Child Care Center Teacher

Santa Fe College; Gainesville (FL); On-site; USD 29,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition waivers

Health insurance

Dental & vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Paid vacation & sick leave

20 paid holidays

Zoo access

Planetarium access

Gainesville discounts

Job summary

Santa Fe College Little School is seeking a Child Care Center Teacher to support toddlers and preschoolchildren in a safe, nurturing environment. You will help implement weekly lesson plans and promote development across social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and language domains.

The role offers full-time employment with comprehensive benefits, including tuition waivers, fully funded health insurance, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, and paid leave, along with discounts in

Qualifications

• High school diploma and CDA/FCCPC within first year or pursuing an AS in Early Childhood.
• Preferred AS in Early Childhood with six months’ experience in an early learning center.
• Background check and FL Clearinghouse screening required.

Responsibilities

• Assist in planning and implementing weekly lesson plans aligned with developmental goals.
• Use teaching strategies to build on what children already know.
• Support potty training, self-help, and language development for transition to preschool.
• Model empathy, self-control, and problem-solving in peer interactions.
• Document observational data across developmental domains.
• Communicate with parents and inform Senior Teacher of concerns in meetings.

Skills

Multicultural environment

Adaptability to change

Communication

Critical thinking

Customer service

Ethics

Organization & time management

Problem solving

Relationship management

Results orientation

Detail oriented

Multi-tasking

Education

High school diploma

CDA or FCCPC within first year

AS in Early Childhood

DCF Child Care Facility Training Requirements

Job description

Compensation

$32,436.00 Annual

Job Description Summary

The application deadline for this position is 11:59pm EST onOctober 20, 2026.

At the Santa Fe College Little School, toddlers and preschoolchildren thrive in a safe, nurturing, and engaging learningenvironment, which also serves as a supervised training ground foraspiring childhood educators. As the Child Care Center Teacher, youplay a pivotal role in fostering the growth and development ofthese young learners.

As a full-time employee, the Child Care Center Teacher enjoyscomprehensive benefits, including employee and dependent tuitionwaivers for SF and UF, fully funded health insurance, dental andvision coverage options, retirement investment, paid vacation andsick leave, and a minimum of 20 paid holidays, along with variousdiscounts in Gainesville, including free access to the SF TeachingZoo and Planetarium.

The salary for this position is $32,436 annually at the hourly rateof $15.59.

Job Description

Responsibilities and Duties Include:

• Assists the Senior Child Care Center Teacher in planning andimplementing weekly lesson plans centered on age appropriatedevelopmental and educational goals.
• Utilizes teaching strategies that build on and extend whatchildren already know.
• Helps children acquire the necessary skills for transitioningto preschool, such as potty training, self-help skills, andlanguage skills.
• Facilitates child-to-child interactions with the goal of teaching and modeling problem solving skills and demonstratesappropriate and safe teacher-to-child interaction.
• Models and teaches empathy building, impulse control, andemotion management for children.
• Helps children gain self-control, self-confidence, and positiveself-esteem by using relationship building techniques.
• Builds developmental skills with children across social,emotional, physical, cognitive, and language domains.
• Records observational and developmental data for each child ineach domain of development.
• Informs the Senior Child Care Center Teacher of any concernsregarding children or parents and, in conjunction with the Senior, communicates with parents in both informal and formal meetings todiscuss concerns when necessary.
• Participates in regularly scheduled staff professionaldevelopment meetings.
• Keeps the bulletin boards appealing and appropriate for youngchildren.
• Maintains classroom materials in an organized, clean, andaccessible manner.
• Keeps a record of operating procedures and may share positionspecific knowledge, including use of collegewide ERP and relatedsystem processes, by providing guidance on standard operations andestablished departmental procedures as needed.
• Provides service to the college through participation inevents, committees, and other college activities.
• Complies with all published College Rules, procedures,guidelines, and laws/regulations governing public employees,including but not limited to those related to document retentionand destruction, FERPA, and confidentiality.
• Strictly honors the privacy, security, and confidentiality ofrecords and other sensitive information according to appropriatestate, federal, and college regulations, policies, andprocedures.
• Provides service excellence through courteous, informed,accessible, and professional engagement.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required: A high school diploma with some previousexperience working with young children . Must obtain a CDA or FCCPCwithin the first year of employment or be working toward an A.S. inEarly Childhood.

Additional Requirements: A criminal background check and FLClearinghouse screening will be conducted. For more information onFL Clearinghouse screenings, please visit https://info.flclearinghouse.com .

Preferred: A .S. in early childhood with at least six (6)months of experience working with children in an early learningcenter. Completion of DCF Child Care Facility TrainingRequirements.

General Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to work successfully in a multi-culturalenvironment.
• Adaptability to Change – able to be flexible and supportive,able to positively and proactively assimilate change in rapidgrowth environment.
• Communication – able to effectively communicate in aprofessional, diplomatic, empathetic, and tactful manner usingpreferred method and level as applicable to the job.
• Critical Thinking & Judgement - able to make well-reasoned,sensible, and timely decisions based on careful, objective reviewand informed analysis of available information, considerations, andother factors.
• Customer Service – ability to respond promptly and courteouslyto all questions from parents, students, and faculty, demonstratingpatience and persistence.
• Ethics – able to demonstrate integrity, professionalism,civility, and a high degree of ethics in all job-relatedactions.
• Organization & Time Management – able to plan, schedule,and organize tasks related to the job to achieve goals within orahead of established time frames.
• Problem Solving – proven skills in identifying issues,determining their cause, developing creative solutions, andfollowing through with implementing resolutions.
• Relationship Management – able to personally provide high levelof interactive service to others, building relationships andaddressing identified needs.li>
• Results Orientation – proven ability to set and exceedestablished targets.
• Detail Oriented - Proven accuracy and attention todetail.
• Multi-task - Ability to expeditiously organize, coordinate,manage, prioritize, and perform multiple tasks simultaneously toswiftly assess a situation, determine a logical course of action,and apply the appropriate response.

If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS),please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will beaffected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Yourcurrent retirement benefits may be canceled, suspended or deemedineligible depending upon the date of yourretirement.

Santa Fe College (SF) is committed to maintaining a work andeducational environment that embraces diversity and where no memberof the college community is excluded from participation in, deniedthe benefits of, or subject to discrimination in any collegeprogram or activity based on: their race, ethnicity, nationalorigin, color, religion, age, disability, sex, pregnancy status,gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, geneticinformation, political opinions or affiliations, or veteran status.This commitment applies to employees, volunteers, students, and, tothe extent possible, to third parties, applicants for admission,applicants for employment, and the general public. sfcollege.edu/eaeo

Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies or concerns aboutdiscrimination or harassment, including concerns about sexualharassment or sexual violence under Title IX, should be directedto: [e-mail]

Santa Fe College reserves the right to extend deadlines and/or notto offer advertised positions. Preference will be given to eligibleveterans and spouses of veterans.