Assistant Teacher (Prek3/Prek4/Kinder)

Early Childhood Assistant Teacher

Start Date: August 2024 or rolling

Role Type: Full-Time, 10 month

Location: Washington, DC

FSLA Status: Exempt

WHO WE ARE

DC Prep is a high performing network of public charter schools serving over 2,100 preschool through 8th-grade students across six campuses in Wards 5, 7, and 8. We're proud of  the high bar we set for ourselves to achieve results-our students deserve our best! We recognize that how we support our students to be successful is just as important as the results we achieve, which pushes us to reflect on questions such as: 

• How can we facilitate our students' academic, social, and emotional development?  
• How can we support our team members' professional growth and personal ability to do this work long-term? 
• How can we engage our students' families as our own? 

While this work is hard, it's worth it - we believe in the transformative power of education, the can-do-itness of our students and staff, and the joy that comes from engaging in meaningful work with people we care about and trust!  

Here's how we drive results: 

• Rigorous academic focus.  Our Preppies receive the highest level of academic preparation through standards-based instruction, daily targeted interventions, and meaningful assessments.
• Social-emotional learning. We have always had a dual mission of academic and social-emotional skill development.  Our research-based SEL curriculum is integrated into daily instruction, helping students leverage their personal values to strengthen their self-awareness, social awareness, and responsible decision-making skills and create a school-wide culture of empathy and reflection.
• Commitment to reflection and refinement.  Our results tell us that we are moving in the right direction, but there's further to go to ensure that every student receives a transformative education. As a team, we regularly reflect on our programmatic model to see what's working and where we can get better.  

Are you interested in learning more about the DC Prep Way? If so, check out our website to find out more about what we're working towards and how we're doing it.

WORKING AT DC PREP

DC Prep's faculty and staff are passionate, talented, and uncompromising with a mission to make sure all students succeed at a high level. Every aspect of our organization and program is designed - and continually refined - to ensure that goal. DC Prep students spend approximately 25% more time in school than other DC public school students. DC Prep's supportive, stimulating, and professionally rewarding learning environment continuously develops and motivates high-performing educators. DC Prep's staff and school leadership promote meaningful relationships between faculty and students, enable excellent teaching, and foster professional collaboration. The end result: great outcomes for students.

EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSISTANT TEACHERS AT DC PREP

As an Assistant Teacher, you will work in partnership with the Early Childhood Lead Teacher or Kindergarten Lead Teacher to support the cultivation of a learning environment and classroom community that is productive, purposeful, safe and equitable for all students. You will contribute positively to the classroom community by supporting the delivery of rigorous instruction, communicating with families and reinforcing classroom expectations and vision as outlined in your partnership with the lead teacher. Additionally, you will seek growth opportunities by working to maximize your impact in the classroom through regular collaboration with the lead teacher, seeking new opportunities for classroom ownership and responsibility and being an active and eager participant in all professional development and coaching opportunities at DC Prep. 

This Assistant Teacher position serves as an entryway into DC Prep's lead teacher pipeline and is designed to help novice educators develop into strong early childhood educators. To support our pipeline, we offer ATs the necessary professional development and coaching to acquire the knowledge, skills, and experience to become effective educators in urban school environments. Successful Assistant Teachers will have the opportunity to assume a gradual increase in classroom responsibility that will prepare them to assume lead teaching opportunities at DC Prep.  

Additionally, you'll be responsible for:

• Supporting instructional planning and delivery by: 
• Supporting and co-leading productive, purposeful, inclusive, safe and equitable routines, structures and transitions during various components of the school day 
• Reviewing unit maps, lesson plans and materials ahead of time in order to be prepared to effectively support and implement the lessons designed by the Lead Teacher
• Implementing assigned small groups including monitoring progress to drive towards student growth and mastery in literacy and math 
• Collaborating with and supporting the lead teacher to implement core tasks and activities that will engage students in targets for Early Childhood learning standards
• Collaborating with the lead teacher to teach with intentional structures that maximize student learning 
• Assisting in the creation of core resources that whole class will use 
• Reading all IEPs and 504 plans and preparing to support specialized instruction in accordance with plans 
• Supporting delivery of assessments 
• Prioritizing meeting regularly with lead teacher for "Team Teaching" check-ins to plan collaboratively
• Assisting in collection and grading of classwork and homework 
• Assuming lead teacher responsibilities in the event of an absence

• Supporting a strong classroom community by: 
• Collaborating with the lead teacher to ensure that the vision for classroom community and strong Tier I supports are in place in the classroom 
• Leading various components of the school day while carrying out all aspects of the vision for classroom community
• Assisting in collecting data on student behaviors/academics as needed in support of developing or monitoring the success of an intervention plan 
• Implementing student academic and behavior plans with fidelity 
• Supporting strong communication by: 
• Supporting lead teacher with communication of whole class news and upcoming information/deadlines with families 
• Meeting regularly with lead teacher to agree upon and establish classroom norms and expectations
• Engaging in ongoing professional development and coaching by:
• Determining with the lead teacher which weekly lessons to support and execute
• Participating in weekly individual or group professional development and coaching sessions 
• Collaborating with lead teacher to plan for more ownership of academic instruction based on performance as the year progresses 

WHO YOU ARE

You have a background working with children in a school setting and want to translate that experience into becoming a Lead Early Childhood teacher who sets a positive tone for students as they embark upon their academic careers. In order to make this career goal a reality, you are eager to participate in DC Prep's development and coaching program where you will work with an instructional coach to develop the skills you need to successfully apply for a lead teacher role over the course of a school year. Above all, you're passionate about the need for students from underserved communities to learn without limits, the importance of addressing the intersection of race and public education in the U.S., and the transformational power of talented, mission-aligned people working together to advance a goal. You're open to feedback, eager to grow, and bring your best to everything you do. You look for joy in your day-to-day and want to work with others who do, too! 

QUALIFICATIONS

Educational background and work experience

• Experience working with students in an urban public school with a record of high student achievement highly preferred
• Bachelor's degree from a competitive college or university preferred

Skills and characteristics

• Desire and willingness to do "whatever it takes" to support student achievement in traditionally under-served communities 
• Passion for connecting with students and families in support of student success 
• Extraordinary oral skills to effectively communicate with varied audiences  
• Comfort with and ability to write efficiently and effectively as part of a culture where curriculum writing, email communication, and documentation are critical 
• Superior analytical skills and sound judgment to make critical decisions autonomously 
• Capable of thriving in circumstances involving ambiguity and nuance 
• Meticulous organizational ability in order to set priorities, organize workload, handle multiple responsibilities and meet deadlines 
• Emotional constancy and extraordinary interpersonal skills to ensure purposeful and professional colleague relationships 
• Positive attitude, maturity, and personal stability sufficient for a demanding position 
• Deep belief in DC Prep's mission, values and commitment to diversity 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• Highly competitive salary 
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability insurance; maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; and a 403b retirement plan

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• DC Prep teachers are on duty at their assigned campus Mondays through Fridays from 7:15 am to 4:15 pm and must be prepared to receive students in the classroom at 7:30 am.  On Wednesdays, DC Prep staff report until 5:00 for Professional Development. 
• Occasionally, staff may be required to report to a different campus for professional development or all network event.
• All DC Prep staff perform clerical duties related to instructional supplies, student reports and records, attendance reports, assessments, etc.
• DC Prep staff regularly perform morning, lunch, and afternoon duties as assigned by their principal
• Additional responsibilities may arise during the school year.  This could include: attending staff and student field trips, after school events, family-teacher conferences, home visits, and other events involving parents and students, as needed. This list is not exhaustive. DC Prep will communicate mandatory events outside of school hours with ample notice.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands and environmental conditions described below are representative, but not exhaustive, of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the role.  All of these physical requirements should be able to be performed with clarity, coherence and connectedness to DC Prep's vision.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Must be able to sit and work at a desk/computer for extended periods of time
• Must be able to spend the majority of the day standing or mobile throughout the classroom, as well as talk, hear, grasp, reach and lift up to 30lbs with or without accommodations
• Ability to concentrate in active and noisy environments such as cafeterias and playgrounds, to more moderate situations such as classrooms or large group professional settings
• Must be able to have repetitive wrist/hand/finger movement to work on computer and/or related office equipment
• Ability to handle potential high stress conditions

JOIN US

Do you believe that Learning Has No Limits? Are you eager to join a supportive, innovative, and collaborative community of educators? Are you committed to growing your strengths as an educator through individualized professional development and coaching? Apply today!

We're an equal opportunity employer and hire without consideration of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability. We strongly encourage diverse candidates to apply.