Associate Director of Preschool

Educational Alliance’s 14th Street Y is a Jewish community center in Downtown Manhattan. Each year, tens of thousands of New Yorkers of all ages, races, and ethnicities come to 14Y as members, visitors, and partners to experience programs in arts and culture, early childhood education, afterschool, summer camps, fitness and aquatics, Jewish life, and older adult services. The 14Y Preschool serves approximately 60 children in five classes (ages 2–5) with 15 teachers and 4 administrative staff, inspired by a progressive, Reggio Emilia approach and guided by Jewish values. This role is a key member of the 14Y Early Childhood team, partnering closely with the Director on daily planning for Preschool and other Early Childhood programs, including Summer Camps.

Responsibilities

• Admissions
  • Represent 14Y Preschool to all current and prospective families with a warm, personalized experience.
  • Oversee the full Early Childhood admissions process from inquiry to enrollment, including scheduling and leading tours, school visits, and community engagement events.
  • Serve as the initial point of contact for prospective families through enrollment, focusing on attracting, enrolling, and retaining families.
  • Maintain, track, and analyze data including applications, contracts, enrollment, and class placement.
  • Partner with Marketing to create and compile promotional materials.
• Community Engagement
  • Plan and execute Early Childhood community events such as Special Visitor Day, graduation ceremonies, classroom visits, Alumni Day, bake sales, Shabbat, and other Jewish holiday celebrations.
  • Coordinate field trips relevant to the surrounding community and classrooms’ units of study.
  • Collaborate with other 14Y departments to plan family engagement events.
• Staff Development and Classroom Support
  • Support the Director in managing teachers’ professional development through staff meetings and dialogue groups.
  • Participate in weekly meetings with teaching teams to discuss ongoing project work, documentation, and communication with families; facilitate as needed in place of the Director.
  • Support the implementation of Jewish cultural programming within the Preschool community for students, families, and staff.
  • Observe in classrooms to provide feedback, strategies, and coaching to individual teachers and teams to effectively implement curriculum.
  • Conduct formal assessments as necessary.
  • Support teachers in using documentation as the basis for reflection and planning, and to make children’s learning visible to children, families, and the community.
  • Ensure documentation aligns with a developmentally appropriate, child-centered philosophy.
  • Participate in meetings with families and caregivers as needed.
  • Participate in interviewing, recruitment, training, and development of teachers, assistant teachers, and seasonal camp staff.
  • Provide in-classroom coverage as needed.
• Program Organization and Development
  • Support planning and day-to-day management of New Town Day Camp, the in-house preschool-age summer camp.
  • Support the Associate Director of Operations to ensure classroom compliance for DOH.
  • Ensure Early Childhood spaces are reserved using the 14Y online building system.
  • Update and maintain daily schedules for Preschool and New Town Day Camp.
  • Track budgets and expenses for professional development and classroom materials in partnership with the Associate Director of Operations.
  • Serve as the main point of contact for vendors and teaching artists; communicate and confirm schedules.
  • Support planning and enrollment for Preschool Extended Day programming and afternoon Enrichment Classes.
  • Attend staff meetings, events, fairs, and trainings as required.
  • Perform special projects and other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree and valid NYS Early Childhood teaching certificate required.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Organized with strong attention to detail and ability to develop efficient internal systems and workflows.
• Knowledge of and experience in Reggio-inspired pedagogy and/or child-led classroom practices.
• Minimum 3 years of classroom teaching experience.
• Able to work a flexible schedule as needed.
• Background in Jewish informal education and programming is a plus.
• Demonstrates ability to handle stressful situations in a professional, warm, and friendly manner.
• Experience working in collaborative environments.

Pay

USD 80,000–85,000 per year.