Pre-Kindergarten Lead Teacher (2025-2026)

Full-Time, 10 months, Faculty Exempt

Key School is seeking a full-time Pre-Kindergarten teacher beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. The successful candidate will have previous experience in early childhood education, understand the developmental needs of Pre-Kindergarteners, demonstrate warmth and concern for young children and employ creative instructional practices to engage learners.

Reporting to the First School Division Head, a Pre-Kindergarten teacher works collaboratively with the other members of the Pre-Kindergarten team to provide an age-appropriate, culturally responsive program for four and five-year-old students.

Job Responsibilities:

• Designs a rich learning environment that supports the optimal growth and development of each child
• Understands the age-appropriate milestones as well as the range of development for children aged 4 to 5 years old
• Works collaboratively with Pre-Kindergarten teammates to plan, prepare, implement, and evaluate developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive curriculum for a class of 14 children
• Promotes principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in both classroom programs and practices
• Assesses students’ knowledge for the purposes of refining classroom activities and providing feedback to students, parents and administration regarding students’ progress, expectations, and goals
• Creates a caring community for learning through thoughtful, individual relationships with all students and their families
• Supervises safe and educational indoor and outdoor play that promotes learning in all domains, including physical, social/emotional and cognitive growth
• Communicates regularly with families through the Seesaw learning management system

The Ideal Candidate Possesses the Following Characteristics:

• Promotes and exemplifies the values of Key School’s mission and values
• Has experience with and values the community enrichment that comes with working with a diverse group of students and families
• Experience with play-based education and understanding of whole child development
• Has experience with Pre-Kindergarten literacy instruction, specifically Heggerty Phonemic Awareness or other programs aligned with the Science of Reading
• Has experience with Pre-Kindergarten math instruction and developmentally appropriate NCTM standards
• Works collaboratively with the First School faculty in striving to achieve an excellent early childhood education program by actively participating in grade-level and divisional meetings and events
• Joins the Key-Wee through 12th grade faculty, staff and administration in providing an outstanding educational community through daily interactions, divisional meetings and all school meetings and activities
• Demonstrates strong, effective oral and written communication skills

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree; Master’s Degree Preferred
• Minimum two years of teaching experience in early childhood education
• 90 hour Child Care Certification

Physical Requirements:

The demands described here represent those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

This position requires indoor and outdoor student supervision each day. The students go outside to play in most conditions, including light rain, snow and hot and cold temperatures. Candidates also need to be physically able to transition between sitting on the floor and child-sized chairs.

Some classes take place in other parts of the campus. The ability to move around a mid-size campus with uneven pavement and manage stairs is needed.

Compensation/Benefits:

Key School offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental and vision insurance, a generous 403(b) Plan, and much more.

Key School follows a Faculty Equity Scale that recognizes direct years of experience that correlate to the steps on the scale. The salary range for this position is $46,820-$88,305 and is based upon several factors that include, but not limited to, the candidate’s year of work experience, education and skills. There are additional opportunities on campus for coaching and various stipends, as well.

Technical Competencies:

All candidates for teaching positions should be familiar with learning management systems such as Seesaw and Google Classroom and have the ability to create and deliver engaging multimedia content using a variety of digital tools. Key is a Google Workspace for Education school. Candidates should be proficient in using Google applications, have a solid understanding of cloud-based storage and file-sharing platforms, and efficiently manage email and scheduling using Gmail and Google Calendar. They should be proficient in virtual communication tools such as Zoom or Google Meet and have basic troubleshooting skills to resolve common technical issues that may arise in the classroom.

Work Schedule/Travel:

Occasionally, there may be school functions that will require your presence to work flexible hours, including nights and/or weekends. Additionally, participation in scheduled faculty meetings is required.

About the School

Founded in 1958 by professors from St. John's College, Key School engages children from 2.5 years of age through grade 12 in a progressive, coeducational, college-preparatory program on its picturesque 15-acre campus 4 miles from downtown Annapolis.

Key School is a dynamic, tight-knit community deeply committed to ensuring students are supported and challenged to excel educationally and personally and be confident, courageous, critical thinkers prepared to engage with the world. Our Community is as diverse as it is warm and welcoming.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging:

Key is particularly interested in candidates with experience in creating inclusive school settings and who are culturally responsive. We are seeking candidates with a commitment to educational equity and justice. We learn and grow both as individuals and as a school community when students and adults of diverse backgrounds, abilities and identities develop an understanding of and respect for our commonalities and differences. Together, we have created a community that reflects diversity across a broad spectrum and will help fulfill Key’s promise to prepare our students for the challenges and responsibilities they will assume in an increasingly connected yet diverse and pluralistic world. The diverse student body is 39% students of color, and 32% of our students receive financial aid to create a socioeconomically diverse community. Learn more about our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Key.

Please submit a letter of interest, resume, completed application, and three professional references by selecting the link.

Salary : $46,820 - $88,305