United Way for Greater Austin
Job Opportunity: Success By 6 Lead Pre-K Teacher
Department: Mission Advancement
Full-Time, Non-Exempt
Who we are:
United Way for Greater Austin brings people, ideas, and resources together to fight poverty in our community. We serve as a convener of powerful collaborative efforts that require our partners to identify interdependencies, align strengths, work together and track progress toward shared goals geared to close the socio-economic gap in Austin. Under our Success By 6 (SX6) early childhood initiative, United Way serves as the administrative hub for Pre-K Partnerships that expand Austin ISD Pre-K classrooms to community-based child development center (CDC) campuses with two primary goals – improving the quality of early learning for children from families with low income and improving the financial stability and sustainability of these programs.
Who we want:
The SX6 Lead Pre-K Teacher is a committed early childhood educator who brings a strong understanding of early childhood pedagogy and instructional practices in order to deliver high-quality and developmentally appropriate instruction to young children. As the SX6 Lead Pre-K Teacher, you will be responsible for planning and implementing engaging, culturally sensitive, and curriculum-aligned lesson plans in a Pre-K Partnership classroom at a child development center. You will facilitate supportive and responsive interactions between adults and children and adjust lessons to meet the individual needs of all children in the classroom. You will be trained to fully understand the goals of this new endeavor and, as a member of the CDC, you will work closely and collaboratively with the Partnership child development center to understand its culture and community.
The SX6 Lead Pre-K Teacher is a committed early childhood educator who brings a strong understanding of early childhood pedagogy and instructional practices in order to deliver high-quality and developmentally appropriate instruction to young children. As the SX6 Lead Pre-K Teacher, you will be responsible for planning and implementing engaging, culturally sensitive, and curriculum-aligned lesson plans in a Pre-K Partnership classroom at a child development center. You will facilitate supportive and responsive interactions between adults and children and adjust lessons to meet the individual needs of all children in the classroom. You will be trained to fully understand the goals of this new endeavor and, as a member of the CDC, you will work closely and collaboratively with the Partnership child development center to understand its culture and community.
Job Competencies:
- Mission focused and results driven. You’re committed to building better early childhood learning environments as a way to drive economic prosperity in our community. You don’t shy away from challenges as you work toward positive and measurable results.
- Values difference: Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.
- Lifelong learner: You seek out opportunities for professional growth and are continually refining your practice to reflect evidence based practices in early childhood.
- Warm and energetic. You have a positive outlook on the world and enjoy interacting with a wide variety of people in diverse settings
- An excellent communicator. You have an ability to listen actively and effectively communicate with colleagues and families. You value open dialogue and constructive feedback.
- A passionate advocate for early childhood education. You deeply believe in removing barriers that prevent children from achieving school readiness and you work to directly impact the educational outcomes of children, while supporting their families.
- Flexible: Willing to shift focus at a moment’s notice with emerging needs and comfortable with a degree of the unknown in our business.
What you’ll bring:
One of the following qualifications are required:
- Current Texas EC-6 certification; OR
- Bachelor’s degree in Child Development or Early Childhood Education; OR
- Bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field and meet one of the following additional qualifications:
- 12 credit hours of early childhood coursework (e.g. child development, curriculum, family engagement, health and safety) or a CDA
- Montessori certification through the Association of Montessori Internationale or Montessori Accreditation Council for teacher education
- At least 8 years of experience in an NAEYC accredited child care program
- At least 3 credit hours of early childhood coursework and be currently enrolled in a college-level, credit-bearing early childhood program, or in a CDA course of study through an approved provider
In addition, successful candidates will also:
- Demonstrated experience with administering and analyzing formative assessments
- Behavior management skills for addressing challenging behavior in the classroom
- Experience working with diverse populations is preferred.
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and families
Learn more: http://www.unitedwayaustin.org
Notice: The job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Management has the right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities at any time. UWATX is an “at-will” employer.
This position is located in Austin, Texas in a CDC classroom and will report to the Director (or designee) at the Partnership CDC site. United Way for Greater Austin does not directly operate Pre-K classrooms but oversees the program at multiple locations.