Early Childhood Educator, Alpha - $120,000/year USD

On-site position in New York City, NY.

About Alpha

Alpha School is redefining education by enabling children to accelerate through academics while devoting more time to developing essential life skills. In Pre-K, this foundation rests on emotional security, curiosity, and the persistence to keep learning. Alpha reimagines the school day around faster learning, stronger mentorship, and more time for students to build real-world skills. The team is fast-moving, ambitious, and student-focused—ideal for people who want to improve the system, not maintain it.

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead 30–60 minute play-based learning experiences that foster joy, emotional security, and quantifiable developmental progress
• Build a classroom environment rich in movement and sensory opportunities that sustains high engagement and supports four-year-olds learning through varied modalities
• Observe and record in-the-moment, same-day observations linked to developmental domains, then refresh each child's milestone tracker weekly
• Review weekly documentation to pinpoint each child's next developmental step and design responsive instructional strategies
• Create personalized, interest-driven activity modifications for individual children, integrate one specific developmental target, and reassess results within two weeks
• Support children through moments of frustration using composed co-regulation and emotional guidance instead of reactive behavior management
• Share student progress, daily routines, and emerging observations clearly and proactively with families
• Ensure NYC Pre-K students develop a love of school while showing accelerated early-learning progress through purposeful play

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Approach PreK as custodial care instead of purposeful early education
• Default to scripted worksheets or compliance-focused instruction as your primary method
• Spend most of your day supervising academic apps rather than facilitating live, interactive learning
• Apply reactive behavior management instead of calm co-regulation and emotional coaching

Requirements

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development, OR CDA/Montessori/Reggio credential
• Minimum 2 years of experience working with 3–5-year-olds in a structured group setting (classroom, not solely one-on-one care)
• Demonstrated success facilitating play-based learning that drives observable developmental growth
• Proven ability to document developmental milestones objectively and consistently on a weekly cadence using a structured framework or rubric
• Strong relationship-building and emotional attunement: ability to build trust quickly, read emotional cues accurately, and use individualized motivators to unlock engagement
• Co-regulation and frustration scaffolding: guide children through emotional spikes using calm modeling and structured emotional coaching
• Eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship
• Ability to work full-time on-site in New York City, NY

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage starting day one
• Relocation assistance for those considering a move to New York City

Pay

$120,000 annual compensation, paid weekly at $60 USD/hour for 40 hours per week.

Schedule

Full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The role is immediately available.

NYC offers access to parks for outdoor learning, culturally rich neighborhoods with engaged family communities, best-in-class public transportation, and connections to leading early childhood education networks.