Position Summary
The Lead Teacher is the leader within the classroom and is responsible for carrying out and ensuring that the classroom operates with the highest standards of educational excellence and quality and offers a safe learning environment. Responsible for teaching students basic academic, social, and other formative skills at the childcare level, and in accordance with Lightbridge Academy Mission, Vision and Core Values. Lead Teachers are responsible for developing and supervising Assistant Teachers in the classroom, while maintaining the integrity of the company and serving as a steward of Lightbridge Academy within the community.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:
· Curriculum Development – Plan and implement appropriate lesson plans in accordance with the Seedlings curriculum, develop clear classroom goals, and guide Assistant Teachers to continually meet the highest standards of excellence in quality childcare, education, and safety.
· Classroom Management - Deliver quality classroom experiences by ensuring a safe and nurturing learning environment that encourages social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development.
· Child Assessment - Observe and assess students for creating and maintaining individual profiles, portfolios and parent conferences, and adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
· Supervision and Mentorship - Oversee and guide Teacher Assistants by planning their work, conducting performance evaluations, providing feedback and coaching, addressing concerns, and holding weekly meetings to support their development.
· Family Engagement - Foster a strong partnership with parents by keeping them regularly informed of their child's progress, offering biannual formal conferences, and delivering exceptional customer service by promptly addressing their questions and concerns.
· Compliance and Safety – Supervise children during outdoor recess, monitor for signs of illness or distress and communicate with parents as needed, administer first aid or medication in accordance with licensing requirements, and ensure compliance with the staff/child ratio as set by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
· Basic Care Responsibilities – Provide comprehensive care for infants and children of all ages, including but not limited to: changing diapers and providing personal hygiene assistance, feeding children at all developmental stages, including bottle-feeding infants, supporting children in bathroom routines and toilet training, and carrying or holding infants and young children as needed for comfort and safety.
· Professional Development - Attend required trainings and meetings, travel to off-site trainings as needed, support marketing events and tours, engage with parents during and after classroom tours, maintain standards set by the Association of Early Learning Leaders and company audits, and perform additional duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
· Child Development Associate (CDA), Group Teacher, or Associates Degree in education or related field; Bachelors Degree in education or related field is preferred.
· Minimum of one (1) year of child care experience, classroom experience preferred.
- Maintain continuing education requirements per company and state requirements.
- Commitment to the Profession – Demonstrates a commitment to early child education and effectiveness in enabling children to achieve high levels of developmental and academic growth.
- Initiative – Ability to proactively spearhead and coordinate the execution of responsibilities in order to achieve desired outcome, and identifies and develops new ideas and challenges for business improvement.
- Communication – Ability to read, write, and communicate using proper English grammar, communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, and work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
- Teamwork – Ability and desire to work cooperatively with others on a team; act as a team leader by demonstrating interest, skill, and success in getting groups to learn to work together.
- Adaptability – Responds to change with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn new ways to accomplish work activities and objectives.
- Customer Service – Demonstrates strong commitment to identifying and meeting customers’ needs in a timely and appropriate manner, and continually seeks to ensure their full satisfaction.
- Motivation – Willingness to take self-directed or self-motivated actions to do more than is expected in the job with the aim of improving job performance and finding or creating new opportunities.
- Leadership – Ability to set a vision, inspire collaboration among staff members, and coach and build teams to achieve mutual goals.
- Integrity – Instills mutual trust and confidence, creates a culture that fosters high standards of ethics, behaves in a fair and ethical manner toward others, and demonstrates a sense of corporate responsibility and commitment to the population served.
- Decision-Making & Judgment – Able to react quickly with sound judgment and problem-solving skills in complex and critical situations such as injuries and accidents.
- Self-Development –Responds positively to feedback regarding performance, continually strives to develop professionally, and takes advantage of opportunities to grow.
- Technical –Proficiency with use of technology such as tablets, smart devices, and Microsoft Word.
Physical Demands and Work Environment
This position requires the ability to perform various physical activities and maintain a high level of engagement with children in a classroom setting. These physical demands are required for successful job performance. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these job functions. These functions include:
· Standing and Walking – The ability to walk or stand for extended periods of time.
· Lifting – The ability to lift and carry children (up to 35 pounds and occasionally up to 60 pounds), assist with mobility needs as well as the ability to handle light-to-moderate physical tasks such as moving classroom furniture and collecting educational materials.
· Bending, Stooping, Kneeling, Crouching, or Crawling – Regularly bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling to interact with children at their level or assist with classroom activities.
· Climbing – The ability to safely assist children in climbing outdoor playground structures or engage in outdoor activities.
· Vision and Hearing – The ability to observe classroom activities, read instructional materials, and communicate effectively with children and parents.
· Fine Motor Skills – The use of hands and fingers to handle paperwork, educational materials, type on a keyboard, and assist children with classroom projects, eating and drinking, and personal care within our lavatory facilities.
· Environment – Work is primarily conducted in a moderately noisy classroom, with occasional outdoor activities like recess, depending on the weather; the role requires the ability to be outdoors in various temperatures and extended sunlight.
Note
This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship.
Pay: $17.00 - $21.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
Work Location: In person
