Preschool Director/Teacher

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

The Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP) creates and coordinates services that enhance the quality of life for Cambridge residents. Driven by the needs of residents, DHSP’s extensive services and programs touch almost every sector in the city: from newborns to senior citizens, from school-aged children to homeless families, from non-profit organizations to local employers.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Overall on-site responsibility for the smooth function of one quality preschool classroom serving 16 children - ages 2.9 to 5.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Specific duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Actively engage in and support the Department’s Race and Equity Initiative.
• Support and implement the Childcare and Family Support division’s educational philosophy around child-centered, play-based curriculum which enhances the social, physical, and intellectual development of children enrolled in the program while engaging their families as partners.
• Provide leadership for a preschool teaching team in the following key areas: curriculum, classroom management, behavior management, child assessments, and family involvement.  In each of these areas, set clear goals and expectations that are clearly communicated to staff. 
• Lead, supervise, and develop staff comprised of one Lead Teacher and two Teachers in a manner that builds a cohesive teaching team.  Provide supervision of substitute teachers, interns, and other staff members who may be temporarily in the program. Provide monthly supervision and observations to all teaching staff.  Support staff by modeling desired behavior and providing clear feedback to help staff meet modeled behavior.  Provide written annual evaluations for all staff that set performance goals for the coming year.
• Teach in the classroom as part of coverage to meet EEC regulations and to model and support staff in working with children.
• Design and arrange classroom space, in accordance with EEC, NAEYC and QRIS criteria, to allow for a large variety of activities that promote children’s growing independence in using classroom resources and materials.
• Establish clear and age-appropriate behavioral expectations for the group and each child that sets the tone for the classrooms.  Ensure that staff provides nurturing and socially responsive care to all children. 
• Identify children who may benefit from additional services and work with Preschool Manager to communicate observations to families and coordinate referrals to third parties as needed.  Attend IEP meetings and follow-through to achieve objectives and accommodations that specialists have written into the child’s plan.
• Organize the assessment of children’s developmental progress using the COR Advantage assessment module.   Ensure quality assessments are completed in a timely fashion and shared with families at conferences.  Use classroom profiles to modify or adapt curriculum to support children’s development across all domains.
• Develop annual parent engagement plan that encompasses parent orientation, update on children’s daily experiences, communication about curriculum, 3 conferences per year, regular newsletters, and 3 family education workshops/year.  Foster family involvement and leadership in program through a Family Council. 
• Always ensure the safety of enrolled children whether in or out of the classrooms.  Develop and maintain emergency plan for program and maintain logs for fire drills and “code blue” monthly. 
• Plan and coordinate safe and developmentally appropriate field trips that connect curriculum topics to the world outside the classrooms.
• Complete annual NAEYC reports and prepare for NAEYC accreditation visits as well as bi-annual EEC licensing visits.  Using data on program quality, create an annual continuous quality improvement plan (CQIP) to submit to the Preschool Manager.
• Work in conjunction with the Enrollment Coordinator to support the enrollment of children through the yearly Cambridge Preschool Program Lottery.  Conduct parent tours and answer questions about all DHSP preschool programs. 
• Coordinate all administrative aspects of the program.  According to department and state guidelines, maintain and oversee program records: children’s files, daily attendance sheets, timesheets, weekly food orders, menu plans, parent meeting minutes, and various required logs.
• Initiate good relationship with host public school personnel (custodians, principal, and teachers) as well as other DHSP after-school program staff regarding use and maintenance of facility.
• Participate in all program-related meetings such as: individual supervision meetings with Preschool Manager, Teacher/Director meetings, meeting with program consultants and with specialists serving children in the classroom.
• Maintain professional knowledge through participation in in-service training workshops as well as meeting educational requirements established by EEC, NAEYC, QRIS, and the City of Cambridge.
• Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

 MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• EEC Preschool Lead Teacher/Director qualified. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong organizational, supervisory, curriculum and communication skills.
• Strong working knowledge of NAEYC, EEC, and QRIS guidelines for quality programming. 
• Previous experience working with children with special needs preferred.
• The City of Cambridge’s workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse.  Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS, WORKING CONDITIONS, WORK FLEXIBILITY AND ACCOMODATIONS:

• Ability to move with agility including the ability to kneel to be at a child’s eye level.
• Ability to hear children who speak in a soft voice or mumble words when distressed.
• Ability to run after children in play and to respond to an emergency.
• Ability to use hands and arms to move, reach, handle, and manipulate objects in the classroom.
• Ability to see is required for the supervision of children.
• Ability to lift a child (up to 40 pounds).
• The work environment includes classroom and outdoor playgrounds and occasional field trips.
• The noise level in the work environment is moderate to very loud. 
• Ability to travel from one site to another as needed.
• Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.