Lead Preschool Teacher

Job title: Lead Teacher - Preschool

Reports to: Early Education Director

Department: Early Education Center

Type: Full Time

Background on UTEC, Inc.

UTEC’s promise is to ignite and nurture the ambition of our most disengaged youth to trade violence and poverty for social and economic success. UTEC’s outcomes-focused model begins with intensive street outreach, reaching proven high-risk youth where they’re at. UTEC engages youth in workforce development and educational programs and provides mental health services and intensive case management. Social justice and civic engagement are embedded in all programming. For more info, please visit www.utecinc.org.

UTEC is committed to its vision for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion which pledges to honor the lived experiences and expertise of individuals; create community and celebration of cultures; challenge all forms of oppression; and embody a culture that leans into discomfort and recognizes it as a growth opportunity. UTEC is dedicated to fair and equitable compensation practice, the health, mental health, and overall well-being of young adults and staff and to creating an environment that supports work-life balance and the individual and professional growth of all.

Job Summary

UTEC seeks an experienced and caring Lead Preschool Teacher to teach in the UTEC Early Education Center. Our center is designed to serve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers whose parents are enrolled in our Workforce Development and Social Enterprise program. You would be part of an innovative, big-thinking organization whose mission is to help young adults and their children attain social and economic success.

As a Lead Preschool Teacher, you will work with a team of co-teachers to implement effective educational practices. The center promotes developmentally appropriate, constructivist, and play-based learning with a focus on social emotional, cognitive, physical, and communication development. All teachers prioritize creating a warm and loving educational setting as they implement planned activities in all domains, including Social-Emotional, Language, Sensory, Creative Arts, Science, Math, Fine Motor, Gross Motor and Cognitive Skills. Overall, this position will play a key leadership role in the center’s Preschool classroom.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Create and implement a developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive curriculum that engages children
• Work with co-teachers in developing and implementing lesson plans and daily activities
• Welcome families into the classroom and promote family engagement
• Maintain a safe and positive program
• Exhibit a warm, engaged attitude toward the children in the classroom and their parents
• Take a prosocial approach to working with individuals as well as groups of children
• Implement assessment tools for the purposes of evaluating individual child progress, as well as the effectiveness of different teaching strategies
• Encourage problem-solving and self-help skills in children
• Use redirection, logical consequences, and natural consequences to guide children
• Offer reminders and choices to children to foster their positive self-esteem development
• Maintain program equipment, supplies, and physical environment, including daily clean up and proper use of materials
• Implement special event programs for parents and the school community
• Respond immediately to the individual needs of children and families
• Participate in staff meetings
• Regularly approve timesheets of direct reports
• Manage the performance review process for direct reports
• Participate in at least 25 hours of professional development training annually
• Maintain current first aid and CPR certification and ensure equipment/kits/materials are maintained and available
• Follow all company and state policies and procedures

Required Skills/Abilities

• Perspective Taking: Comfortable working in a diverse environment and considers divergent opinions.
• Coachable: Open to feedback and personal and professional improvement.
• Commitment: Genuinely cares about children’s and families’ success.
• Team Player: Upholds UTEC’s mission, values and vibe.
• Child-Focused: Makes decisions with children’s interest at the center.
• Family-Focused: Truly believes that guardians and parents are partners in children’s learning and demonstrates warmth, friendliness and care toward families. Direct experience working with 17-25 year olds is also highly valued.
• Sense of Humor: Ability to laugh at oneself is a must!
• Comfortable working with all ages.

Education and Experience

• Must have a Department of EEC “Lead Teacher” certification for Preschool classrooms, or be “Teacher” certified with the ability to become “Lead Teacher” certified in Preschool classrooms.
• Must have at least 2 years of successful experience teaching in a toddler or preschool classroom
• Experience in an Early Head Start setting or willing to learn.
• Curriculum development and lesson planning experience strongly preferred.
• Experience teaching under the Reggio framework is a plus.
• Must have an Bachelor’s Degree and 30 or more college credits in ECE

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift small children ages infant through preschool

Salary/Benefits: $48,500-$55,000 plus benefits, commensurate with experience. UTEC offers a competitive benefits package that starts with 4 weeks of vacation (3 standard for all new employees and a week of agency-wide wellness closure between the Christmas and New Year holidays), 12 holidays, 10 sick days, 2 personal days, and health, dental and vision insurance. We also offer life insurance, first time homeowners support, an annual cost of living increase, a 401-K retirement plan, a $1,200- $1,800 annual wellness fund, and professional development support. With time, benefits grow to include up to 6 weeks of vacation, 80% coverage of employee health and dental insurance costs and availability for a 3 week sabbatical.

Education & Certifications: Any current 2Gen staff member that receives any additional educational certifications, degrees, or additional licenses while they are employed will be eligible for a one-time bonus based on UTEC’s education bonus policy.

UTEC also stresses the importance of work-life balance and offers several wellness opportunities including additional time off (i.e. for the past two years we have closed at 3pm on Fridays during the summer months), an employee assistance program, down payment assistance for first time home buyers, parental leave, bereavement supports and unlimited free coffee! See more about our benefits here.

UTEC provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, UTEC complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. 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.