Head Teacher

Job Title: Head Teacher

Classification: Full-Time, L, Monday to Friday, am to pm, 37.5 Hours

The 14th Street Y is a vibrant Jewish community center located in Downtown Manhattan. Each year, tens of thousands of New Yorkers of all ages, races, and ethnicities come to 14Y as members, visitors, or partners to experience our high quality and varied programs centered around arts and culture, early childhood education, summer camps, fitness and aquatics, Jewish life, and older adult services.

Job Purpose:

Working within inspired and dynamic teams, our teachers are helping to build a vision for progressive education in the East Village. Inspired by the preschools of Reggio Emilia, we believe that all children learn through inquiry, exploration, and play in the context of strong relationships and a sense of belonging.

Our teachers create responsive, safe, joyful, and nurturing learning environments for children that foster inquiry, exploration, learning & reflection; collaborate with co-teachers to plan an emergent curriculum based on observations of children’s interests and development; document children’s learning through photographs, written learning narratives, anecdotes, panels, and mini-stories; facilitate communication and collaboration between the family and the preschool.

Scope of Influence:

• Lead teaching team in documentation, reflection, and planning process to devise emergent curriculum informed by children’s interests, questions, theories, and prior knowledge.
• Facilitate virtual learning and individualized outreach to families during periods of school closure.
• Work with a diverse community.
• Build relationships with families and communicate about children’s learning and development in person and through documentation.
• Partner with the teaching staff and administration in the overall philosophy and direction of the preschool.

Responsibilities:

• Planning, Preparation + Curriculum Development
• Co-constructing curriculum based on children’s interests, questions, and development
• Documenting, reflecting, and planning from observations
• Participating in weekly planning meetings with the teaching team
• Meeting the needs of all children

Classroom Environment

• Planning and creating a classroom environment with inquiry, exploration, learning, and respect in mind
• Nurturing children’s home languages through curated books, materials, and the physical environment
• Creating a warm and inclusive environment where children and families feel welcome
• Organizing physical space and selection of materials in a way that is inviting and accessible to children
• Creating visual evidence of the narratives and curriculum occurring in your classroom
• Adhering to DOH regulation per Article 47

Relationships with Teaching Team

• Develop schedules and processes to ensure that work is complete in a timely fashion by teaching team.
• Lead regular documentation, reflection, and planning meetings with teaching team.
• Provide feedback, coaching, and support to Assistant Teachers as necessary.

Interactions with Children

• Speaking and listening to children with respect and mindfulness
• Supervising the whole group, while giving individual attention
• Managing classroom procedures including transitions, routines, and small groups
• Engage students in exploration and ongoing project work
• Scaffolding children through conflict and problem solving

Relationships with Families

• Building respectful and reciprocal relationships with families
• Communicating consistently with families

Professional Responsibilities

• Documenting children’s learning, development, and progress through mini-stories, written narratives, reflections, and observations. Maintain a documentation portfolio for each child and complete assessment checkpoints throughout the year.
• Maintaining collaborative and professional relationships with colleagues
• Mentoring Assistant teachers
• Participating in professional development meetings
• Showing professionalism including integrity, ethical conduct, and decision making
• The candidate will be reflective, ask questions, be willing to take risks and make mistakes
• Arrive and depart according to daily schedule unless otherwise approved by the Director

Requirements:

• MA in Early Childhood/ Elementary Education | New York State N-6 or PreK-6 certification or study plan
• Excellent written communication skills, including the ability to craft narrative observations and assessments, mini-stories, and written reflections, and communicate with families and colleagues regularly via email
• Ability to use Outlook, Microsoft Office Suite, Zoom, and other online learning platforms as required
• Minimum 3 years of professional teaching experience in an early childhood setting preferred
• Strong oral communication with children, families, and colleagues

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Building Trust
• Communication
• Energy
• Adaptability
• Stress Tolerance
• Coaching

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary
• Generous PTO Policy
• Competitive Salary
• Medical, Dental, Vision and Life Insurance
• Pension Plan
• (b) Retirement Plan
• Discount Perks for Movies, Broadway Shows, and Amusement Parks, etc.
• Free Gym Membership to our Manny Cantor Center & 14TH ST Y Fitness Center
• Discounts to programs at Educational Alliance

Limitations and Disclaimer

The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the position.