Job Description
Lead Early Childhood Educator R00030381
Poughkeepsie, NY
Department Wimpfheimer Nursery School
Vassar College is deeply committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees by promoting an environment of transparency and respect for differences. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds who meet the qualifications of a posting. If you need to request an accommodation to fully participate in the search process, please contact [email protected] . Job Description As a Lead Teacher, you will develop, implement, and evaluate the classroom curriculum and be responsible for providing a high quality educational program that reflects the goals of our laboratory nursery school for children ages 0-5. Lead teachers will exhibit excellent written and oral communication skills and collaborate with families, colleagues, therapists and specialists, as well as support students and interns.
Lead teachers must have knowledge applying a constructivist approach to learning with experience in play based education and emergent curriculum design.
Lead teachers lead the school culture and mentor and supervise assistant teachers, student teachers, and interns. The ideal candidate will be able to articulate an early childhood educational philosophy and describe: relationship based education, the rights of children, the rationale for inquiry based learning, the value of play, the significance of care rituals, and the importance of outdoor education.
Wimpfheimer Nursery School is hiring a Lead Early Childhood Educator for the 2025-2026 school year, 45 weeks per year starting on August 19 - June 18, 8:00am-4:15pm daily.
Responsibilities - Have a well articulated philosophy regarding child social-emotional development, discipline, and guidance and understand the principles of responsive caregiving
- Plan and implement daily curriculum and care for the environment according to developmentally appropriate practices.
- Meet with parents regularly, assess and document child progress
- Organize and arrange classroom environment and materials with care,
- Manage and lead reflective team meetings
- Mentor and supervise others, and support a positive team teaching approach
- Participate and help plan school events such as parent night and teacher reflections
- Teach outside in all seasons and weather.
Required knowledge, skills and abilities - Bachelor's degree in early childhood education or equivalent degree type that meets OCFS requirements for being a lead teacher.
- Minimum 2 year experience working within a team approach.
- Ability to act as a leader in modeling collaborative communication, dialogue and feedback for reflective teaching and mentoring in the classroom and throughout the school.
- Demonstrated understanding and practice of the Code of Ethics for Early Childhood Educators (NAEYC) as guidelines for responsible and professional behavior with children, colleagues, employer and families.
- Must be fingerprinted and cleared with a background check through the NY State Office of Children and Family Services.
- Must be able to interact with children on their level; frequent bending, squatting, reaching and sitting on the floor is expected as well as the ability to lift 30 pounds.
- Must remain alert and productive for ongoing active supervision of children and must be able to see and hear children at all times.
- Ability to perform emotional labor for children who are discovering their feelings and navigating new social contexts and care for children's physical needs.
- Experience with guidance/social coaching and conflict resolution for young children.
- Experience with child assessment and parent-teacher conferences.
- A willingness to grow and increase knowledge in the field and seek innovative approaches.
- Exhibit joy in working with children and families.
Preferred knowledge, skills and abilities - 5 years experience managing and leading a teaching team.
- Master's degree.
- Ability to take on multi-year projects such as but not limited to curriculum leadership, professional development coordination, and committee work.
Compensation The starting annual base salary range for this position is $41,000-$48,500
When extending an offer, Vassar College considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, budget, and other market and organizational considerations. The starting salary range represents the College's good faith and reasonable estimate at the time of posting.
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