Early Childhood Teacher

TEACHER JOB DESCRIPTION

Revised May 2023

St. John’s Preschool, located in Washington, D.C. is a Reggio inspired preschool serving 2.5 - 5 year olds. The Preschool teacher should demonstrate a commitment to the mission and goals of St. John’s Preschool. The Preschool teacher values the process of exploring children’s ideas, questions and opinions and develops a program around this base of co-construction.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The teacher reports to the Head of School. Parents are invited to give feedback about the program and teachers annually.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, early childhood development, child and family studies or a related field required (minimum of 24 semester hours in early childhood). Master’s preferred.

The teacher must be professionally prepared as a teacher of young children, able to articulate observations and possess a keen interest in exploring how children learn. The teacher must be warm, caring, and able to relate well to other children and adults. The teacher exhibits a fascination with young children’s ideas and a joy in their play.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The teacher is responsible for the care and education of a group of children as part of a teaching team and functions as a co-teacher. The teacher plans and implements the program through daily meetings with Preschool staff, and an ongoing exchange.

Attends to the safety of children at all times

● Maintains a safe, healthy and engaging environment: classroom, studio and playground

● Is certified in first aid, CPR, and emergency procedures as required by law

Develops a high-quality program to support the intellectual, social/emotional, and physical development of each child.

● Promotes the image of the child as capable, strong and joyful

● Regularly observes the ideas and development of each child. Tools of documentation may include note taking, photography, videotaping, and tape recording

● Uses the results of observations to plan and facilitate with the co-teacher an in-depth, varied program of indoor and outdoor play, and projects

● Plans studio experiences for exposure to many media and encourages continuing expression of same/evolving ideas revisited in new medium

● Establishes clear and appropriate classroom expectations and procedures for dealing with behavioral successes and problems

● Encourages children in a constructivist atmosphere to express their theories and ideas, one on one and through planned and spontaneous small group conversation

● Supports opportunities and activities for the integration of music, dance, movement, instrumentation, clay, wire, drawing, painting, collage, and experiences with light. Considers “The Hundred Languages,” when planning

● Plans and implements experiences that promote language and literacy development and the acquisition of number concepts with connections to the children’s theories and play

● Plans activities that develop positive self-esteem and social skills

● Encourages authentic diverse experiences that support our program and reflect the community and families’ cultures

Establishes positive and interactive relationships with families

● Develops ongoing dialogue with parents and requests their comments and ideas

● Relates observations to parents and offers support with developmental stages

● Promotes communication with parents through documentation of program, classroom journals, and semi-annual parent conferences

● Facilities families’ contributions to the program and encourages diverse possibilities for parent participation

● Helps organize and attends parent meetings, classroom stories nights, special and school-wide events

Supports the admissions process, both incoming applications and students applying out

● Participates in Play Date Visits for families and prospective students

● Participates in the out placement admissions process by way of letters of recommendation and developmentally appropriate guidance

Maintains a commitment to professionalism

● Treats each child, colleague and parent with dignity and respect, and observes the strictest confidentiality with respect to record keeping and information sharing, in accord with the guidelines of the Preschool’s Policy on Professional Confidentiality

● Is curious and engaged in a process of on-going learning, reads and collaborates regarding professional literature and current thinking in the early childhood field

● Participates in ongoing staff development to improve personal and professional skills

● Attends weekly staff meetings and team meetings

Supports the ongoing development of the Early Childhood Educator Series

● Is involved in planning and participates in conferences, workshops, visiting days, afternoon and evening sessions.

POSITION PARAMETERS

Teachers are expected to fulfill responsibilities as determined by the Board and Head of School. Program planning and conduct of daily classroom activities are the general responsibilities of teachers who collaborate in co-teaching teams and with the Pedagogical Director and Head of School. Staff Schedule is a 40-hour week, allowing for classroom activities, daily team planning time and weekly team and staff meetings. Staff members are also expected to participate in school-wide and classroom events.

Modest class size and student-teacher ratios are essential to our philosophy relative to quality play experiences and small group opportunities for conversations and developing projects. Our ratios are lower than DC Regulations (draft VI, 9/00) and we are committed to this adaptation consistent with our philosophy. All classrooms have two co-teachers. The staffing ratio of each class may be adjusted according to its make-up and in consideration of classroom dynamics to provide a quality environment. Such adjustments will be made in consultation with teachers, Executive Assistant, Pedagogical Director, Head of School, related specialists and with consideration for reasonable cost.

St. John’s Preschool offers competitive salaries, benefits and professional development opportunities. If interested, please send a cover letter and resume to Molly McSherry at mmcsherry@stjohnsdc.org.

Equal Opportunity Statement

St. John’s Preschool is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.