Preschool Director & Lead Teacher

Position Description: FLC Preschool Director/Lead Teacher

First Lutheran Church (FLC), Brookings, SD

Employee Category: Full-time Program Staff, Hourly, Non-Exempt

Primary Function: This position is responsible for the leadership of First Lutheran Preschool.

Core Ministry Area: With the direction of the Senior Pastor and the First Lutheran Church Council, the FLC Preschool Director/Lead Teacher manages the safe and nurturing learning environment of First Lutheran Preschool and upbuilds its ministry in support of our congregational mission: Fostering faith. Creating Community. Loving all.

Source of Supervision: Senior Pastor

Direction of other staff: All other preschool staff

Required skills and competencies:

• Skilled in working with children and their families in an early learning atmosphere
• Empathetic, emotionally intelligent, engaging, and professional presence with children and adults
• Understanding of and commitment to early childhood learning fundamentals and best practices
• Basic proficiency in oral and written communication, organization, planning, and use of computer, and apps
• Ability and commitment to work collegially with staff and volunteers in a large church and preschool setting
• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree (required) with further education and experience in early education (preferred)

Work performed by this person:

The FLC Preschool Director/Lead Teacher is responsible for:

Director duties:

• Manage all preschool staff including interviewing, hiring, training, coaching, and coordinating, conduct staff trainings, and always maintaining appropriate teacher/student ratios in the classroom, filling in for other roles as needed
• Collaborating with staff and stakeholders for long-range planning with regard to curriculum, philosophy, and goals
• Navigate student behavioral issues in a respectful and effective manner in alignment with our preschool handbook, corresponding with families, offering resources to families and preschool staff, seeking solutions whenever possible
• Maintaining health and safety standards ensuring the best learning environment for all students and families
• Coordinating and implementing all aspects of the registration process year-round, including meeting with prospective families, advertising, phone calls, emails, and mailings
• Preparing, gathering, and completing all paperwork for student files both paper and electronic
• Maintaining healthy communication between classroom and families through monthly newsletters, emails, phone calls, social media posts, and Remind App
• Planning, preparing, and providing leadership for special programs including Christmas programs and Graduation
• Ordering, purchasing, and maintaining all classroom equipment and materials in alignment with budget
• Helping to administrate tuition and scholarships

Lead Teacher duties:

• Plan, prepare, and implement a curriculum that is appropriate for the age level, skill, and social development of the group of children served; Complete monthly, weekly, and daily curriculum plans at least one week in advance and communicate plans with assistant teachers
• Supervise and interact with the children in all areas of the program, including outdoors and during field trips
• Maintain an environment that helps each child to have a positive experience throughout each school day
• Treat all children with dignity and respect and allow for individual differences
• Provide an atmosphere of acceptance, caring for each child and showing as much individual attention as possible to each child. Comfort distress immediately and provide a curriculum that helps each child develop to the fullest in each area of development
• Develop and complete bulletin board assignments on a monthly basis
• Be familiar with and adhere to the program’s policies, health and safety regulations, and emergency procedures, and be ready to implement these as necessary
• Plan, prepare, and care for the environment
• Be responsible for maintaining observational forms for each child and all other routine forms
• Attend all staff meetings and training programs and conferences required. Provide documentation in accordance with state requirements. Provide appropriate communication during staff meetings and assist in designing appropriate behavior modification techniques when needed
• Be an advocate for improvement of early childhood education and for improving our program
• Maintain an open, friendly, professional relationship with all families
• Be responsible for setting the rules and limits of the classroom with the children. Make the assistant teacher aware of the limits you have set so she/he can follow through with consistency.

Evaluation and Compensation: This position works directly under the Senior Pastor and receives an annual performance evaluation. Compensation is reviewed annually.

• Pay range: $24-30/per hour depending on qualifications
• 40 hours a week during the 9 month school year; as needed during the 3 summer months up to 140 hours total
• Benefits package to include health insurance single premium, 6% retirement contribution, 20 days PTO

Pay: $24.00 - $30.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off

Work Location: In person