Description:
About the Job:
MountainStar Family Relief Nursery is recruiting a Preschool Promise Assistant Teacher to join their team in Madras, Oregon for the upcoming school year. Position is from Monday, August 31, 2026 through Wednesday, June 30, 2027. This is a 10-month contract with scheduled breaks. Summers are off (unpaid) with the opportunity to join again during the following school year. This is your chance to be a part of something bigger and help shape the future of this vibrant community.
Why you want to join us:
You believe that every child deserves the best start possible. You believe that parenting is hard even in the best circumstances. You care about children who have experienced trauma and want to work to support vulnerable families to succeed. You enjoy working with children in a trauma informed workplace and a therapeutic classroom environment. You are motivated to engage with families and offer resources so that families are supported in nurturing their child’s emotional, physical, and intellectual development.
About MountainStar Family Relief Nursery:
MountainStar Family Relief Nursery is a local non-profit that has been in Central Oregon for 20 plus years. We are a strength-based child abuse and neglect prevention program to support families with children ages 6 weeks through 5 years. We provide high quality trauma-informed care and services for children and families experiencing high stress. Services include a therapeutic classroom emphasizing social-emotional development, home visits, parenting classes and other full wrap around services.
Our values are:
1. Caring – welcoming, trauma-informed, non-judgmental, family-focused, compassionate, honest, and fun.
2. Collaborative –engaged with clients, supporters, program partners, and communities.
3. Excellence – committed to quality programs, current research, continuous learning, and robust evaluation.
4. Inclusive – seek out and value diverse perspectives, understand and address systemic barriers equitably.
What’s in it for you:
MountainStar offers comprehensive compensation and benefit package that includes 100% employer paid medical, vision, prescription, & dental (premium value of $772 monthly), Simple IRA Retirement Plan match up to 3%, vacation & sick pay accrued semi-monthly, 11 paid holidays, Oregon Paid Leave covered in full (employee cost covered by MtStar), Wellness Reimbursement Program, and a Short-Term Disability Plan. MountainStar offers a professional, agile workplace with its primary goal being a workplace of choice. MountainStar offers excellent leadership that works hard to align strategies with the company's mission statement, core values, empower employees’ autonomy, provide trauma informed workplaces, a culture of transparency, wellness days, learning and development opportunities. MountainStar was ranked the 100 best nonprofits to work for in 2022 and 2023, based on the survey responses of MountainStar’s employees and their work experience.
About the environment:
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Wellness days and Team Appreciation days
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Professional growth opportunities
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Continuing Education
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Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
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Engaging, purposeful, values-based work
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Meaningful connections
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Work/life balance
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Focus on well-being & health
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Positive, supportive work culture
About the Role:
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Assist Preschool Promise Lead in providing a high-quality early childhood education program including:
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Assisting with Creative Curriculum, TS Gold and other assessments
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Being present in the classroom as needed to support children’s behaviors
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Providing USDA compliant meal service (preparing meals and snacks)
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Safely transporting children to and from the program
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Maintaining a clean and safe classroom
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Lead the class during teacher meal/break periods
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Interact with families and co-workers in a strengths-based and compassionate manner
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Support MountainStar in following regulations and guidelines from Office of Child Care, Spark!, Preschool Promise and other applicable standards.
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Support Relief Nursery program with transporting children, cleaning, or other activities on a limited basis (4 hours per week)
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Support other MountainStar activities - at times outside of regular hours
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Other duties as assigned
Requirements:
What You’re Skilled At:
- Able to relate sensitively with families and young children living in high stress, potentially chaotic situations with ongoing stress and trauma. Demonstrates cultural competence and excellent communication skills.
- Able to maintain personal/programmatic boundaries and confidentiality while providing high quality care, education, and other supportive services.
- Able to: work independently and as a team member; prioritize and complete responsibilities; and be flexible as various situations arise.
- Continuing professional growth in areas related to early childhood education, especially in the following areas: observing and assessing the development of young children; working with families experiencing poverty, trauma and/or social complexity; and cross-cultural and strengths-based communication.
- Consistent attendance is essential for both the smooth operation of our programs as well as fostering a sense of stability for the children and families we serve.
Physical Demands, Background, Driving and Training Requirements:
- May work outdoors intermittently with exposure to typical Oregon weather. There may be frequent interruptions, working alone, evening or weekend work, working long hours. Working in a close environment with active children.
- Must be able to pick up and carry 40 pounds. Must be able to bend, kneel and stand for long lengths of time. In addition, staff must be able to get up and down from playing on the floor with children.
- Ability to pass a background check.
- Valid driver’s license and reliable personal transportation. Clean driving record to drive company vehicles and transport children.
- Within 60 days of employment must be Pediatric CPR and First aid Certified, have a current food handlers’ card, and show proof of completing “Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect,” “Introduction to Child Care Health & Safety,” “Safe Sleep,” and “Prevention is Better than Treatment” courses as required by Oregon Office of Child Care
- Step 8+ on Oregon Registry, OR Step 7.5 or lower (or CDA) with at least one year of preschool teaching experience required ORO account creation
- High School Diploma or GED required. AA/AS in Early Childhood Education or a related field preferred
- Preschool classroom experience preferred.
- Bilingual English/Spanish including reading, writing, and speaking effectively in both languages preferred.
Salary Range + Benefits:
This is a 32 hour per week position, starting at $20.50+/hr. depending on experience and qualifications, wage differential if bilingual, plus benefits. Monday – Thursday, 7am – 3:30pm. Position begins 8/31/2026 and ends 06/30/2027. To protect confidentiality at MtStar there is a standard procedure requiring at least a 2-year separation between being a program participant and serving as a staff member or volunteer within the organization. All staff and volunteer roles are at the discretion of MountainStar. All positions at MountainStar Family Relief Nursery are contingent upon the availability of funding.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
MountainStar is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation. contingent upon the availability of funding
