Teacher - School Age Before / After Care (School Year 26-27 / MD)

About the role

The Extended Day (School Age) Teacher plays a dynamic role in providing quality child care services in our school-age programs. The role involves actively planning learning activities, implementing policies and practices, participating in team planning sessions, leading activities based on the Wonders Extended Day Curriculum, maintaining open communication with the Program Director, assisting in training new team members, and participating in various events.

Responsibilities

• Plan learning activities that are balanced in all areas and include: active/quiet, long/short, group/individual, cognitive/physical, large group/small group and child initiated/teacher directed.
• Implement policies, procedures, and practices in an organized and thorough manner.
• Participate, contribute, and cooperate in team planning sessions with Program Director and team.
• Lead planning and implementation of activities that are age-appropriate, process-oriented, and encourage divergent thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, based on Wonders extended day curriculum, philosophy and mission.
• Maintain open communication with Program Director regarding children, families, and team members.
• Aid in orientating and training new team members for center responsibilities.
• Share teaching responsibilities with all team members and provide clear and objective feedback.
• Plan and participate in special events for children and families.
• Ensure that all spaces used by the program are: physically and emotionally safe / interesting and engaging for children / clean and organized / reflect and support the lives and work of the children present / support children in their understanding of the diversity of our society.
• Develop behavior management strategies based on Wonders policy, with team and Program Director.
• Establish and nurture partnerships with families.
• Communicate with families on a regular basis to: inform them of program curriculum and activities / solicit information about their child's development and family events.
• Participate in accreditation and reaccreditation processes for your site.
• Attend a minimum of 18 hours of staff training yearly.
• Work extended hours on half and full-service days including winter and spring breaks and on early release days.

Requirements

• Minimum 2 years' experience working with children in an educational, recreational, or camp setting.
• Minimum of high school diploma or equivalent is required.
• Bachelor's or Associate's degree in Education or related field is preferred.
• Courses must include a minimum of 6 semester or 90 clock hours or the equivalent of approved school-age coursework in child development and curriculum planning.
• If no college courses taken for credit, at least 9 clock hours of approved training in communicating with staff, parents and the public.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Qualifications

• Dependable and detail oriented.
• Thrives in a high-pressure environment.
• People oriented - enjoys interacting with people and working on group projects.
• Adaptable - enjoys doing work that requires frequent shifts in direction.
• Innovative - prefers working in unconventional ways or on tasks that require creativity.