Preschool Curriculum Coordinator

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

The Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP) creates and coordinates services that enhance the quality of life for Cambridge residents. Driven by the needs of residents, DHSP’s extensive services and programs touch almost every sector in the city: from newborns to senior citizens, from school-aged children to homeless families, from non-profit organizations to local employers.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Under the direction of the Director, the Preschool Curriculum Coordinator helps Lead Teachers and Teachers achieve high-quality programming in four critical areas: curriculum, classroom management, behavior management, and child assessment. The Curriculum Coordinator also serves in the capacity of a program administrator when the Director and Program Coordinator are absent.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serving as a resource to all staff in designing and implementing developmentally appropriate, child-centered curriculum.
• Supporting the Director in ensuring that the curriculum enhances the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development of children while adhering to the Massachusetts EEC learning guidelines.
• Supporting the Director in ensuring that additional learning and quality standards are met. These standards include, but are not limited to, the standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the standards of the Cambridge Preschool Program.
• Leading and participating in curriculum planning meetings with Preschool Head Teachers and Preschool Teachers.
• Providing guidance and support in making the curriculum accessible to all learners. This will regularly include the following: coordinating special education services and making accommodations to support the learning goals in Individual Education Plans.
• Supporting the Director in ensuring that the curriculum is aligned with screening and assessment tools.
• Reviewing child screening data and child assessment data with the Director and the Program Coordinator to modify curriculum planning to enhance child learning.
• Supporting teachers in completing child screenings in the fall and spring as well as child assessments in the winter and spring. This could include planning for the collection of data as well as reviewing all child screening and assessment materials.
• Supporting the teachers in planning and coordinating safe and developmentally appropriate field trips that connect curriculum topics to the world outside the classrooms.
• Working in collaboration with the preschool managers to hire new staff and complete the orientation process with new staff.
• Working in conjunction with the Enrollment Coordinator to support the enrollment of children through the Cambridge Preschool Program matching. Conducting parent/guardian tours and answering questions about all DHSP preschool programs.
• Participating in all program-related meetings such as meetings with supervisors, peers, program consultants, and specialists serving children in the classroom.
• In the absence of the Director and Program Coordinator, overseeing all site operations and ensuring that all licensing regulations and quality standards are consistently and fully followed.
• Assisting the Director and Program Coordinator with a variety of additional administrative tasks, including, but not limited to ordering supplies and submitting timesheets.
• Actively engaging in and supporting the Department’s Race and Equity Initiative.
• Maintaining professional knowledge through participation in in-service training workshops as well as meeting educational requirements established by EEC, NAEYC, the Cambridge Preschool Program, and the City of Cambridge.
• Monitoring the entrance of the program to admit families at the beginning and the end of the day.
• Providing occasional classroom coverage as needed.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• EEC Preschool Director qualified.
• Minimum of 2 years of supervisory experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong organizational, supervisory, curriculum and communication skills.
• Strong working knowledge of NAEYC, EEC, and QRIS guidelines for quality programming.
• Previous experience working with children with special needs preferred.
• The City of Cambridge’s workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS, WORKING CONDITIONS, WORK FLEXIBILITY AND ACCOMODATIONS:

• Ability to move with agility including the ability to kneel to be at a child’s eye level.
• Ability to hear children who speak in a soft voice or mumble words when distressed.
• Ability to run after children in play and to respond to an emergency.
• Ability to use hands and arms to move, reach, handle, and manipulate objects in the classroom.
• Ability to see is required for the supervision of children.
• Ability to lift a child (up to 40 pounds).
• The work environment includes classroom and outdoor playgrounds and occasional field trips.
• The noise level in the work environment is moderate to very loud.
• Ability to travel from one site to another as needed.
• Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS:

• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Vacation and Sick leave eligible
• Paid parental leave
• Sick Incentive Pay Eligible
• 3 Personal days
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Management Allowance
• City employee commuter benefits (T-Pass reimbursement Bluebikes membership, EZRide Shuttle membership)

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

Please upload the below documents to complete your application:

• Resume
• Cover letter