We are seeking a warm, thoughtful, curious, and dependable educator to join our infant team.
At The Nest, we believe infants are valuable members of society and of our community from the very beginning of their lives. They deserve to be listened to, protected, advocated for, and treated with dignity.
We practice responsive care, paying close attention to each child's cues, communication, temperament, needs, and developing sense of self. We believe caregiving is meaningful educational work, and that relationships are the foundation of learning.
OUR INFANT PROGRAM
Our infant program includes two classrooms:
Infant 1: 3 months–12/15 months
Infant Toddler 2: 10/12 months–24 months
We recognize that development does not happen according to a calendar.
Our classrooms support each child's individual rhythm, emerging mobility, communication, attachment, exploration, and growing independence.
We believe infants should not simply be managed according to a schedule.
They should be known for who are they are and their individual needs.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
The Nest is a humanist-centered, trauma-informed school that honors the rights and dignity of children through a Reggio Emilia lens.
We see children as capable human beings with ideas, agency, and many ways of communicating.
With infants, a movement, sound, gesture, cry, expression, or pause can be meaningful communication.
Our responsibility is to slow down, observe, listen, and respond.
The Reggio Emilia tradition also carries an important history. After the rise of Fascism in Italy, early childhood education in Reggio Emilia was suppressed. Following World War II, local women and families played a central role in rebuilding community-based schools grounded in cooperation, participation, democracy, and a belief in children's potential.
Reggio was not simply created as a classroom aesthetic or a set of teaching techniques.
It emerged from a community asking a profound question:
What kind of world do we want to build for children?
That question remains deeply relevant.
We are living through a pivotal moment. Children are growing up in a world that asks difficult questions about democracy, belonging, community, power, difference, and whose voices matter.
We believe empowering children begins in the earliest years.
Nest children know;
Their voices matter.
Their bodies belong to them.
Their needs are worthy of attention.
They are capable.
They belong.
They are valued members of their community.
Our work with infants is part of building that foundation.
THE ROLE
As an Infant Educator Assistant, you will work closely with our teaching team to provide exceptional care and create an environment where infants can thrive.
You will:
- Build warm, trusting, respectful relationships with infants and families
- Practice responsive caregiving and thoughtfully respond to children's cues
- Support feeding, diapering, sleep, and other intimate care routines with dignity
- Support children's physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development
- Create opportunities for sensory exploration, movement, communication, and discovery
- Observe children and contribute meaningful observations to the teaching team
- Help maintain a safe, beautiful, and thoughtfully prepared environment
- Communicate respectfully and professionally with the full school community
- Participate in professional development and reflective practice
- Follow health, safety, licensing, and school policies
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for someone who is:
- Warm, patient, attentive, and emotionally grounded
- Genuinely excited to work with infants
- Curious about child development and early childhood education
- Able to see behavior as communication
- Respectful of children's autonomy, boundaries, and individual rhythms
- Collaborative, dependable, and open to feedback
- Interested in Reggio Emilia, humanist education, and trauma-informed practice
- Willing to continually examine and grow their own practice
Previous Reggio experience is valued but not required.
We care deeply about your capacity to reflect, CONNECT and grow with us.
GROW WITH US
This is more than an assistant position.
For educators who demonstrate strong practice, initiative, and a commitment to our philosophy,
The Nest offers opportunities for professional growth and training toward a Lead Educator role.
You will have opportunities to deepen your understanding of:
- Infant development
- Responsive caregiving
- Trauma-informed practice
- Reggio Emilia principles
- Observation and documentation
- Emergent curriculum
- Relationship-based education
- Classroom leadership
- Family partnerships
- Reflective teaching practice
We want to invest in educators who want to build a career in early childhood education, not simply fill a position.
WHAT WE OFFER
We believe educators deserve the same care, respect, and dignity that we ask them to extend to children.
For our full-time employees, we offer:
Highly competitive wages
Benefits
Professional development and training
Work-life balance
Opportunities for growth and advancement
We believe great early childhood education requires educators who have the time, support, stability, and energy to do meaningful work.
INTERESTED IN JOINING THE NEST?
If you believe babies deserve more than supervision…
If you believe caregiving is a form of education…
If you believe children have rights and voices from birth…
If you believe relationships are the foundation of learning…
If you believe educators should continually question, reflect, and grow…
If you want to work somewhere that takes infants, educators, and the future seriously…
We would love to hear from you.
As part of your application, please take the time to answer the following questions thoughtfully.
We are not looking for a "perfect" answer.
We want to understand how you think about children, education, relationships, and your own practice.
1. CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
How do you understand children's rights within traditional school settings? What do you believe children are entitled to from the adults and institutions responsible for their care and education?
2. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
How do you view the current state of Early Childhood Care and Education in the United States? Where do you believe our current systems fall short for children, families, and educators?
3. SELF-REFLECTION & EMOTIONAL PRESENCE
What does it mean to you for an educator to be self-reflective and emotionally present?
How does an educator's ability to understand themselves, regulate their own emotions, and remain present contribute to creating a safe, nurturing, and responsive classroom?
We are interested in how you think, what you value, and how you understand the responsibility of working with young children.
Come help us build a place where children are not simply prepared for the future,
they are recognized as members of our community today.
Pay: $18.00 - $20.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Health savings account
- Paid time off
Application Question(s):
How do you understand children's rights within traditional school settings? What do you believe children are entitled to from the adults and institutions responsible for their care and education?
- 2. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
How do you view the current state of Early Childhood Care and Education in the United States? Where do you believe our current systems fall short for children, families, and educators?
- 3. SELF-REFLECTION & EMOTIONAL PRESENCE
What does it mean to you for an educator to be self-reflective and emotionally present?
How does an educator's ability to understand themselves, regulate their own emotions, and remain present contribute to creating a safe, nurturing, and responsive classroom?
We are interested in how you think, what you value, and how you understand the responsibility of working with young children.
Work Location: In person
