Early Childhood Lead Teacher
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Job Location:
Mott Haven, NY - USA
Monthly Salary:
$ 75000 - 100000
Posted on:
19 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Originallyfounded in 1991as Harlem RBI DREAM has grown to annually serve more than 2500 youth across East Harlem and the South Bronx through a network of seven PreK-12 extended-day extended-year DREAM Charter Schools and community sports-based youth development programs. Through our commitmentto rigorous academics social-emotional learning deep family and community engagement and health and wellness we create lifelong learners who are equipped to fulfill their vision of success in and out of the classroom. We dream big as well with an aggressive five-year plan to expand to serve 3500 students across seven schoolsgrowing our organizations impact and leveling the playing field for all children. To learn more visit .
The Early Childhood Lead Teacher is responsible for a Head Start classroom of 3- to 5-year-old children. The Early Childhood Lead Teacher works collaboratively with an assistant teacher family members and other staff to achieve positive outcomes for children of all abilities.
Responsibilities
Classroom Community
- Create and foster a warm and inclusive classroom environment through following school-wide practices for behavior management encouraging child expression and autonomy and setting and maintaining consistent routines and high expectations;
- Foster classroom productivity and maximize learning time while engaging children with a variety of modalities and materials;
- Provide instructional support through concept development fostering childrens analysis and reasoning engaging in feedback loops and modeling and supporting high-quality language.
Curriculum & Instruction
- Implement curriculum with fidelity through backwards lesson planning following school-wide protocols for developing and documenting syllabi lesson plans assignments and rubrics and utilizing research-based best practices to support all learners;
- Prepare or modify weekly lesson plans and prepare to implement small-group activities read-alouds circle time and other curriculum components;
- Interact with children intentionally throughout the day to provide differentiated support.
Supporting all Students
- Consistently track monitor and assume responsibility for the academic progress of all students implementing developmentally appropriate strategies for each child in class;
- Complete developmental and social-emotional screenings;
- Integrate Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or referral action plans for children with diagnosed or suspected special needs.
Family Partnerships
- Establish and maintain strong relationships and regularly communicate students progress towards academic social-emotional and behavioral goals and with families;
- Collaborate with family services staff to support families in implementing family life practices extending learning into the home and meeting expectations for attendance.
Professional Growth and Collaboration
- Participate in ongoing reflective coaching and self-assessment;
- Work with assistant teacher grade team leadership team and other staff to analyze data revise practices norm on team-wide initiatives share persistent information and discuss individual students with a solutions-oriented mindset.
Health and Safety
- Establish and maintain a safe healthy learning environment including full supervision of children at all times in accordance with Head Start and childcare licensing requirements;
- Conduct daily health/safety monitoring of the environment;
- Follow all health and hygiene practices including hand-washing sanitizing and universal precautions;
- Supervise mealtimes and family style dining with children;
- Maintain required documentation.
- Additional duties related to the running of the school as assigned.
Qualifications
Education Qualifications - Eligible Head Start Early Childhood Lead Teachers must meet one of the following three criteria to fulfill the education requirement:
- 1) Bachelors Degree State Teaching Certification: Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field AND a valid NYS Teaching Certification OR
- 2) Bachelors Degree Experience: A Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field AND two years of supervised documented teaching experience in a preschool program OR
- 3) Approved Study Plan: On track to meet qualification 1 or 2 with proof of enrollment in a college program and a timeline to complete within 18 months of hire AND one of the following: an Associates Degree in early childhood education 90 college credits plus one year of classroom experience teaching PreK-2nd grade OR a Bachelors Degree in any subject plus one year of classroom experience up to 3rd grade.
Additional Qualifications
- At least 2 years of Pre-K classroom teaching experience strongly preferred;
- NYS Certification in Early Childhood Education strongly preferred;
- Bilingual (Spanish) preferred;
- Demonstrated computer literacy skills (Google Suite Microsoft Suite etc.);
- A desire to make a difference in the lives of our students families and community;
- A desire and ability to receive and implement feedback;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills including the ability to communicate effectively with various audiences (including colleagues students families);
- A commitment to working with diverse populations of families and students;
- A strong belief in the mission and values of DREAM including the desire to make a difference in the lives of our students families and community;
- Obtain and maintain certification in CPR and first aid;
- A physical exam fingerprinting and a federal background check are required for this position.
Working Expectations
- On-site work 5 days a week.
- General on-site hours are 7:45-4:15pm though some earlier or later hours to support the running of the school will be required as needed.
- For our Mott Haven and Highbridge locations ideal start date is June 8 2026.
- For our East Harlem location ideal start date is August 1 2026.
Physical Demands of the Position
- This section describes the physical requirements that are necessary to successfully perform the essential responsibilities and functions of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.
- Frequent movement including standing walking sitting and transitioning between floor and standing positions.
- Ability to lift carry push pull or position items up to 50 pounds.
- Ability to engage in activities at child level including bending kneeling crouching and sitting on the floor.
- Ability to receive and respond to oral communication with students and adults in both quiet and active environments.
- Ability to reach with hands and arms and use hands and fingers to handle objects and operate tools computers and/or controls.
Benefits and Paid Time Off
- We offer comprehensive benefits including:
- Flexible Medical Health Plans subsidizing the majority of costs for the employee their spouse/domestic partner and children;
- The ability to select between a variety of medical plans according to what best suits the employees needs;
- Dental and vision plans;
- Disability benefits;
- Life insurance;
- Up to 12 weeks fully paid of Parental Leave;
- Flexible spending account options;
- Pre-tax commuter benefits (parking and transit);
- Fitness and entertainment discounts;
- A variety of support through our employee assistance program (EAP);
- 403(b) retirement plan with employer match starting at 4% after one year with increases tied to DREAM tenure;
- Referral performance and tenure milestones bonuses;
- Discounted school meals through our in-house Scratch Food Program;
- Tuition reimbursement support;
- Access to a professional development fund;
- School-based Head Start staff have approximately 50 days off throughout thecalendaryear including holidays school breaks and personal days.
- Benefits are subject to change.
Compensation
- The salary range for incoming Early Childhood Lead Teachers is $75000 to $100000. New Early Childhood Lead Teacher salaries are determined based on the number of years of experience as a teacher.
- Additional compensation is added for incoming Early Childhood Lead Teachers with Masters degrees in Early Childhood education.
- Early Childhood LeadTeachers are eligible for annual salary increases; salaries for Early Childhood Lead Teachers who continue on at DREAM can exceed the incoming Early Childhood Lead Teacher band above.
DREAM Maxims
All Kids Can. This Kid Can.
DREAM is Family.
Fun is a Serious Value.
Teamwork Makes the DREAM Work.
Fail. Persist. Exceed.
DREAM Big.
Applying to DREAM
We know applying for a new job can be a daunting addition studies have shown that historically underrepresented individuals often only apply to roles if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage all applications! You may be just the person we need. If you have any questions about your application or interview process do not hesitate to ask your recruiter; we are here to help!
DREAM provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local laws. If accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please contact your recruiter.
If you are a current DREAM employee please click here to review our Internal Selection Process before applying.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process such as reviewing applications analyzing resumes or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed please contact us.
Required Experience:
IC
About Company
Schools where your child is known, seen, and loved. A community where your family becomes our family. Welcome to DREAM Charter Schools. Welcome home.
