Lead Preschool Teacher

The Associated and its Agencies•Owings Mills, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Stoler Early Learning Center, part of the JCC of Greater Baltimore's Rosenbloom Owings Mills Campus, serves 200 children from 6 weeks to kindergarten. The center believes each child is unique and partners with families to address their strengths, needs, and interests through a comprehensive, child-centered approach. Educators are qualified, knowledgeable, and professionally committed to promoting children's development and supporting families. The program aims to enhance each child's development, fostering creative, resilient, and confident thinkers through exploration and play. The school is moving towards a constructivist-inspired philosophy, embracing innovation and experimentation to create a caring community of learners. The JCC is seeking energetic, enthusiastic, dedicated, creative, and passionate educators committed to furthering their education and joining students in their social/emotional and educational growth. The team provides high-quality education and care reflecting the goals and values of J Early Childhood. Lead Teachers are responsible for monitoring children's development and learning. The ideal candidate enjoys working with children, nurturing their sense of wonder, encouraging imagination, building self-esteem, and creating "edu-speriences" by developing, implementing, and reflecting upon their class community. The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of child development, a willingness to 'wonder,' and an excitement for learning.

Requirements

90- hour Certification.
CDA, Associates, or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education; education; child development, or a related field preferred.
Working knowledge of the growth and development of young children and ability to utilize this information in the classroom.
Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills: oral, reading, writing.
Creative, problem solver with a “can-do” attitude
Experience working in Early Childhood or Elementary Education preferred. Specifically in a constructivist, child-centered setting.
Ability to be flexible, multi-task, and prioritize workload.
Ability to act independently in the classroom setting and possesses a willingness to work with a team, including collaborating with classroom team, age level team, Leadership Team, and specialists.
Ability to meet Maryland State Department of Education requirements for employment in a preschool setting with mandated coursework completed and drive to complete ongoing continuing education requirements as required by MSDE, MD EXCELS, and credentialing.
Comfort exploring both indoors and outdoors in a variety of weather.
Basic Judaic knowledge, including holidays, culture, traditions, and values and ability to integrate it into lessons and experiences or willingness to learn.

Nice To Haves

CDA, Associates, or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education; education; child development, or a related field preferred.
Experience working in Early Childhood or Elementary Education preferred. Specifically in a constructivist, child-centered setting.
Basic Judaic knowledge, including holidays, culture, traditions, and values and ability to integrate it into lessons and experiences or willingness to learn.

Responsibilities

Provide a safe environment for all children in the school by providing active supervision at all times, this includes but is not limited to, remaining in ratio and keeping the children in sight and sound at all times.
Pay close attention to children’s play, engage in reflection and discussion about children’s growth and learning, and respond to themes in children’s play and development.
Consider students’ personalities, interests, developmental abilities, cultural backgrounds, family values, as well as their personal observations and dialogues with the children when facilitating learning experiences through frequent changes in centers and open-ended provocations.
Document children’s play and learning, including daily reflections, journey binders, blog, weekly newsletters, and other vehicles implemented by the school.
Provide a variety of opportunities targeting multiple learning styles for children’s active participation, independent choices, experimentation, and problem solving within the context of a structured setting and program.
Be sensitive to individual children’s differences and needs and be willing to adjust the experiences you bring to life for the children to meet those individual needs.
Use the power of joint attention and observing children’s play, conversations, and experiences to impact your facilitation.
Create opportunities for social interaction, physical activity, creative expression, and Jewish experiences both indoors and outdoors.
Encourage students to be responsible for their own learning. Ask high level thinking questions to enhance their reasoning skills and increase questioning strategies to promote conversation.
Attend to classroom management, including flow of the day, group dynamics, and conflict resolutions. Use positive guidance and modeling to encourage children and provide them with the skills and words they need to communicate more effectively.
Relate to young children and adults in an emotionally responsive manner. Nurture physical, spiritual, emotional, social, cognitive, and literary growth and development of each child.
Use a variety of educational resources to plan learning experiences and lessons for the children. Building on the familiar foundation of the Creative Curriculum, Healthy Beginnings and the JCC ELC holiday curriculum, Chageinu, as well as MSDE approved Kindergarten Common Core Curriculums.
Cover the required state content areas/domains: social emotional competencies, language and literacy, mathematics, sciences, social studies, physical well-being, Jewish studies, fine and gross motor development, and fine arts.
Care for classroom environment and aesthetics maintaining a clean and organized environment displaying engaging and accessible documentation.
Be physically and mentally present and focused on the children throughout the duration of your shift.
Create a warm, welcoming, and nurturing environment of acceptance in which the children can grow with positive self-concept.
Greet families and children enthusiastically upon their arrival – and communicate briefly at pick-up. A note or phone call might be necessary if the topic at hand would be too lengthy or inappropriate to discuss in front of the child and their peers.
Read and maintain children’s files including work samples, anecdotal notes, and other documentation.
Complete accurate reports as directed (i.e., attendance, signing in/out, frequent, and regular Name to Face Recognition, accidents/incidents, milk, sunscreen, medication administration, ID checks, individual child meals, and diaper record keeping when applicable, etc.). Complete a beginning of the year and mid-year assessments to gather data to document children’s present levels of performance and track their growth. Classroom teams will complete conference forms and conduct a minimum of one conference each year with families, as well as be available for other conferences or meetings based on parental request or if concerns arise. Identify, provide, and facilitate needed additional assessment or interventions where necessary.
Establish and maintain a well-organized, clean, and safe healthy environment for children. Check materials, equipment, and supplies to see that amounts are adequate and that they are in good repair. Take preventative measures against hazards to physical safety. Care for and maintain equipment within the school.
Be knowledgeable of Maryland State Department of Education and the Office of Childcare’s COMAR rules and regulations governing childcare facilities.
Supervise, train, and constructively utilize assistant teacher and floater’s skills and abilities.
Develop professional, courteous relationships with families and colleagues.
Create a positive, warm, individualized, nurturing, environment for children; encourage inquiry, open-ended thought, and independence.
Consistently treat children, coworkers, and families with dignity, respect, and compassion. Promote the equitable, fair, and consistent treatment of all members in our community. Provide tender, responsive, quality care, addressing children’s needs.
Uphold the Derech Eretz (Code of Ethical Conduct) of the Stoler Early Learning Center.
Share observations with families on areas of interest, strengths, successes, and challenges regarding their individual child. Maintain a continuing dialogue with families, including a minimum of mid-year and end of the year conferences.
As a Lead Teacher, foster and develop the teaching and leadership ability of your colleagues. Finding ways to make your assistant teacher and floaters jobs as rewarding and stimulating as possible. Hold regular conversations with your team to reflect on and review the week’s experiences and plan the next week’s program. Make your expectations clear to your colleagues, following through to see that expectations are met, and that you are utilizing your colleagues’ abilities and input.
Provide input and feedback in a productive and positive manner to help create engaging and developmentally appropriate school-wide events.
Participate in lifelong learning by increasing knowledge and abilities in the field of early childhood education through attendance and participation at workshops and courses, reading books, etc. and actively participate in professional development days and meetings.
Demonstrate strong communication skills by speaking clearly in a professional manner, effectively communicating written thoughts and ideas through e-mail and daily stories, possessing the ability to listen to gain clarification and understanding, and the ability to respond clearly and confidently to questions.
Strive to have strong, positive, professional working relationships with coworkers and leadership team and collaborate with other faculty members to create a Chavruta (learning community).
Be a reflective practitioner. Participate in self-evaluation and school evaluations processes and reflect upon professional path and areas of growth.
Work the days and hours agreed to upon hiring and perform all aspects of your assignment, including but not limited to; arriving to work prepared, being punctual, managing time efficiently, requesting time away from work in advance in accordance with our policies and procedures and comply with deadlines.
Abide by the policies and procedures of the school as written in the staff manual and uphold the Vision of the Stoler Early Learning Center and the Mission of the JCC, as well as MSDE Licensing safety requirements.
Work the assigned days and hours to perform all assigned responsibilities and tasks, be punctual and timely in completing all performance requirements, including but not limited to, attendance standards, punctuality, work deadlines, and replaying to all necessary e-mails or Brightwheel messages.
In order to perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies including but not limited to flexibility, ability to adapt to changes in the work environment, take responsibility for actions, asks for and offer help as needed, be punctual, request time away from work in advance, and manage time off efficiently.
Maintain a high level of professionalism and discretion in order to protect the rights and privacy of children and families by maintaining confidentiality according to the NAEYC Code of Ethics.
Perform additional program duties as assigned by the director according to the school and agency needs.
Each staff member is expected to abide by MSDE’s Professional Development requirements each year. Based on your anniversary hire date, all lead teachers must complete a minimum of 12 continuing education credits and assistants must complete 6 or more units. These numbers are doubled for all credentialed staff. All employees are encouraged to complete the credentialing process, as it has many personal and professional benefits for employees and helps our program maintain its high standards and ratings. All staff should also maintain First Aid, CPR, MSDE Basic Health and Safety and MSDE COVID certifications as well as keeping abreast on current research and practices in early childhood education.