Kindergarten Teacher, Alpha - $120,000/year USD

Alpha School; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Benefits for full-time employees

Job summary

Alpha School is hiring a Kindergarten Guide to coach K-3 students in life skills, confidence, and resilience. This on-site role emphasizes mentorship over traditional lectures, using adaptive software and Coachbot analytics to track progress.

You will lead workshops, coach individuals and small groups, and tailor your approach to each cohort while maintaining high expectations and supportive relationships to help children reach ambitious goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in any subject.
• At least 3 years of experience working directly with children ages 4-9.
• Experience leading group activities for young children with clear structure.
• Track record of motivating young children to achieve goals with concrete examples.
• Comfort using AI-powered learning and coaching rather than traditional teaching.

Responsibilities

• Lead engaging life-skills workshops for K-3 students.
• Coach students one-on-one and in small groups using analytics and motivation systems.
• Assess life-skill mastery through Alpha's framework and ensure real understanding.
• Adapt coaching style to developmental needs and use storytelling and movement when needed.
• Build strong relationships to encourage students to stretch beyond expectations.

Skills

Coaching

Life skills

Group activities

Storytelling

AI-powered learning

Education

Bachelor's degree in any subject

Job description

"This is not a school that is replacing teachers. This is not a threat to teachers in any way, shape, or form. This is reimagining what a teacher can be."

— Sam DePalo, Lead Guide, Alpha Fort Worth Texas

Alpha is hiring.

The lesson is already built. The AI already knows what to teach. Your job is to make a child believe they can do something they didn't think was possible. At Alpha, students complete their academic work in just two hours a day using adaptive learning technology. That frees Guides to focus on the work that changes lives: building confidence, resilience, communication, and the motivation to tackle hard things. You won't spend your day delivering lessons from the front of a classroom. You'll spend it coaching students through challenges, celebrating wins, and showing them what high standards feel like when they're paired with genuine belief.

This role isn't for someone looking to deliver curriculum or manage a classroom in the traditional sense. It's for someone who loves motivating young children, thrives on measurable outcomes, and believes the right coach can change a child's trajectory. As a kindergarten teacher, you already know how to read a five- or six-year-old, build routines they trust, and keep a room of young children engaged—here, that same instinct is pointed at coaching and life skills instead of delivering lessons.

This is a full-time, on-site role at one of Alpha's campuses. We recruit nationally, so job boards may display this opportunity in nearby cities that do not have a campus.

Current openings are available in Palo Alto, Malibu, and San Francisco, CA.

What You Will Be Doing

• Lead engaging life-skills workshops that help K-3 students master communication, focus, feedback, and other durable skills through active participation rather than lectures.
• Coach students one-on-one and in small groups, using Coachbot analytics, proven motivation systems, and strong relationships to keep every child on track for ambitious weekly learning goals.
• Assess life-skill mastery through Alpha's Test2Pass framework, coaching students until they demonstrate real understanding—not just participation.
• Adapt your coaching style to the developmental needs of your cohort, whether that means songs, movement, and storytelling for younger learners or higher independence and accountability for older students.
• Build the kind of relationships where students feel supported enough to stretch beyond what they thought they could achieve.

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Standing at a whiteboard teaching academic lessons. Students learn academics through adaptive software.
• Writing curriculum from scratch. You'll improve and personalize proven playbooks instead of inventing lessons.
• Watching students work silently on computers. Your role is active coaching, motivation, and connection.
• Lowering expectations when students struggle. Success comes from helping students rise to the goal, not moving the goal closer.
• Managing homework, grading papers, or handling routine parent communication.

Kindergarten Teacher Key Responsibilities

Create a cohort of K-3 students who love coming to school, consistently achieve ambitious learning goals, and master the life skills that prepare them to thrive long after elementary school.

Basic Requirements

• Willing to work on-site at one of Alpha's campuses. Current openings are available in Palo Alto, Malibu, and San Francisco, CA. Relocation assistance is available.
• Bachelor's degree in any subject.
• At least 3 years of experience working directly with children ages 4-9 through teaching, coaching, tutoring, camps, youth programs, or similar environments.
• Experience leading group activities for young children, with a concrete example of the structure or routine you used and how you kept the group engaged.
• A track record of motivating young children to achieve challenging goals, with specific examples of your impact.
• A concrete example of changing your approach based on feedback and the result.
• Comfort using AI-powered learning while focusing your own energy on coaching, motivation, and life-skill development.
• The ability to balance warmth with unwavering expectations and keep young children engaged through energetic storytelling.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Experience in youth sports, children's theater, camp leadership, Montessori, progressive education, or high-engagement after-school programs.
• Personal experience achieving ambitious goals in academics, athletics, or your career.
• Evidence of helping reluctant or shy children become confident, engaged participants.

Join the team building school around student growth

Alpha reimagines the school day around faster learning, stronger mentorship, and more time for students to build real-world skills.

Roles with real student impact:

Alpha hires teachers (guides), operators, admissions experts, school & curriculum leaders, and remote team members.

Education work that pays like it matters:

Alpha offers six-figure roles for people ready to help build a radically better school experience.

A culture built for builders:

Alpha is fast-moving, ambitious, and student focused. It’s for people who want to improve the system, not maintain it.

Alpha is where you can do the most meaningful work of your career.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited.

Working with us

This is a full-time, W2 employee position with immediate access to benefits (https://support.crossover.com/article/7581