Early Childhood Associate Teacher (2024-25)

Position Overview

Woodland School's Early Childhood Program is seeking to hire an experienced Early Childhood Teacher with knowledge of inquiry based emergent curriculum for a full-time position. This position is a hybrid and includes both the Associate Teacher position from 10:00am-3:30pm and the Extended Care Lead Teacher position from 3:30pm-6:00pm Monday through Friday. Hours and schedules may vary occasionally due to the needs of our center, which may include staff meetings, collaboration, professional development days, etc

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the lead teacher on curricular programs and learning environments.
• Collaborate and support the lead teacher with the preparation of materials for lesson plans.
• Supervise, guide and document child interactions.
• Partner with the lead teacher to create cohesive parent communication, including participating in parent-teacher conferences.
• Invest in the life of the school by participating in meetings and school wide events.
• Have knowledge of developmentally appropriate curriculum, interactions and environments
• Co-construct and implement activities and lesson plans that promote developmentally-appropriate learning.
• Collaborate with the Lead teacher on children’s assessments.
• Collaborate with ECE team and work as a member of the team to uphold and support ECE goals.
• Share in the cleaning and organization of the classroom, materials, and equipment.
• Share in the cleaning and organization of shared ECE spaces including kitchen, yard, and storage.
• Help ensure that the classroom and playground are in good repair.
• Be familiar with and uphold NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct
• Be familiar with and uphold CA State Licensing regulations.
• Plan and organize curriculum for the preschool extended care program.
• Design learning environments for extended day program and prepare all materials.
• Be the point person for parent communication during extended care hours.
• Supervise and guide child interactions during extended care.
• Collaborate with, communicate with, and supervise assistant extended day teacher.
• Contribute to weekly ECE newsletter with updates on extended day program.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

Our ideal candidate loves working with young children, has a professional, nurturing demeanor and is dedicated to young children, their families and the profession. This successful candidate is passionate about working with young children, is eager to engage in reflective practice, enjoys working in a team and has strong collaboration and communication skills. He/She must be able to multitask, collaborate well with colleagues and families of diverse backgrounds, pay attention to detail, have a good sense of humor, be a self-starter and be highly flexible and responsive to the needs of our children and program.

• CTC Site Supervisor qualification is required. Higher degrees in education or Early Childhood education or related field preferred
• Minimum of two years' experience with 3-5-year-old children
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills with the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with all constituents.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated professional behavior, including discretion, judgment and integrity.

Woodland School is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications from candidates who reflect such diversity. All prospective employees must be able to clear a background check, LiveScan fingerprinting, and TB screening.

Overview of Early Childhood Program

The Woodland Early Childhood Program serves a diverse community of 36 children, ages 3-5. Using emergent curricular and project-based approaches, our program leverages topics of student interest to create robust units of inquiry. Our teachers’ are facilitators of learning, by modeling and scaffolding, then allowing children to make discoveries through play. The environment acts as the third teacher in the classroom, through interest areas that offer engaging experiences that support sustained attention and focus.

We believe strongly in the importance of ongoing embedded professional development and offer regular coaching and mentoring in addition to providing access to a variety of external learning opportunities. We have a strong collaborative culture and deeply value teamwork. The Early Childhood Program program runs from 7:30am - 3:30pm with Extended Day offered 3:30pm- 6:00pm Monday through Friday. We follow Woodland’s academic calendar, a 10-month program, with a 6-week summer school option for students.

Our instructional program follows a standard academic calendar, beginning in August and ending in June. Teaching four weeks of our summer program is required and can be extended to six weeks.This is an hourly, non-exempt, full-time position which includes a variety of wonderful benefits, such as paid Thanksgiving Break, Spring Break, Winter Break, Presidents Week Break and a competitive health care plan.

Overview of Woodland School

Located just west of Stanford University, Woodland is an independent day school that offers a joyful approach to learning in a diverse, respectful, and inclusive environment for approximately 300 students in Early Childhood through eighth-grade. We have two sections of each grade level K- 8 with class sizes that average from 14-18 per class.

Woodland School specializes in education that inspires students by nurturing each individual’s voice, intellect, and character. With rich content and an emphasis on inquiry-based and student-driven projects, students are empowered and encouraged to be active and engaged learners.

Our students’ innate sense of wonder is the foundation of learning at Woodland School. Teachers craft meaningful, multisensory learning experiences which enable creativity, ingenuity, and deep interdisciplinary connections. Students explore and develop complex understandings that engender a sense of self and purpose in the world.

Woodland School’s faculty create a school environment that is as supportive and nurturing as it is challenging, and they embody the core values of the school—stewardship, integrity, curiosity, resilience, equity, and respect. Our teachers apply best practices through collaboration, integrated curriculum, brain-based teaching and learning methods, and continued professional development. Our teachers are themselves learners, constantly searching for ways to improve their practice. A robust professional development program supports our faculty by connecting them to the best practices in pedagogy, curriculum development, educational technology, and student assessment.

Woodland School is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications from candidates who reflect such diversity.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The position can be physically demanding. Must be able to bend, squat, and lift and carry up to 30 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made if requested in advance.

Note

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship.

Woodland School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin in the administration of its educational or admission policies, financial aid distribution, or other school programs. Woodland School is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications from candidates who reflect such diversity.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $26.00 - $32.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Ability to Relocate:

• Portola Valley, CA 94028: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person