Mission Statement

The mission of Children's Circle Preschool (CCP) is to extend the Second Presbyterian Church family of faith and its Christian traditions to a weekday program for young children in our congregation and the community. This ministry embraces excellence in education by nurturing the whole child.

Philosophy

Children's Circle Preschool is a weekday, developmentally appropriate, activity-based Christian program that meets the needs of the whole child in a fun, creative, nurturing environment.

The Children’s Circle Preschool:

• Values the uniqueness of each child.
• Strives to develop confidence, compassion, creativity, curiosity, and competence in our children.
• Creates a learning environment that is safe, loving, challenging, and developmentally appropriate.
• Models the Christian values of accepting and respecting each child. We provide security, observe children carefully, protect self-esteem, listen actively, and support parents.

Job Summary

The Director of Children's Circle Preschool of Second Presbyterian Church is responsible for the design, staffing, oversight, and daily operations of Children's Circle Preschool. The Director works in conjunction with the CCP Board to develop long-range plans for the preschool and to implement strategies to strengthen the program.

The Director reports to the Associate Pastor of Children and Family Ministries and will work in conjunction with the Children’s Circle Preschool Board of Directors.

Essential Functions

• Staff Leadership: Build and empower a staff team to carry out the mission of CCP. Guide staff in implementing a play-based, developmentally appropriate curriculum by conducting regular staff meetings, providing resources, training, and feedback.
• Performance Management: Set clear performance expectations, regularly observe classrooms, conduct formal performance reviews, and provide timely feedback. Keep current on policies, research, standards, and practices in early childhood education.
• Community Building: Engage with CCP families regularly, responding to questions and concerns, fostering connections within the community and church, connecting families to resources, and communicating with the CCP community regularly through newsletter and email updates.
• Safety and Security: Manage the safety and security of CCP students and staff by reviewing policies, conducting staff training, scheduling drills, maintaining equipment and spaces, and keeping up to date with state licensing requirements.
• Financial Oversight: Create and maintain an annual budget and manage accounts receivable and payable efficiently.
• Marketing and Outreach: Develop and implement a marketing plan to raise awareness of CCP, encourage enrollment, and attract families from diverse backgrounds.
• Collaboration: Coordinate with other groups within Second Presbyterian Church to share spaces, promote events, and further the church's ministries and mission.

Other Responsibilities

• Attend church staff meetings (Full Staff, Leadership Staff, Program Staff).
• Perform other duties assigned as needed

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: BA or BS in Education, Elementary or Early Childhood Development
• Experience: Minimum three years of teaching experience at the early childhood/elementary level preferred. Prior administrative and supervisory/management experience.
• Knowledge: Familiarity with current state standards in early childhood education.
• Skills: Excellent oral and written communication skills, proficiency in necessary computer programs.
• Physical Requirements: Ability to lift a 40-pound child and carry them for 100 feet.
• Cover Letter: Please include a cover letter with your resume outlining your relevant experiences, your motivation for applying, and how you see yourself contributing to our mission and philosophy.

Core Competencies

• Mission Ownership: Demonstrates understanding and full support of the mission, vision, values, and beliefs of the congregation and preschool; demonstrate those values to others; consistently behaves in a manner congruent with the mission, vision, values, and beliefs; prioritizes creating a program where children feel safe and loved.
• Supervising Work: Is good at establishing clear expectations and setting clear direction; distributes workload appropriately; provides regular and ongoing feedback about performance; creates mentoring opportunities for the new staff; proactively deals with substandard performance; engages in disciplinary processes in a timely fashion.
• Strategic Management: Is future oriented and can visualize the larger picture of where the organization is heading; identifies and prioritizes strategic objectives that are consistent with the vision of the organization; creates effective breakthrough objectives to carry out strategies; balances risk with desired outcomes.
• Hospitality/Accessibility: Generates a sense of hospitality and accessibility by his/her presence; communicates a sense of availability, warmth, openness, and approachability; fosters natural connections between families and staff; supports a culture of welcoming and connection to the life of the congregation.
• Interpersonal Skills: Establishes good working relationships with others who are relevant to the completion of the work; works well with people at all levels of the congregation; builds appropriate rapport; considers the impact of his/her actions on others; uses diplomacy and tact; is approachable; avoids communication triangles.
• Ethics and Values: Honors the core beliefs of the organization in his/her choice of behavior; consistently embodies appropriate behavioral choices in both stressful and non stressful situations; practices the behaviors he/she advocates to others.
• Process Management: Knows how to organize people and activities; knows how to create efficient systems and sees opportunities for synergy and integration.
• Spiritual Maturity: Shows strong personal depth and spiritual grounding; demonstrates integrity by walking the talk, and by responding with constancy of purpose; is seen by others as trustworthy and authentic; nurtures a rich spiritual life; seeks the wisdom and guidance of appropriate mentors; is able to articulate a clear and consistent theology.