Lead Teacher
About Us:
Day Nursery is the oldest child care provider in the state of Indiana, and is one of the few non-profit child care agencies in the Indianapolis area. Day Nursery was created in 1899 by the Kings Daughters Society who had provided clothing and food baskets to needy families. Wishing to expand their service, the Kings Daughters established Day Nursery to provide care for the children of working mothers. By 1940, modern child care standards were established, and as the need for quality child care grew, Day Nursery's programs and services became recognized as the "standard bearer" of early childhood excellence.
Lead Teacher Summary:
Plans and implements activities which are designed to develop a range of social, cognitive, and/or motor skills for individual and/or groups of preschool aged children, working within a child care center, classroom, or field environment. Supervises and trains student employees and/or staff engaged in the care of children and development activities.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
A. Child/Family Interactions
Teachers interact with children and families of all backgrounds in a positive manner, modeling equality and respect, and supporting communication in the families’ home languages. They provide a variety of activities that allow all children to participate, as well as encourage their independence. Teachers also respond positively to children who are angry and frustrated, modeling problem solving skills, and helping children understand the rules and expected behaviors. They provide both comfort when needed, and praise for successes. Finally, Teachers develop lasting relationships with families by greeting them each day, providing ways for them to be involved, and communicating the child’s progress.
B. Curriculum, Observation and Planning
Lead Teachers must supervise children at all times, ensuring ratios are always met. Lead teachers are responsible for planning and implementing a variety of age-appropriate activities daily. These planned activities should do all of the following: encourage children to think, reason, question, and experiment; promote health, safety and nutrition; enhance physical development; encourage creative expression; encourage literacy and language development; promote the acquisition of number concepts; foster positive self-concepts; develop social skills; provide culturally diverse experiences; provide opportunities for children to learn to resolve conflicts; provide both indoor and outdoor learning experiences. Lead Teachers also use a variety of media and technology to enrich the curriculum and extend learning. Lead Teachers vary their instructional strategies based on children’s differing abilities, learning styles, interests, and temperaments. They follow the daily schedule, providing consistency in routines, but still allow variations to accommodate individual needs of children, paying particular attention to transitional times in the classroom. Teachers also ensure our interest centers in the classrooms are organized and well equipped for daily use by children, incorporating new items to accommodate new interests and new skills. Lead Teachers conduct observations on children regularly, and use those observations to plan new activities each week. Finally, Lead Teachers supervises assistants and volunteers working in the classroom, ensuring all policies and procedures are followed.
C. Classroom Environment
Lead Teachers maintain a quality classroom environment that is clean and organized, as well as equipped with a wide variety of safe, age-appropriate equipment and materials consistently accessible on low open shelves and organized in well-defined interest areas. Literacy is promoted through curriculum, displays, and classroom activities. Teachers create an environment that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but welcoming to the children and families, including family pictures as well as their own artwork displayed where children can see them. Lead Teachers also maintain compliance with all safety procedures ensuring the health and safety of all children. Teachers arrange the classroom to accommodate individual children, small groups, and large group areas.
Full Time Employee Benefits:
- Up to 18 days of paid vacation per year that begins accruing after 90 days.
- 20 hours of paid training each year.
- 401(K) savings opportunities with an employer match of up to 5% after 1 year.
- Life and disability insurance at no cost to you after 1 year of service.
- 40 - 60% discount on child care rates.
- 8 paid holidays per year.
- Medical, vision, and dental benefits
- Health Savings Account w/ Employer Contribution
- Tuition Assistance Opportunities for Early Childhood Education coursework.