Early Childhood Director

Young World Physical Education; Somerville (MA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking an Early Childhood Director to lead its PreK-2 initiatives. This role is pivotal in shaping a play-based, student-centered program that fosters academic and social-emotional growth for young learners. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and a deep understanding of early childhood education principles. You will collaborate with educators and families to ensure a thriving learning environment, manage operational systems, and promote a culture of continuous improvement. If you are passionate about early childhood education and dedicated to making a difference in students' lives, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of teaching experience in PreK-2 grades preferred.
• Experience in district/school-based leadership role required.
• Knowledge of Reggio or play-based early childhood programming preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead all PreK-2 campus initiatives and programs.
• Supervise and evaluate faculty and staff.
• Oversee the day-to-day functioning of the campus.

Skills

Leadership

Early Childhood Education

Instructional Design

Culturally Responsive Practices

Communication

Data-informed Decision Making

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Education

Master’s Degree in Education Leadership

Tools

Google Suite

Job description

Prospect Hill Academy Charter School Prospect Hill Academy: Early Childhood Campus - Somerville, Massachusetts Open in Google Maps

Early Childhood Director (ECD)

Prospect Hill Academy Charter School Prospect Hill Academy: Early Childhood Campus - Somerville, Massachusetts Open in Google Maps

Job Details

Job ID: 5136475
Application Deadline: Posted until filled
Posted: May 2, 2025

Starting Date: Jul 1, 2025

Job Description

The Early Childhood Director (ECD) leads all PreK-2 campus initiatives and programs, supervises/evaluates faculty and staff, and oversees the day-to-day functioning of the campus. The ECD is charged with ensuring the success of all 275 students and plays a critical role in achieving our campus’s ambitious strategic priorities and goals.

Vision and Leadership:

• Establish a shared vision for a play-based, student-centered, developmentally appropriate, Reggio Emilia-inspired early childhood program that effectively builds our youngest students’ academic and social-emotional skills and competencies
  
• Support all community members (faculty & staff, and families) in understanding this early childhood vision and approach, and ensure its faithful implementation

Essential Functions:
Instructional Leadership

• Establish a shared vision for a playful and developmentally appropriate Early Childhood program that effectively builds students’ academic and social-emotional skills and competencies
  
• Support all community members (faculty & staff, and families) in understanding and contributing to the implementation of a strong early childhood program, including engaging in data-informed decision making to improve systems and practices, in service of students’ developmentally appropriate social, emotional, and academic growth
  
• Ensure educators hold high expectations for all students and regularly design and deliver engaging, inclusive, developmentally appropriate, and rigorous instruction; oversee the refinement of instructional strategies in alignment with early childhood best practice
  
• In concert with curriculum coordinators, oversee and monitor Early Childhood-aligned curriculum development and implementation
  
• Provide effective professional learning opportunities and resources (including those that support the development of culturally and linguistically responsive practices), ensure their subsequent integration into practice, and promote a culture that affirms individual differences and actively supports success for all learners
  
• Provide effective and frequent feedback and support to all faculty and staff to ensure progress toward identified goals, and ensure that all faculty and staff participate in meaningful supervision and evaluation (including frequent informal and formal observations of practice, high-quality feedback, and a thorough year-end summative performance appraisal)
  
• Implement and oversee a robust system for monitoring student learning progress and designing action steps, at the school and classroom levels, that align with early childhood best practice
  
• Collaborate with campus and district system leaders to build effective Early Childhood programming, grow aligned best practices, and monitor progress
  
• Manage assessment, grading, and reporting systems and calendars
  
• Demonstrate impact on student learning

Management & Operations:

• Create a shared understanding of classroom culture development that aligns with Early Childhood best practice
  
• Support the community to identify the routines and rituals that build strong developmentally appropriate classroom learning cultures; provide guidance and mentoring to ensure effective and consistent implementation.
  
• Establish and maintain transparent, consistent campus-wide routines, policies, and systems that respect and affirm students’ backgrounds, identities, intellect, and unique developmental needs
  
• Manage any daily disciplinary issues, including conducting investigations, coordinating service providers, following protocols, etc.
  
• Ensure that the response to emotional and behavioral disruptions is developmentally appropriate, restorative, and asset-based, and that the overall process includes proactive action planning focused on building competency and connection.
  
• Develop and oversee a robust multi-tiered system of support for students’ academic, social, and emotional development, including a clear vision, strong operational systems, procedures, and routines, and the robust family collaboration needed to ensure a safe and productive learning environment for all
  
• Provide professional learning and support to ensure students’ health, safety, and well-being
  
• Create and maintain an effective school schedule that aligns with the Early Childhood program vision and effectively addresses student and adult needs, as well as crucial program elements
  
• Oversee the recruitment and hiring of diverse and effective educators
  
• Understand and comply with state, federal, and district laws, mandates, and policies, and adhere to the district’s code of ethics and professionalism
  
• Develop and monitor school safety and crisis plans
  
• Work with the Facilities Manager and campus custodians to ensure the maintenance and cleanliness of the campus
  
• Adhere to DESE reporting responsibilities, including site visits and charter renewal
  
• Manage the campus budget

Family and Community Engagement:

• Provide a variety of frequent, inclusive, and culturally and linguistically responsive opportunities for all families to learn about and to engage as full partners in their children’s education
  
• Model and set clear expectations, and provide supports to educators, to ensure regular two-way communication and partnership with families that is respectful, culturally and linguistically responsive, and collaborative
  
• Ensure clear, frequent, and accessible communication from the campus and the classroom
  
• Ensure a close partnership with families on students’ social, emotional, and academic growth goals, as well as their sense of belonging and well-being
  
• Work to ensure that all families understand and have opportunities to inform school-based policies, as well as resources to support student learning and well-being
  
• Approach concerns raised by family members in a timely, effective, and transparent manner
  
• Represent Prospect Hill Academy at a range of events, including but not limited to, admissions open houses, faculty recruitment events, Board meetings, and athletic competitions
  
• Oversee the creation of a regular newsletter for distribution to the entire school community

Professional Culture:

• Establish and articulate a shared understanding of the vision for excellence, aligned with our PHA and Early Childhood vision
  
• Foster a strong professional culture characterized by an ethic of continuous improvement, a sense of shared ownership and commitment, and a passion for student success
  
• Foster a positive, inclusive, and equitable school community
  
• Create frequent and accessible opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and families to meaningful engage in collaboration and make contributions, in service of the campus mission, and support teacher and staff leadership
  
• Leverage a variety of strategies to include all voices and build consensus within the school community around critical school decisions
  
• Develop and maintain clear systems of two-way communication with all stakeholders
  
• Oversee the adherence of all staff to the district’s code of ethics and professionalism, as well as district and state laws, mandates, and policies, and partner closely with district leadership on personnel matters, as needed
  
• Strategically respond to disagreement and dissent in ways that build trust, mitigate power dynamics, and repair harm, while maintaining a commitment to decisions that are in the best interest of promoting equity and advancing student well-being.

NOTE: This list of essential and additional functions is not intended to be all-inclusive and may be supplemented at the request of one’s supervisor and/or senior management.

Additional Functions:

• Collaborate regularly with other campus-based and PreK-12 leaders to ensure coherence of vision, program, and approach
  
• Additional responsibilities and tasks requested or assigned by the Head of School or Designee

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience Required:

• A minimum of 3-5 years of teaching experience in PreK-2 grades (Early Childhood) is highly preferred
  
• Experience in district/school-based leadership role required, 3 years in PK-2 setting preferred
  
• Strong understanding of Early Childhood programming and instructional design; knowledge of Reggio or play-based early childhood programming preferred
  
• Experience providing professional feedback and supervisory coaching
  
• Bachelor's degree required; master’s degree strongly preferred in education/education leadership
  
• Massachusetts licensure as Principal/Assistant Principal required, or on track for completion
  
• Understanding and familiarity with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and the Common Core standards
  
• Knowledge of the relevant policies and procedures of the Massachusetts Department of Education
  
• Commitment to Prospect Hill Academy's educational mission, vision, and values
  
• Commitment to working with students and families from diverse backgrounds with diverse profiles
  
• Well-developed and demonstrated cultural proficiency
  
• High degree of flexibility and responsiveness in the face of challenge
  
• Passionate about collaboration with colleagues and supervisors
  
• Willingness to work collaboratively with a dedicated faculty and staff and involved families
  
• Strong personal, organizational, and time-management skills
  
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate clearly in oral and written form with students, staff, and community members
  
• Experience integrating Restorative Justice practices into classroom management and school culture systems
  
• Ability to build teams, promote collaboration, manage conflict, set goals, and hold people accountable
  
• Fluency in Google suite of applications

Physical Requirements:

• Frequent sitting, standing, walking, reaching with hands and arms to stoop, kneel, or crouch
  
• Regularly required to operate a computer and other office equipment with hands and arms and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
  
• Frequent lifting and/or moving up to 10 pounds and occasionally lifting and/or moving up to 25 pounds.
  
• Occasional use of hands to handle or feel
  
• Occasional climbing or balancing
  
• Regular speaking and hearing; specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception

The above information outlines the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this position. It is not designed as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job; nor is it a contract for employment. The school will make reasonable accommodations as they relate to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Employment at the School is on an “Employment-At-Will” basis. In other words, you or the School may terminate employment for any reason and at any time, with or without notice. Similarly, the terms of employment outlined in this description are subject to change at any time.
Position Type: Full-time
Job Categories:

Administrator > Director/Coordinator/Manager

Welcome to Prospect Hill Academy: Early Childhood Campus

PHA's Early Childhood Campus is located in Somerville's Union Square and serves grades PK-2. The Early Childhood academic program is designed to provide developmentally appropriate, rigorous instruction to stimulate our students’ intellectual curiosity and provide the strong foundation of skills and knowledge required for continued academic success at the Upper Elementary, Middle School, and High School Campuses, and beyond. The Early Childhood curriculum is aligned with the Common Core Curriculum Frameworks and emphasizes critical thinking, collaborative learning, and the habits of mind of high achieving learners. Our teachers differentiate their instruction by designing multi-faceted lessons and units to accommodate each student’s learning style, current skill level, and interests in order to meet their academic needs and ensure that they reach their highest potential.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Prospect Hill Academy Charter School is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws.

Job Requirements

• Citizenship, residency or work visa required

Application Questions

There are no application questions required for this job posting.

Contact Information

• Please do NOT contact this employer regarding job postings that have closed.

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