Job Description: Lead Preschool Teacher

Are you looking to work in a one-of-a-kind, joy-filled preschool? We are looking for a qualified preschool teacher to work with our young, creative, curious, highly capable children. We are a small, independent school with a 1:4 teacher-child ratio. We are located in Bellevue, near the Overlake Fred Meyer.

Bellevue Discovery - www.BellevueDiscovery.org

The position is available to begin in September, at the start of our school year. Hours are Monday- Friday 8:45am–1:45pm, September through June, with school breaks throughout the year, similar to Bellevue School District. Additional hours (until as late as 6:00pm) are available as part of our extended care program. We offer competitive pay, commensurate with experience.

All Our Staff Members:

• Take initiative and are enthusiastic
• Work hard; are responsible and organized
• Enjoy being part of a teaching team
• Are patient, flexible and self-controlled
• Enjoy working with young children
• Have a positive view of gifted children
• Are lifelong learners - willing to try, make mistakes, learn and grow

Team Teaching

• Collaborate with Teaching Team to support growth in children’s skills, abilities, behavior, social and emotional development and physical health
• Work with Teaching Team to establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order
• Model appropriate behavior for children, including an eagerness for learning, kindness and respect, self-control, and a willingness to go with the flow
• With Teaching Team, prepare materials and classroom for class activities; arrange indoor and outdoor spaces to facilitate safety, creativity, inquiry learning, and physical/social/emotional/intellectual development; provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate and use
• Collaborate with Teaching Team to create learning activities: lead or assist as needed
• Focus teaching on problem-solving, inquiry learning, child-directed learning, and other constructivist methods of teaching; provide children with opportunities to observe, question, investigate and reflect
• Differentiate teaching methods and materials to meet individual children’s needs and interests
• Guide children in cleaning up indoors and out; schedule time for clean-up with each activity; help Teaching Team quick-clean the facility at the end of the school day
• With Teaching Team, select, organize, store and restock classroom equipment and supplies
• Actively participate in our Child Study team meeting at the end of the day

Policies and Administration

• Follow all preschool policies for health, safety, child guidance and parent communication
• Actively participate in paid staff meetings and training provided by BD regarding preschool policies, gifted education, inquiry learning, early childhood development, and health and safety procedures
• Work with Preschool Director, Early Childhood Specialist and teaching team to maintain accurate and complete records for each child
• Work with Teaching Team to evaluate and improve the preschool program

Child Assessment

• Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, speech or physical challenges; document issues of concern and discuss them with your team; work with Preschool Director to keep parents informed when appropriate
• Help Teaching Team plan and coordinate all child assessments (basic skills, reading, math, fine and large motor, kindergarten readiness, developmental pre-screenings)
• Work with Teaching Team to write progress reports and school references

Parent Communication

• Collaborate with parents to support their child’s learning and development
• With Teaching Team, communicate with parents to proactively address any child behavior or academic issues, determine priorities, and create a plan to help the child
• Assist Preschool Director and Early Childhood Specialist to respond to parent emails and phone calls promptly and professionally
• Chat informally with parents at drop-off and pick-up times
• Work with the Teaching Team to prepare for parent-teacher conferences and organize student files

All Bellevue Discovery employees pitch in during “all hands on deck” moments, support each other’s work, and complete tasks not listed on their job descriptions to support the mission of the organization.

Required Knowledge

• Classroom Management: experiential knowledge of helping children form a community, teaching appropriate behavior, effectively moving children through transitions, adapting activities for individual children, and displaying self-control
• Early Childhood Development: basic knowledge of current accepted best practices in early childhood development, including health and safety, physical development, curriculum, social and emotional development, and cognitive development
• Gifted Education: basic knowledge of current research regarding how gifted children differ from average children in their learning, social and emotional development, and other characteristics; the importance of inquiry learning and social-emotional learning in gifted education; BD’s “Introduction to Gifted Preschool Education” is a good start
• English: ability to communicate at a professional level in written and spoken business English; fluency in another language is valued at BD
• First Aid/CPR/HIV Training: Teachers are required to have (or to obtain) current First Aid/CPR/HIV certification

Education

• Preferred: a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• Experience and/or training in Early Childhood Education

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: From $26.00 per hour

Expected hours: 25 per week

Benefits:

• Paid time off

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Application Question(s):

• Are you able to commute to Bellevue?

Education:

• Associate (Required)

Experience:

• teaching: 1 year (Required)

Work Location: In person