.org

Qualifications

Education & experience

• Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field preferred.

• Minimum of 3 credit-bearing hours of specialized college-level course work in administration, leadership or management.

• Minimum of 3 years' teaching experience, in an NAEYC Accredited program a plus.

• Department of EEC Lead Teacher qualified.

• Demonstrated success in supervision, strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Able to communicate, verbal and written, fluently in English and Spanish, Haitian Creole, or Cape Verdean Creole REQUIRED.

• Supervisory skills with a strengths-based and mutual respect approach and ability to manage workloads, provide appropriate support, and address professional development needs.

• Experience working with homeless children and families, multi-ethnic urban families, with children-at-risk, or Horizons for Homeless Children strongly preferred.

• Proficiency in using MS Office applications and other relevant ECE software applications

• Commitment to Horizons mission and ability to embody our core values (Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative, and Passionate).

• Commitment to Horizons mission and ability to embody our core values (Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative, and Passionate).

• Excellence in communication and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to collaborate and solve problems using a team approach.

• Ability and willingness to handle all sensitive information confidentially.

• Ability to lift 40 pounds.