Teacher - Kindergarten (Anticipated )

Holyoke Public Schools•Holyoke, MA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Kindergarten Teacher creates a joyful, safe, inclusive, and academically rigorous classroom in which every student feels known, valued, and capable of success. Recognizing kindergarten as a foundational year, the teacher develops students’ early literacy, numeracy, communication, independence, curiosity, and sense of belonging. The ideal candidate understands early childhood development, maintains high expectations for every learner, builds strong relationships with students and families, and works collaboratively to advance Morgan’s commitment to ensuring that all students are seen, heard, loved, and challenged.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
At least one year of successful full-time teaching experience.
Strong knowledge of early childhood development and developmentally appropriate kindergarten instruction.
Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality foundational literacy and mathematics instruction.
Commitment to ensuring academic, social-emotional, and behavioral success for every student.
Ability to create a structured, joyful, culturally responsive, and inclusive classroom community.
Ability to collect, interpret, and apply student-performance data to instructional planning and intervention.
Ability to differentiate instruction for students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students with a wide range of strengths and needs.
Strong classroom-management, organization, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Valid Massachusetts DESE educator license in Early Childhood (PreK–2) at the appropriate level, or eligibility to obtain the required license.
Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Teacher Endorsement, or ability to obtain the endorsement within the timeline required by DESE and Holyoke Public Schools.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in an urban school setting and with culturally and linguistically diverse student populations strongly preferred.
Fluency in Spanish strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Plan and deliver engaging, developmentally appropriate instruction aligned with Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, district-adopted curricula, and Morgan’s schoolwide instructional priorities.
Provide explicit, systematic instruction in foundational literacy, including phonological awareness, phonics, oral language, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and early writing.
Develop students’ conceptual understanding, mathematical reasoning, problem-solving skills, and ability to communicate their thinking.
Create a classroom environment that balances purposeful play, exploration, collaboration, movement, and explicit instruction.
Establish and consistently reinforce clear classroom routines, procedures, and behavioral expectations that promote safety, independence, belonging, and productive learning.
Build authentic, affirming relationships with students and cultivate a classroom community in which students’ cultures, languages, identities, and experiences are valued.
Communicate clear, student-friendly learning objectives and success criteria for lessons, units, and learning tasks.
Use modeling, guided practice, independent practice, questioning, checks for understanding, and timely feedback to support student mastery.
Differentiate instruction and provide appropriate scaffolds, accommodations, and extensions based on students’ academic, linguistic, developmental, behavioral, and social-emotional needs.
Implement Individualized Education Programs, Section 504 Plans, English learner supports, behavior plans, and other required student accommodations with fidelity.
Regularly assess student learning through observations, screeners, formative assessments, student work, and district benchmarks.
Analyze student data individually and collaboratively to identify strengths, determine unfinished learning, plan small-group instruction, and provide timely intervention or enrichment.
Participate actively in MTSS, CST, data meetings, collaborative planning, professional learning, and other student-support structures.
Develop strong, respectful partnerships with families through consistent, accessible, and culturally responsive communication about student learning, growth, attendance, and well-being.
Maintain accurate and confidential student records in accordance with federal and state law, district policy, and school expectations.
Collaborate effectively with grade-level colleagues, specialists, interventionists, special educators, multilingual educators, counselors, paraeducators, and school leaders.
Provide clear direction and purposeful assignments to paraeducators, student teachers, volunteers, or other adults assigned to the classroom.
Actively supervise students throughout the school day, including arrival, dismissal, transitions, lunch, recess, assemblies, and other assigned duties.
Participate in staff meetings, professional development, family events, schoolwide initiatives, and committees as required.
Reflect on professional practice, respond constructively to feedback, and pursue continuous improvement in service of students.
Demonstrate reliability, flexibility, professionalism, sound judgment, and a collective commitment to all Morgan students.
Perform other duties consistent with the role and as assigned by the Principal or designee.