| Job Description |
Title: Preschool Teacher
Reports to: Preschool Director and Assistant Preschool Director
Status: Regular Part Time
2024-25 preschool year openings:
-
- Monday-Thursday Afternoon Class
- Approximately 20 hours/week
- Hours: Noon-4:30pm Monday-Thursday + every other Friday afternoon staff meetings
- Monday/Wednesday Full Day Class and Forest Fridays
- Approximately 25 hours/week
- Hours: 8:00am-4:45pm Monday and Wednesday and 8:00-1:30pm on Fridays without staff meetings and 8:00am-3:30pm on Fridays with staff meetings
- Option to do Monday/Wednesday Full Day with or without Forest Friday schedule
Classification: Non-exempt
Term: Staff in-service in August and Sept-May school year - with opportunities for summer and school break employment
Position Summary:
Hartley Nature Preschool teachers are caring, compassionate educators who work as a team to fulfill the nature center’s mission of inspiring life-long connections with nature through education, play, and exploration while supporting the whole child’s development. Teaching teams are crafted so that staff members provide a balance of early childhood and environmental education and complement each other in their abilities.
About Us:
Hartley Nature Preschool (HNP) is a program of Hartley Nature Center (HNC), a non-profit, environmental learning center located within the 600+ acre city-owned Hartley Park in Duluth, MN. Governed by a board of directors, HNC has a talented and dynamic staff of full and part-time educators and administrative support staff. HNC provides environmental education programs for thousands of children and adults each year. A 5,200 sq. ft. building expansion was completed in the fall of 2022 and allowed all areas of Hartley programming to expand. Hartley Nature Preschool opened in September 2014 with 62 children enrolled in 4 class sessions. In September 2024, HNP is expected to enroll approximately 100 children across 8 class sessions. HNP is open September-May with both full day and half day sessions for children ages 3-5. Class size is 15-16 children with two teachers. Much of each session is spent playing and learning outdoors in Hartley Park with a focus on child-led free play in and with nature.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Teachers work together with their co-teacher(s) to:
- Assure compliance with all MN Rule 3 licensing requirements
- Continuously assess and manage health and safety risks indoors and outdoors
- Create a welcoming, joyful, safe, caring, and inclusive indoor/outdoor preschool environment for all
- Compassionately meet the developmentally appropriate needs of all 3-5 year old children. This includes helping children with toileting, wiping noses, dressing and undressing for toileting and outdoor play, assisting children with snacks and meals, providing rest time, etc
- Foster each child’s development and learning through age-appropriate, effective, and joyful learning experiences, with special attention to environmental education, nature play, social-emotional development, and current best practices in early childhood education
- Seek to understand, respond to, and support all children’s individual identities, strengths, needs and differences
- Track the development of individual children, assess needs, and plan based on those needs
- Foster respectful, collaborative, culturally responsive relationships with families as partners in their children’s education through ongoing communication via emails, meetings, conferences, and events
- Collaborate with other professionals, such as IEP service providers, to support children’s development and needs
- Plan, prepare for, and conduct family/teacher conferences twice per school year and family meetings as requested
Teachers individually:
- Welcome, supervise, and mentor other adults in the classroom including educational assistants, interns, practicum students, student teachers, AmeriCorps members, visiting researchers, college students, and volunteers
- Play an active role in the operation of the preschool through regular staff meetings, events, in-service training and orientation
- Lead teachers: mentor assistant preschool teachers in partnership with program administrators as assistant teachers develop their nature preschool teaching skills including communicating challenges and concerns with families, managing challenging behaviors, etc
- Assistant teachers: work in partnership with the lead teacher and program administrators to develop and enhance nature preschool teaching skills, including communicating challenges and concerns with families, managing challenging behaviors, etc
- Commit to meeting all Parent Aware requirements for target rating level and to assisting with the Parent Aware rating process at the direction of the Preschool Director
- Commit to taking part in professional development opportunities as appropriate and as required by licensing
- Develop, implement, and assist with preschool and nature center family and special events as needed, including occasional evenings and weekends
- Other duties and tasks may be assigned as required. Supervisors can modify, change, or add to the duties of this description at any time without notice
Essential Qualifications:
- Qualifies as a lead teacher or assistant teacher as per MN Rule 3
- Experience teaching preschool-aged children
- Experience or background in environmental education or commitment to learning about early childhood environmental education
- Current certification in Pediatric First Aid and CPR, or willingness to pursue certification
- Must pass and maintain all required background checks
Preferred Education:
- Certification or degree in related field, such as Bachelor’s Degree of Arts, Master’s Degree, Associate’s Degree, Child Development Associate, etc
Essential Skills & Abilities:
- Ability to communicate and collaborate with families, teaching partners, supervisors, outside service providers, and the larger Hartley team
- Ability to work independently and to manage time effectively
- Regular attendance, reliability, and punctuality
- Solution-oriented and strengths-based mindset
- Demonstrate a positive and flexible attitude towards co-workers, children, families, and visitors
- Timely communication with supervisor(s) regarding absences, substitute teacher coverage, etc
- Ability to use technology to communicate with families and staff and to document and communicate children’s learning and development, including the following programs:
- Gmail and Google Suite
- Teaching Strategies Gold online assessment tool
- Willingness to support a continuous effort to build and sustain a diverse and welcoming working and learning environment for all Hartley participants, staff, families, and visitors
- Dedication to supporting Hartley Nature Center mission and to providing support to staff and program participants across programs as needed
Work Environment and Physical Demands:
- Active participation with children up to 8 hours per day indoors and outdoors, in all weather conditions, on difficult and varied terrain
- Must be able to occasionally lift up to 50 pounds
Hours and Benefits:
- Term: Mid-August through May
- Title and Compensation: Job title and compensation commensurate with experience as per Rule 3.
- Assistant Teacher hourly wage: $16.48
- Lead Teacher hourly wage: $17.51
- Hours: Hours per week vary based on employment agreement.
- 2024-25 preschool year dates: September 2, 2024-May 30, 2025
- Up to 40 hours per week required during orientation/staff training Aug. 12-30, 2024.
- Teaching/prep hours vary based on employment agreement
- Required staff meetings/training/planning/prep time approximately every other Friday from 1:30-3:30pm
- Additional hours may be available at the same pay rate for substitute teaching, supporting preschool classes, teaching school field trips, site visits,after school nature club, and camps at the discretion of the Preschool Director and/or Education Director
- Benefits: Vary based on employment agreement and status, but include PTO; flexible summer and school break work opportunities; priority registration and discounts for preschool and camp programs.
Hartley is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, creed, sexual orientation/identity/expression, marital status or familial status.
|
Nature Preschool Teacher
Posted: June 27, 2024 by icebergdev
Category: Hartley Nature Center
Title: Preschool Teacher
Reports to: Preschool Director and Assistant Preschool Director
Status: Regular Part Time
2024-25 preschool year openings:
Classification: Non-exempt
Term: Staff in-service in August and Sept-May school year - with opportunities for summer and school break employment
Position Summary:
Hartley Nature Preschool teachers are caring, compassionate educators who work as a team to fulfill the nature center’s mission of inspiring life-long connections with nature through education, play, and exploration while supporting the whole child’s development. Teaching teams are crafted so that staff members provide a balance of early childhood and environmental education and complement each other in their abilities.
About Us:
Hartley Nature Preschool (HNP) is a program of Hartley Nature Center (HNC), a non-profit, environmental learning center located within the 600+ acre city-owned Hartley Park in Duluth, MN. Governed by a board of directors, HNC has a talented and dynamic staff of full and part-time educators and administrative support staff. HNC provides environmental education programs for thousands of children and adults each year. A 5,200 sq. ft. building expansion was completed in the fall of 2022 and allowed all areas of Hartley programming to expand. Hartley Nature Preschool opened in September 2014 with 62 children enrolled in 4 class sessions. In September 2024, HNP is expected to enroll approximately 100 children across 8 class sessions. HNP is open September-May with both full day and half day sessions for children ages 3-5. Class size is 15-16 children with two teachers. Much of each session is spent playing and learning outdoors in Hartley Park with a focus on child-led free play in and with nature.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Teachers work together with their co-teacher(s) to:
Teachers individually:
Essential Qualifications:
Preferred Education:
Essential Skills & Abilities:
Work Environment and Physical Demands:
Hours and Benefits:
Hartley is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, creed, sexual orientation/identity/expression, marital status or familial status.
Title: Preschool Teacher
Reports to: Preschool Director and Assistant Preschool Director
Status: Regular Part Time
2024-25 preschool year openings:
Classification: Non-exempt
Term: Staff in-service in August and Sept-May school year - with opportunities for summer and school break employment
Position Summary:
Hartley Nature Preschool teachers are caring, compassionate educators who work as a team to fulfill the nature center’s mission of inspiring life-long connections with nature through education, play, and exploration while supporting the whole child’s development. Teaching teams are crafted so that staff members provide a balance of early childhood and environmental education and complement each other in their abilities.
About Us:
Hartley Nature Preschool (HNP) is a program of Hartley Nature Center (HNC), a non-profit, environmental learning center located within the 600+ acre city-owned Hartley Park in Duluth, MN. Governed by a board of directors, HNC has a talented and dynamic staff of full and part-time educators and administrative support staff. HNC provides environmental education programs for thousands of children and adults each year. A 5,200 sq. ft. building expansion was completed in the fall of 2022 and allowed all areas of Hartley programming to expand. Hartley Nature Preschool opened in September 2014 with 62 children enrolled in 4 class sessions. In September 2024, HNP is expected to enroll approximately 100 children across 8 class sessions. HNP is open September-May with both full day and half day sessions for children ages 3-5. Class size is 15-16 children with two teachers. Much of each session is spent playing and learning outdoors in Hartley Park with a focus on child-led free play in and with nature.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Teachers work together with their co-teacher(s) to:
Teachers individually:
Essential Qualifications:
Preferred Education:
Essential Skills & Abilities:
Work Environment and Physical Demands:
Hours and Benefits:
Hartley is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, creed, sexual orientation/identity/expression, marital status or familial status.