Preschool For All Lead Teacher

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago•Addison, IL

14h•$55,000 - $60,000

About The Position

The Preschool for All Lead Teacher provides a high-quality, stimulating, safe, and developmentally appropriate educational environment for children to develop cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills. The teacher supports children in building communication, attitudes, skills, and knowledge that form a foundation for school success, while establishing relationships with parents and supporting their role in child development. The role collaborates with the Early Head Start Team, YWCA Quality Team, Center Director, and Center Director Staff. The position develops and implements developmentally appropriate classroom experiences and weekly Digital Creative Curriculum lesson plans aligned with the Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Illinois Early Learning Standards. It supports individualized instruction, child transitions, active supervision, classroom safety, multicultural experiences, and family engagement. The teacher also maintains classroom and child records, uses program databases and assessments to support school-readiness goals, and provides mentorship, guidance, training, and coaching to colleagues. The position reports to the Education Manager.

Requirements

Meet Illinois Department of Children and Family Services requirements for licensure.
Bachelor's degree with Level 5 Credential; the degree must be from an accredited institution.
Complete a Professional Educator License within three years.
Required certification/qualification: Professional Educator License, Gateway Level 5, or a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood.
Complete at least 15 hours of professional training related to Early Childhood and/or position responsibilities annually.
Ability to lift infants and toddlers weighing up to 35 pounds.
Ability to sit on the floor, bend at the waist, kneel, and/or stoop for 75% of the time.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual Spanish language skills.

Responsibilities

Provide a supportive environment where children can learn and practice appropriate individual and group behaviors.
Provide developmentally appropriate activities that encourage curiosity, exploration, and problem-solving.
Organize and provide developmentally appropriate early childhood education experiences.
Develop weekly Digital Creative Curriculum lesson plans and ensure they align with the Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Illinois Early Learning Standards.
Maintain an understanding of the Early Childhood School Readiness Plan.
Create an appropriate classroom setting according to ECERS-R and CLASS.
Provide appropriate multicultural classroom experiences.
Maintain an understanding of safety procedures and conduct required safety drills as directed by the center director.
Create, plan, and implement active supervision.
Assist with child transition plans and create and maintain an individualized instruction plan for each child.
Maintain an understanding of the IFSP, IEP, and referral process.
Maintain open and cooperative communication with parents and families and encourage their involvement.
Maintain classroom records of children's allergies, diets, and medicine.
Use COPA for daily attendance, meal counts, service plans, and student interest inventories.
Enter child and teacher data into the database and use it to support school-readiness goals and classroom trends.
Maintain organized child records in TSG.
Assess and document children using Teaching Strategies Gold, ASQ-SE, MEFS, and other assessments to improve child outcomes.
Use data to provide mentorship and guidance to colleague teachers.
Participate in the annual self-assessment and community assessment.
Conduct two home visits per year with each parent.
Coordinate and conduct two parent/teacher conferences per year.
Provide mentorship, guidance, and coaching sessions to colleagues and teachers using data.
Support, train, and provide technical assistance to staff on planning and implementing culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate curriculum and experiences.
Create a Personal Professional Development Plan and complete at least 15 hours of relevant professional training annually.
Participate in center meetings and YWCA meetings as directed by the direct report.
Perform other duties as assigned.