Impact Kidz Academy | Rapid City, SD
Full-Time | Monday–Friday | 8:30 AM–5:30 PM
1-hour unpaid lunch break
Pay: $15–$20/hour, depending on education and experience
About Impact Kidz Academy
Impact Kidz Academy is a children-first childcare and preschool program committed to providing a safe, nurturing, developmentally supportive environment where every child feels loved, valued, and cared for.
Our toddler classroom is an incredibly important part of our center. Toddlers are growing rapidly in independence, language, emotional regulation, social skills, self-help skills, and curiosity about the world around them. They need teachers who are patient, consistent, calm, organized, playful, and able to guide behavior with warmth and confidence.
We are looking for an experienced Toddler Lead Teacher who is dependable, nurturing, structured, and ready to lead a toddler classroom with excellence.
This is a great opportunity for someone who truly enjoys working with toddlers, understands early childhood development, and is looking for a long-term role with room to grow.
Position Summary
The Toddler Lead Teacher is responsible for leading the daily care, supervision, routines, safety, guidance, and developmental learning experiences of toddlers in the classroom.
This person will create a calm, engaging, clean, safe, and well-organized classroom environment while building strong relationships with children, families, and team members.
The ideal candidate understands that toddler care is much more than diapering, meals, and playtime. It includes helping children develop language, independence, emotional regulation, social skills, early problem-solving skills, self-help skills, and trust in caring adults.
Because this is a lead position, we are looking for someone with previous toddler, nursery, or early childhood classroom experience in a childcare setting and a work history that shows reliability, commitment, and follow-through.
Schedule
This is a full-time position.
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–5:30 PM
Lunch: 1-hour unpaid lunch break
Expected hours: Approximately 40 hours per week
Pay
$15–$20 per hour, depending on education, training, childcare experience, toddler classroom experience, leadership experience, and overall qualifications.
Key Responsibilities
Toddler Care, Supervision, and Safety
Provide warm, attentive, nurturing, and responsive care to toddlers throughout the day.
Maintain active supervision of children at all times.
Ensure children are never left unattended in the classroom, bathroom, diapering area, playground, eating area, nap area, or any other space.
Maintain required staff-to-child ratios and immediately communicate with leadership if additional support is needed.
Know where each child is and what each child is doing at all times.
Use face-to-name counts during transitions, outdoor play, bathroom routines, meals, and classroom movement.
Conduct regular classroom safety checks and remove or report any hazards.
Support safe indoor and outdoor play.
Follow all health, sanitation, emergency, injury, illness, medication, allergy, and incident-reporting procedures.
Maintain a calm, safe, and secure environment that supports toddlers’ emotional and physical well-being.
Diapering, Toileting, Meals, and Daily Care
Change diapers promptly, respectfully, and according to sanitation procedures.
Support children who are beginning or actively working on toilet training.
Partner with families to support toilet training in a positive, low-pressure, developmentally appropriate way.
Never shame, punish, or criticize a child for toileting accidents.
Help children build independence with handwashing, mealtime routines, cleanup, dressing, transitions, and self-help skills.
Follow proper handwashing and cleaning procedures before and after meals, diapering, toileting, and contact with bodily fluids.
Supervise children closely during meals and snacks.
Encourage toddlers to try new foods without forcing, bribing, or pressuring them to eat.
Keep each child clean, comfortable, and cared for throughout the day.
Maintain accurate records of meals, diapers/toileting, naps, mood, supplies, incidents, and daily care routines.
Development and Learning
Create a developmentally appropriate toddler classroom that supports exploration, language, movement, independence, and social-emotional growth.
Plan and provide age-appropriate activities that support physical, cognitive, language, sensory, social, and emotional development.
Provide daily opportunities for music, movement, books, sensory play, art, fine motor practice, gross motor play, pretend play, outdoor play, and early communication.
Support toddlers as they develop early language skills, peer interaction, emotional regulation, problem-solving, and independence.
Use songs, books, repetition, routines, modeling, and hands-on learning to help toddlers understand expectations.
Recognize that toddlers are still learning how to communicate, wait, share, transition, and manage big emotions.
Individualize care based on each child’s age, development, temperament, communication level, and needs.
Document observations and communicate developmental progress or concerns with leadership and families as appropriate.
Positive Guidance and Behavior Support
Use calm, respectful, developmentally appropriate guidance strategies.
Set clear, simple, consistent expectations for toddlers.
Use redirection, modeling, choices, visual cues, routines, and positive reinforcement.
Help toddlers learn safe bodies, gentle hands, kind words, turn-taking, waiting, and basic problem-solving.
Respond to challenging behavior with patience, structure, and teaching rather than punishment.
Remain emotionally steady during crying, tantrums, biting, hitting, pushing, refusal, or difficulty with transitions.
Communicate behavior concerns to leadership and families professionally and promptly.
Help create a classroom culture where children feel safe, supported, and understood.
Classroom Leadership
Lead the daily flow of the toddler classroom with consistency, organization, and professionalism.
Guide and support assistant teachers, aides, and float staff assigned to the classroom.
Clearly communicate classroom expectations, child-specific needs, cleaning duties, routines, supervision zones, and safety procedures to support staff.
Model calm, respectful, nurturing, and professional interactions at all times.
Maintain a clean, organized, well-stocked, and welcoming classroom.
Ensure toys, materials, eating areas, diapering areas, bathrooms, nap items, and classroom surfaces are cleaned and sanitized according to procedures.
Monitor classroom supplies and communicate needs for diapers, wipes, extra clothing, bedding, classroom materials, and cleaning supplies.
Partner with leadership to ensure licensing requirements, center policies, and classroom expectations are followed consistently.
Help create a positive team culture in the toddler classroom.
Family Communication
Build trusting and respectful relationships with families.
Communicate daily with parents/guardians about meals, naps, diapering/toileting, mood, supplies needed, activities, milestones, behavior, and any concerns.
Use Brightwheel or other center communication systems accurately and professionally.
Provide families with reassurance, warmth, and consistent communication.
Maintain confidentiality regarding children, families, and staff.
Communicate concerns to leadership promptly and professionally.
Support families during transitions into care, developmental changes, toilet training, behavior concerns, and classroom moves.
Health, Safety, and Compliance
Follow all Impact Kidz Academy policies and South Dakota childcare licensing requirements.
Complete required orientation and ongoing training within required timelines.
Maintain current pediatric CPR and first aid certification as required.
Follow mandated reporter responsibilities for suspected child abuse or neglect.
Maintain accurate daily documentation, including attendance, meals, diapering/toileting, naps, incidents, medications if applicable, and parent communication.
Support compliance with supervision, ratios, sanitation, allergies, medication procedures, emergency procedures, confidentiality, and positive guidance expectations.
Required Qualifications
Applicants must:
Be at least 18 years of age.
Have previous experience working with toddlers, young children, or in an early childhood classroom setting.
Have a work history that demonstrates reliability, commitment, and follow-through in previous positions.
Be able to pass all required background checks prior to employment.
Demonstrate the ability to provide safe, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate care for toddlers.
Be dependable, punctual, patient, emotionally steady, and professional.
Be comfortable caring for toddlers, including diapering, toileting support, meals, naps, transitions, behavior guidance, outdoor play, and developmental activities.
Be able to communicate professionally with families, coworkers, and leadership.
Be willing to complete required training and ongoing professional development.
Be physically able to lift children, sit on the floor, bend, kneel, carry children, move quickly when needed, and remain actively engaged throughout the day.
Maintain confidentiality and professionalism at all times.
Preferred Qualifications
Preference may be given to candidates who have:
Experience as a toddler lead teacher, nursery lead teacher, or early childhood lead teacher.
Experience working specifically with children ages 12–36 months.
CDA credential, early childhood coursework, or a degree in early childhood education, child development, education, or a related field.
Current pediatric CPR and first aid certification.
Experience using Brightwheel or another childcare communication platform.
Experience leading assistant teachers or support staff.
Experience supporting toilet training in a childcare setting.
A strong desire to grow in the early childhood education field.
Professional Growth Opportunity
Impact Kidz Academy values team members who want to grow in the field of early childhood education.
Eligible Impact staff have the opportunity to participate in the Child Development Associate credential program at no cost. This is a great opportunity for team members who want to strengthen their skills, increase their qualifications, and continue building a meaningful career in childcare and early childhood education.
Ideal Candidate
Our ideal Toddler Lead Teacher is someone who:
Truly enjoys working with toddlers.
Understands that toddlers need consistency, structure, movement, patience, language-rich interactions, and stable relationships with dependable caregivers.
Has real experience in a toddler, nursery, or early childhood childcare setting.
Has shown commitment and reliability in previous jobs.
Is looking for a long-term opportunity to grow with Impact Kidz Academy.
Notices small details and responds quickly to children’s needs.
Stays calm and organized when multiple toddlers need support at once.
Is loving, patient, playful, and emotionally steady.
Can guide behavior without yelling, shaming, scolding, or using harsh discipline.
Communicates well with parents.
Takes safety, licensing, supervision, and documentation seriously.
Leads by example.
Wants to be part of a team that is making a meaningful impact in children’s lives.
Why Join Impact Kidz Academy?
At Impact Kidz Academy, you will be part of a team that values children, families, growth, professionalism, and high-quality care. We believe early childhood educators do some of the most important work in the world.
This position is ideal for someone who is not just looking for a job, but looking for a place to make a difference, grow professionally, and provide toddlers with the safe, loving, structured foundation they need during one of the most important stages of development.
How to Apply
Apply through Indeed with your resume and a brief description of your experience working with toddlers or young children.
We are looking for candidates who are ready to love, lead, teach, guide, and make a lasting impact in the lives of children.
Pay: $15.00 - $20.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Professional development assistance
Application Question(s):
- Are you at least 18 years old?
- Are you able to pass required childcare background checks?
- Can you consistently work Monday-Friday, 8:30AM-5:30PM?
- Do you have experience working specifically with infants or in a nursery classroom?
- Are you looking for a long-term position?
- Are you able to meet the physical requirements of infant care?
- How many jobs have you had in the last 2 years?
- Please describe your infant care experience.
- What would you do if an infant fell asleep in a swing or bouncer?
- Why are you interested in this position?
Work Location: In person
