Pre-K Lead Teacher (All Locations)

YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

The YMCA of Metro Atlanta is hiring a Pre-K Lead Teacher to lead a team and plan, administer, and evaluate Pre-K and Early Learning Services under the direction of the Center Manager. The position focuses on planning, implementing, and delivering age-appropriate instruction for four-year-old children to prepare them for kindergarten. The teacher provides a safe, nurturing, inclusive, and engaging classroom environment and supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. The role also involves maintaining required records and documentation, meeting program and regulatory standards, and communicating professionally with children, families, colleagues, and leadership.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field.
Some knowledge of project-based curriculum, such as Creative Curriculum.
Enthusiasm for working with Pre-K students.
Good verbal and written communication skills.
Credentials must be verified in the Georgia Professional Development System (PDS) before hire; transcript and proof of credentials are required.
Ability to meet physical requirements including kneeling, bending, squatting, lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying objects or children weighing up to 50 pounds.
Ability to pass a pre-employment background check, including criminal record check, drug screening, motor vehicle record check, and reference check, according to company policy.
Must be legally eligible to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Valid Georgia teaching certification (T4 or T5) in Early Childhood Education.

Responsibilities

Provide quality instruction that helps pre-kindergarten children learn and demonstrate mastery of Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS) in preparation for kindergarten and school success.
Lead a team and plan, administer, and evaluate Pre-K and Early Learning Services.
Maintain a professional, cordial, family- and child-centered approach and model appropriate spoken and written grammar when communicating with students, parents, colleagues, and leadership.
Create a classroom environment that promotes active learning and reflects developmentally appropriate practices for four- and five-year-olds.
Record student attendance and punctuality accurately in the roll book each day.
Follow Bright from the Start Operating Guidelines and attend required Pre-K teacher training.
Deliver appropriate instruction using the YMCA Early Learning curriculum and Signature Programs.
Support young children in a gentle, nurturing manner, applying knowledge of their developmental stages and needs.
Administer and record developmental assessments as required by program guidelines, and use assessment information to plan, teach, and individualize classroom activities.
Implement developmentally appropriate, individualized, inclusive practices that address children with disabilities and integrate cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.
Meet federal, state, local, and program requirements and timelines for compliance, implementation, and documentation, including performance standards, monitoring guidelines, licensing regulations, disability service requirements, developmental assessments, parent conferences, and home visits.
Actively engage in teaching indoors and outdoors, including interacting at children’s eye level, participating in play, movement and songs, facilitating family-style dining, and having supportive and stimulating conversations.
Supervise children constantly during all activities and whenever they are under the teacher’s direct care.
Redirect inappropriate behavior positively and non-punitively; do not use prohibited physical discipline, complete isolation, or harmful language.
Respond promptly and nurturingly to children in distress or crying.
Create a language-rich environment with daily story reading, regular writing activities, and basic environmental print.
Plan and implement integrated, thematic, age-appropriate activities that are relevant, stimulating, challenging, and based on each child’s needs and interests.
Prepare lesson plans and materials in advance and maintain an organized, interactive, appropriate, clean, safe, and hands-on classroom.
Balance open and structured, child-initiated and teacher-directed activities; plan and implement transitions between daily activities.
Organize classroom space into recognizable, functional, uncluttered areas such as interest centers.
Conduct and record ongoing observations describing the whole child and developmental milestones, rather than focusing only on problem behaviors.
Refer suspected disabilities and abuse promptly to the appropriate authority based on assessments, observations, developmental milestones, or typical behavior.