Early Childhood (PK3-PK4) Lead Teacher - Chinese

Job Description

Job DescriptionPosition: Early Childhood Chinese Lead TeacherRate: Up to $50 per hour

Overview:

The classroom lead teacher serves as a primary instructional leader, significantly influencing the lives of children. They are dedicated to fostering a student-centered learning environment that respects each child's culture and identity, enabling them to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

In early childhood education, students will engage in content areas taught in the partner language for approximately 90% of the school day, while early literacy and math skills will be instructed in English for about 10% of the day. The lead language teacher will deliver all content in the partner language—either Mandarin Chinese or Spanish—while also serving as an instructional model. Simultaneously, the lead English teacher will focus on teaching literacy and math skills to all students.

Together, these educators will collaborate to create a warm and inviting learning atmosphere, build strong relationships with students and families, design and implement effective lessons within a liberating classroom environment, analyze data for instructional planning, and participate actively in the school community. Under the direct supervision of the Director of Teaching & Learning, lead teachers will work closely with leadership team members to address student and family needs while developing and executing plans aligned with the school's mission, vision, and pillars, all while ensuring high-quality dual language instruction is delivered effectively.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

School Mission and Vision

• Implement a shared school mission and vision to promote each student’s social, emotional, and academic development
• Actively participate in data-driven instruction and methods of continuous improvement to ensure we meet the needs of each student
• Reinforce the mission with students and families, inspiring them to act on the mission every single day
• Reflect on instructional practices and adjust behavior and systems accordingly: ask regularly for feedback; model humility and admit mistakes; seek out thought partners; and, engage in professional learning
• Collaborates with support teachers and other staff to ensure proper and consistent implementation of our instructional program

Equitable and Inclusive School Culture

• Model ethical, equitable, and professional behavior and act with integrity, fairness, cultural competence, and empathy with students and colleagues
• Contribute to a professional school culture focused on developing relational trust with colleagues and building each other's capacity to promote each student’s social, emotional, and academic development; serve as a mentor teacher for support teachers
• Set personal and professional learning goals to promote wellness and enhance professional practice; attend summer institute and weekly professional development sessions
• Participate in professional development and coaching cycles led by Director of Teaching & Learning and other instructional leaders
• Encourages open, productive, collaborative, and trusting working relationships among administrators, teachers, and staff to promote an environment of continuous improvement
• Develop a supportive and positive learning environment focused on uplifting student voice and using student data to drive student development, growth, and achievement

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

• Develop lesson plans and teach all core subjects - English Language Arts (and Social Studies), Mandarin Language Arts (and Culture), or Spanish Language Arts (and Culture), as well as math and science
• Utilize culturally sustaining and anti-bias/anti-racist practices (along with data) to inform and guide daily instruction; incorporate student cultures, interests, and experiences into lessons and activities
• Set clear and measurable goals throughout the year for every student in all areas of study; regularly assess the progress of each child and provide differentiated, child-centered instruction to meet the needs of each child daily
• Actively participate in data-analysis cycles and protocols to evaluate and increase rigor, coherence, impact, and equity of curriculum, instruction, and assessment
• Collaboratively plan weekly with teaching teams to develop holistic lesson plans that foster self-directed learning
• Ensure that each student has equitable access to classroom materials, texts, learning resources and opportunities, academic and social-emotional supports, and other resources in the target language

Equitable and Inclusive Student Support

• Improve and sustain a school environment that is inclusive, equitable, caring, and culturally competent (and meets the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of each student)
• Maintain positive, fair, and unbiased student behavior policies that emphasize relationship reconciliation and behavioral change
• Work with Special Education Teacher and English Learner Teacher to plan for and support all learners’ needs
• Use student performance and placement data, as well as school culture data, to promote greater inclusiveness, caring, equity, and closure of opportunity gaps
• Serve as a member of the Student Support Team (SST) and implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to meet the needs of all children, including special populations

Family Engagement

• Maintain open, welcoming, and ongoing communication with families regarding student progress that values inclusiveness and builds trust
• Provide routine, two-way communication with families about school activities and culture, student performance and development, and school initiatives
• Build and sustain positive, collaborative, and productive relationships with families to ensure student success
• Engage parents and families in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s social, emotional, and academic development
• Participate in parent conferences and school-wide events and contribute to the broader school community

The ideal candidate is highly knowledgeable in the following:

• Effective bilingual and language acquisition strategies
• Research-based, tiered instructional strategies
• Early Childhood curriculum, instruction, & development
• Data analysis protocols
• Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
• Anti-racist beliefs and practices
• Responsive Classroom/Restorative Justice/Conscious Discipline
• Readers and Writers Workshop & Play-Based Centers

Lead Teacher Requirements:

• At least three years of combined experience as a teacher preferred
• Meet state educational requirements, preferably a valid state-issued teaching license for Teaching in elementary education, or meet eligibility, including a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree in Education and passing scores on Praxis I & II
• Deep experience and knowledge of learning standards and student-centered curriculum
• An energetic, flexible, creative, innovative individual who can develop strengths-based, student-centered support plans that support learning for students of various abilities, including those with variously identified exceptionalities
• Ability to excel as a member of a multi-disciplinary team and an instructional team
• Ability to work in a multicultural, multilingual environment
• Ability to collaborate and teach through a lens of diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion
• Strong communication skills (both oral and written)