Lead Teacher - Director Qualified

YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago; Naperville (IL); On-site; USD 39,499 - 48,276; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salaries

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance

Generous PTO and paid holidays

403(b) plan with company contributions after 2 years

Continuous learning opportunities

Family gym membership

Employee assistance programs

Job summary

A community-focused organization in Naperville is seeking a Lead Teacher to create a safe classroom for preschool children aged 2-5. The role involves preparing kids for kindergarten readiness through structured lesson planning and ensuring adherence to DCFS and YMCA policies. Candidates should have significant experience, relevant educational credentials, and a passion for fostering children's growth. With a salary of $43,888 and full-time benefits, this position offers opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Qualifications

• Minimum one year experience teaching in a preschool classroom strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of Illinois Early Learning Standards required.
• Pre-Employment medical screening and TB test per program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide a safe and supportive classroom for preschool children.
• Develop and implement lesson plans for children's growth.
• Maintain supervision and awareness of children's needs at all times.

Skills

Child development knowledge

Effective communication

Classroom management

Creative Curriculum implementation

Education

64 semester hours with 21 hours in child development or early childhood education

ECE Credential Level 1 or higher

Job description

As a Lead Teacher you are responsible for providing a safe and supportive classroom environment for preschool children ages 2-5 while preparing for kindergarten readiness. Using Creative Curriculum and Illinois Early Learning Standards, the Lead Teacher will write and implement a lesson plan that will support the growth and development in children's physical, emotional, cognitive, and social skills while ensuring developmentally appropriate practices. The Lead Teacher is also responsible for classroom management and supervision of children, learning, assessment and evaluations, as well as following policies set forth by DCFS and YMCA standards and policies, as applicable.

This position pays $43,888 per year with full-time benefits and opportunities to grow within the organization!

We are currently looking for someone who is Director Qualified.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries reflecting your skills and experience.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for eligible employees, plus wellness programs, mental health resources, and a family gym membership.
• Generous PTO and paid holidays, with flexible work hours for work-life balance.
• 403(b) plan with company contributions for eligible employees after 2 years of service.
• Continuous learning opportunities through workshops and training programs.
• Supportive work environment valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Discounts on programs, employee assistance programs, and company-sponsored events.

Scope of Responsibilities

• Promote and model high quality teaching and learning in the classroom that fosters kindergarten readiness.
• Demonstrate culturally and linguistically appropriate practices that values all children and families and makes them feel welcomed and an essential part of the program.
• Maintain awareness and supervision of children’s needs and ensure their physical health and safety, at all times.
• Communicate and develop effective partnerships with parents and families, encouraging parent involvement.
• Abide by DCFS and all quality standards for maintaining safe, high-quality programming.
• Collaborate regularly with classroom team including families, volunteers and all staff.
• Collect and use multiple data sources, both formative and summative, to inform instruction and child centered learning and development.
• Complete routine professional development annually; utilize continuous quality improvement (CQI); and identify different instructional resources and methods to meet children’s varying needs and improve the classroom experience for children and families.
• Participate and support association/center efforts towards recruitment, enrollment, attendance and retention of families while supporting the YMCA's mission and center operations as needed.

Lesson Planning and Classroom Management

• Develop lesson plans with goals, objectives, activities and outcomes for children that represent the Illinois Early Learning Standards.
• Implement high quality, developmentally appropriate instructional activities and curriculum approaches (like Creative Curriculum™) that facilitate active learning experiences and promote the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of each child; while ensuring the program follows DCFS, YMCA, ExceleRate Illinois™, and NAEYC accreditation standards, if applicable.
• Research, plan, and implement appropriate studies/projects for an in-depth investigation of a topic over time.
• Establish and maintain an attractive, clean, safe and engaging classroom environment which includes positive guidance techniques and that encourages children's independence and self-selection of activities.
• Leverage the physical environment and pedagogical documentation to support teaching and learning practices.
• Use observational and child data to plan developmentally appropriate and engaging early learning experiences based upon the emergent needs of the child.
• Document observations and maintain child portfolios to aid in assessments.

Requirements

• Must meet DCFS licensing, and program related accreditation/credentialing requirements; ECE Credential Level 1 or higher preferred.
• 64 semester hours in any discipline with a minimum of 21 hours of college credit in child development, early childhood education or early childhood special education AND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
  • Gateways to Opportunity Level I Illinois Director Credential
  • OR 3 semester hours of college credit in administration, leadership or management
  • OR 3 points of credential-approved training in administration, leadership or management.
• One year experience teaching or equivalent in a preschool classroom strongly preferred.
• Must provide documentation of Gateways credentialing or apply within 90 days of employment.
• Knowledge of how to design and implement the Creative Curriculum and other high quality curriculum approaches preferred.
• Pre-Employment medical screening and TB test per program requirements.
• Required to achieve or maintain Food Handlers Training once in role.

Child Abuse Prevention

Supports the YMCA’s commitment to child abuse prevention by:

• Reporting any items that may provide a health or safety hazard to staff, members or guests to your supervisor.
• Following all policies and procedures related to keeping children safe in our facilities and programs, including those related to the monitoring and supervision of children.
• Reporting any suspicious behavior and violation of policy and procedures to your supervisor.
• Completing all child abuse prevention training as required.