Lead Preschool Teacher

Job Description

Job Description

About Mass Audubon

Mass Audubon is the largest nature-based conservation organization in New England. Founded in 1896 by two women who fought for the protection of birds, Mass Audubon carries on their legacy by focusing on the greatest challenges facing the environment today : the loss of biodiversity, inequitable access to nature, and climate change. With the help of our 160,000 members and supporters, we protect wildlife, conserve and restore resilient land, advocate for impactful environmental policies, offer nationally recognized education programs for adults and children, and provide endless opportunities to experience the outdoors at our wildlife sanctuaries. Explore, find inspiration, and take action at massaudubon.org.

About This Position

Boston Nature Center is seeking a Lead Preschool Teacher! The Lead Preschool Teacher is the primary early childhood educator of the teaching team and holds lead responsibility for one or more preschool classes, collaborating with co-teachers on curriculum development / implementation, student assessments, classroom management, and family communication. They are responsible for co-designing educational experiences for nature preschool students in accordance with Mass Audubon’s Action Agenda strategic goals, Mass Audubon’s education frameworks, guidelines, and policies for Early Education and Nature Preschools, and Massachusetts Early Education and Care (EEC) and overall best practices in nature-based early childhood education.

Lead Preschool Teacher candidates must possess a strong respect for young children and families, a love of teaching young children and a strong desire to connect children and nature and developing values for stewardship of natural and social communities. The Lead Preschool Teacher must have a keen love of designing nature-based curriculum and teaching outside and the ability to plan multi-sensory, play and nature-based, anti-bias, emergent and developmentally appropriate curriculum, incorporating a variety of hands-on / minds-on experiences. The Lead Preschool Teacher is the primary contact for families in the class, prepares progress reports, parent-teacher team conferences and maintains a warm, professional relationship with children, their parents and caregivers.

The Lead Preschool Teacher may supervise Preschool Teachers (EEC certified Preschool Teachers or Assistant Teachers) or per diem educators such as substitute teachers (i.e. supervision in the classroom only) with support from the Preschool Director.

Application Instructions

Please submit a resume and cover letter with your ADP application.

Responsibilities

General

• Provide a physically and emotionally safe environment for young children both within an indoor and outdoor environment.
• Maintain clear communication with co-teachers and share teaching amongst the co-teaching faculty team.
• Create and maintain a healthy, safe, and positive environment for children using best practices in early childhood nature-based education.
• Work with other faculty colleagues to develop and steward a sense of community, belonging, and connection to nature in the preschool community.
• Responsible for emotional and physical health and safety of students and completing accident reports / injury forms as needed as well as medication logs. Communicate incidents with parent / guardian at the end of class, obtain signature and provide photocopies for parent and child’s preschool file.
• Assess and document student development; complete progress reports twice a year and conduct parent-teacher team conferences, as scheduled by Preschool Director.
• Maintain the physical environment by contributing to classroom housekeeping tasks as needed and storing personal belongings away from preschool program space.
• Enhance the physical space by thoughtfully placing child-initiated art, emergent language poems, emergent math charts and graphs, photographs of nature, students / families in class community, murals and other learning centers that reflect a nature-based curriculum
• Keeps up with relevant and ongoing changes in policies and guidelines within Mass Audubon, specific Mass Audubon sanctuary, and within MA Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) policies and regulations.
• Attend to all required safety and risk management requirements including, but not limited to conducting fire drills, filling out accident forms and medication logs, and informing Preschool Director of safety concerns as noted in daily activities.
• Must be comfortable exploring the natural world in a variety of weather throughout the year for 2 or more hours a day.
• Responsible and accountable to all Mass Audubon / MA EEC health and safety policies and guidelines.
• Always maintains communication with co-teachers and other relevant staff throughout the day.
• Meets weekly with teacher team to plan curriculum / troubleshoot challenges as applicable.

Family Liaison

Education

Marketing / Community Relations

Other

Administrative Responsibilities (only when applicable)

Approximate Workload Distribution

Qualifications

At Mass Audubon, our highest priority is finding the best candidate for the job. Research has shown that people of color and women are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t believe they meet every one of the qualifications described in a job description. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of our described qualifications or you have a less traditional background. We are looking for applicants with the following qualifications :

Compensation, Benefits and Perks

This position’s pay range is $24.00-$26.00 / hour; actual salary will reflect level of experience and qualifications relative to position requirements.

Benefits eligible staff at Mass Audubon may elect to enroll in medical, dental, and vision plans. Mass Audubon also offers disability and life insurance plans, a retirement plan, and Flexible Spending Account options. Mass Audubon employment also includes access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through and the Reciprocity Agreement through the Consortium of Non-Profit Arts / Cultural / Environmental Organizations of New England. Mass Audubon employees enjoy 13 paid holidays (holidays may shift annually due to where days fall within calendar).

Work Schedule

This is a year-round position. The weekly schedule is Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week rotating between 7 : 30am-3 : 30pm, 8 : 00am-4 : 00pm, and 10 : 00am-6 : 00pm shifts. During the summer months, this position works a reduced schedule of 5 hours per week.

Other Requirements

Employees must successfully complete a CORI and SORI Background Check and a Motor Vehicle Record (if applicable) is required.

Mass Audubon’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice

Mass Audubon embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are dedicated to forming a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Mass Audubon’s mission is to “protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and for wildlife” by building a strong coalition of employees, volunteers, and community members. We recognize that the environmental movement and field of conservation have been affected by societal systems that have limited opportunity and access for many people. As a result, Mass Audubon is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. We are engaged in an ongoing process of organizational assessment and change, designed to remove barriers and create a workplace where all forms of diversity are recognized and valued.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Mass Audubon is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. Mass Audubon prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.