Early Childhood Lead Teacher
About
Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School is seeking an Early Childhood (EC) Lead Teacher to join our EC team. The role is ideal for an educator who thrives in a collaborative, team-oriented environment, sharing responsibility for a mixed-age class of children (ages 3–6) alongside a co-Lead Teacher and a team of dedicated assistants.
A life lived in harmony with nature’s rhythms. A life in which friends live and learn together, sharing their struggles and triumphs. A life with children, family, and community at its very heart.
Forty-five years ago, a few families founded a school with a vision to provide a child-centered educational community that reflects the values they hold dear: reverence for life, learning, and the children themselves. When they discovered Waldorf education, Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School was born. From its humble beginnings as a one-room schoolhouse with three students and one teacher, PRWS has grown to serve nearly 150 children in kindergarten through eighth grade. But while our school has grown, we remain true to our founders’ vision of providing a balanced educational experience that instills in children a love of learning, a respect for nature, a strong sense of community, and an abiding appreciation for the value of service.
Essential Job Duties
Strive to understand the model of child development that underlies the Waldorf curriculum and, coupling this with study of the early childhood curriculum itself, the Curriculum Standards of the school, an awareness of the kindergarten class and community attributes, plan the yearly and daily rhythm in such a way that it meets the needs of the mixed-age group of children.
The kindergarten’s year and daily rhythm is planned with emphasis on meeting the needs of today’s children and families. Attention is given to the following attributes:
- Consideration for the children’s academic, artistic, physical, and social skills development
- Balance of thinking, feeling, and willing activities
- Care, warmth, interest and enthusiasm for participation in all activities and the world
- In-breathing and out-breathing rhythm
- A balance of directed activities and inside and outside play
- Presenting the children with challenging, age-appropriate activities
- Imbue the children in a world of imagination and healthy imitation
Strive to become worthy of imitation in movement, speech, thought and feeling life that, together with loving authority and discipline, conveys to the children a living sense of respect, reverence and gratitude.
Provide conscientious guidance of the children in their care at all times.
Develop the ability to work with the class as a whole, while concurrently being aware of, and tending to, individual needs.
Make observations of the class as a whole and of individual children, and work with these, the children are to be taken into the teacher’s meditative life.
Develop methods of evaluation of the children’s physical, emotional, social and conceptual development through record-keeping.
Complete written end-of-year reports for children entering first grade.
Collaborate with members of the Integrated Student Support (ISS) committee to conduct assessments for first grade readiness.
Interact with parents with honesty, courtesy, warmth, and professionalism. Work with parents to promote awareness and understanding of their child’s school experience, as well as to foster the parents’ development as a supporting and protecting calyx around the development of the class as a whole.
Communicate regular class updates to parents via letter or email.
Conduct parent-teacher conferences at least two times during the year according to the school’s schedule.
Hold parent evenings at least three times during the year.
Work collaboratively with colleagues – sharing observations, questions, and insights – to support each other’s professional and personal development.
Oversee the work of the two assistant teachers in their classroom.
Serve on at least one committee after the first year.
Contribute to public relations aspects of the school’s work as follows: taking part in at least one informational event per year and contributing to the Calyx, the school’s newsletter.
Take active roles in the administration of the school.
Responsible for the physical environment of their classrooms – creating a place that is inspiring for learning by giving care to the beauty, artistic aspects, cleanliness, and order of the room – and for the shared school building and grounds.
Follow and uphold the policies, guidelines, and emergency procedures outlined in the Employee and Parent Handbooks.
Attend weekly faculty meetings, section meetings, in-service days, festivals, and school-wide events as scheduled.
On school days, EC Lead Teachers are present from 7:45 am – 3:30 pm, Monday – Friday, allowing two hours (12-2pm) for preparation, meetings, and release time.
Qualifications
Completion of a bachelor’s degree
Experience and/or training in teaching young children
Waldorf Early Childhood teaching certification from an AWSNA-recognized institute or a clear path to certification
Strong understanding of and enthusiasm for Waldorf education, including curriculum and pedagogy
Knowledge and understanding of anthroposophy and the picture of child development it presents
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and comfort working independently and collaboratively
Ability to work artistically and creatively with the education in an organized, timely manner
Professionalism in speech, manner, and dress (following the school dress code)
Employment Details
Full-time, salaried position
Starting salary is $36,500 per year, increases based on years of teaching experience
401(k) with 3% matching
24-hour accident insurance is available
A modest professional development stipend is available as the budget allows
Paid Time Off (PTO) days are 8 per year (or 64 hours)
Full tuition remission available for each child
Free hot lunch provided Monday through Thursday
To Apply
Please send letter of interest, resume, and three references to admin@pleasantridgewaldorf.org.