Waldorf Teachers.com - Waldorf Employment in Waldorf Schools

Position Description
Update: Feb 2022
Position Title: Early Childhood Lead Teacher
Classification: Exempt

The role of the Early Childhood Lead Teacher is to understand, develop, implement and maintain a program which embodies the core principles of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America. The child’s school experience will focus on play, movement, practical skills, artistic activities and exploring social relationships where each child’s unique capacities are nurtured


Essential Functions:
• Prepare a developmentally-appropriate Waldorf program and rhythm for indoors and outdoors in mixed age class (3.0-5.2 year olds) (3.5-6.2 year olds) by preparing and leading daily activities such as bodily care, circle, imaginative play, story & puppetry, handcrafts, painting, practical home-like activities, snack, and outdoor activities
• Foster each child’s growth through observation, study, documentation, activity, and Waldorf pedagogy guided by Anthroposophy
• Participate in enrollment, all-school, and festival activities and events
• Attend Early Childhood Teacher meetings and Faculty meetings each week
• Cultivate strong relationships with parents through regular communication, parent-teacher conferences, parent enrichment meetings, and end of year reports. Maintains positive relationships with parents and responds to concerns
• Develop and maintain a safe, harmonious, and nurturing environment for the children to learn and development. Guiding and redirecting children’s behavior while maintaining self-esteem.
• Develop and maintain a clean, orderly classroom environment


Competencies:
• Ability to teach and help foster young children’s development with the understanding that young children learn primary through imitation. Special attention is placed in bringing meaningful activities and movement, nourishing images and speech, and creating an environment imbued with joyfulness
• Ability to guide children toward independence, coordination, cooperation, social awareness, and a feeling of belonging to the group as a whole
• Work closely and cooperatively with early childhood faculty and maintains positive, professional relationships with all faculty and staff
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Works with mentor at least bi-weekly (weekly during 1st year of teaching)


Supervisory Responsibilities:
• Train and oversee work of the assistant teacher and provide on-going mentoring


Professional Work Environment:
• Competence with email, Zoom, Google, and general office equipment.
• Researches the curriculum and methodologies for working with young children
• Engages in on-going professional and personal growth. Maintain a high level of initiative for continuous learning and mentoring.
• Maintaining an openness to understand and work with the Anthroposophical underpinnings of Waldorf Education and child development
• The class teacher serves as the leader of the class community and oversees its educational, social and practical functions.


Physical Demands:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is very active and requires standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling, and climbing. The employee must frequently lift and/or move items up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.


Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:
• The school work calendar includes two weeks before and one week after the close of the academic year, and additional times as the school deems necessary.
• Employee's work extends beyond the scheduled school days to include open houses, work days, festivals, and community events.
• Employee will arrive at school by 7:45 a.m. and may leave after 3:15 on days when there are no meetings. Employee will work with their class from 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.


Education and Experience:

Required:
• Bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution
• Certification in Waldorf teacher training or agreement to obtain Waldorf Certification
• Experience and education (to be determined by the Faculty College).

Preferred:
• Waldorf teaching experience
• Other teaching experience


Other Duties:
• This job description does not cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.