West Philadelphia Cooperative School Lead Teacher (Preschool) Job Vacancy in Philadelphia, PA, US

Progressive, parent-run cooperative preschool seeks a Lead Teacher for the 2016-2017 school year. West Philadelphia Cooperative School (WPCS) is a mixed-age preschool where children ages 2-6 engage daily in play-based, experiential learning.

The Lead Teacher will collaborate with another Lead and an Assistant Teacher to create opportunities for child-focused, child-led discoveries that support social-emotional, physical, and cognitive development via emergent curriculum. Because emergent curriculum arises from children's interests, teachers must be prepared to shift curricular plans to best scaffold students' developing questions in meaningful ways.

Every candidate must have:

• 2+ years experience working with children ages 2-6

• demonstrated knowledge of early childhood development

• experience working in an educational setting, such as a school, daycare, or camp

Ideal candidate has:

• knowledge of emergent curriculum

• a degree in early childhood education

• experience and/or knowledge of special education

• experience in or knowledge of cooperatives

• experience or interest in leading exploration for young children in nature/science, music, movement, pre-literacy skills and/or visual arts

Teacher responsibilities:

• planning and executing developmentally appropriate curriculum

• ensuring the physical and emotional well-being of students

• managing up to 16 children at a time with support of teachers (1:6 ratio maximum)

• writing evaluative reports and conducting conferences with parents twice per year

• documenting children's work via anecdotals, photographs, and video

• communicating regularly with parents/guardians of students

• building year-long portfolios of student work

• using positive reinforcement and scaffolding developmentally appropriate conflict resolution skills

• creating a respectful environment by honoring the individuality of all students

• diapering and assistance with dressing

Desired traits:

• love of young children

• adaptability

• attention to detail

• strong written and verbal communication skills

• organizational skills

• knack for both small- and big-picture thinking

• presence of mind coupled with strong multitasking ability

Additional requirements:

• must be available Monday - Friday from 8:00am-2:30pm, plus 1 hour/week (flexible) for a staff meeting outside of school hours, with additional hours available in our after-school care program if desired

• must be willing to work within a highly collaborative, co-teaching model

• must have current PA Child Abuse clearances, PA Criminal Background Check and FBI Fingerprinting

• must be certified in infant/child CPR and first aid (or become certified within 3 months)

WPCS hires without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability.

Pay rate is $17/hr with monthly health stipend. After a 90-day probationary period, employees are eligible for PTO and professional development opportunities.

Interested candidates please send a resume and cover letter to: WPCS.personnel@gmail.com.

Interviews are being scheduled through August 19, 2016.

Position start date: August 30, 2016