Who will love this job

• Passionate about teaching children—You care about the children you work with, and you're invested in their success inside and outside the classroom.
• Empathetic – you have a nurturing personality and strong emotional intelligence.
• An optimist—you see problems as opportunities and have a positive, growth-minded attitude.
• Adaptable—you cope well with sudden changes in circumstances and enjoy thinking about challenges and tasks in new ways.
• Patient—you understand the needs and challenges facing 3–5-year-old students and work to adapt your strategies and plans to best suit and support them.
• An innovative thinker—your creativity helps you consider different approaches and ways to improve existing processes.
• A lifelong learner—you enjoy learning new ways of doing things and expanding your knowledge of teaching best practices.

Your Impact

• Work collaboratively with other Teachers and/or Assistant Teachers to co-teach in your classroom.
• Provide high quality care and education that promotes the development of early literacy and language, fine and gross motor, cognition, social, and emotional skills, early math, approaches to learning, and health/nutrition through activities that encourage curiosity and problem-solving.
• Use space, relationships, materials, and routines as resources for construction of an interesting, secure, nurturing, and enjoyable environment that encourages play, exploration, and learning. 
• Implementthe Creative Curriculum for Preschool and practices outlined in the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). 
• Ensure the safety and well-being of children by maintaining federal child-staff ratio, meeting classroom safety and cleanliness standards, implementing active supervision monitoring practices, conducting monthly emergency drills, following mandated reporter procedures for any suspected or disclosed signs of child abuse or child neglect, and reporting all child injuries, unusual incidents, and inappropriate behavior of staff, parents, volunteers, and on-site consultants.
• Support potty training as needed. 
• Utilize our database system, ChildPlus, to maintain child and family records and analyze data to inform continuous program improvement.
• Conduct two home visits per year for all children in the class. 
• Hold parent/teacher conferences to share each child’s development, develop goals, and action steps for home and school. 
• Engage families as a participant in their child’s learning and development, recognizing the role of the parent/guardian as the child’s first teacher. 
• Model positive teacher/child and teacher/parent interactions and encourage family involvement in the program.

We’d love to hear from you if you have

• Acurrent Child Development Associate (CDA) or Early Childhood Certificate (or ability to obtain within the first two years of employment).
• 1 years of experience with preschool aged children in a center-based education environment, and a desire to learn and grow in the profession.
• Effective communication skills – you can clearly convey information and ideas verbally and through a variety of media to individuals and groups in a manner that promotes engagement, understanding, and retainment of the message.
• Collaboration skills—you work well in a team setting and with a partner to collectively solve a problem or make progress toward objectives.
• Multitasking skills—you excel at managing multiple responsibilities/priorities at once and managing your time efficiently.
• Relationship building skills—you can connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds in a way that establishes trust and mutual respect.
• Technological skills – you can use software platforms to communicate effectively with others and manage child and classroom data.
• Nice-to-have: Associate’s degree in early childhood education or related field.
• Nice-to-have: Experience working with vulnerable populations (children and families facing adverse conditions including homelessness, food instability, incarceration, foster/kinship care, substance abuse, etc.)
• Nice-to-have: Experience with VA childcare licensing requirements
• Nice-to-have: Experience with GOLD standard practices
• Nice-to-have: CPR and/or MAT certification.
• Nice-to-have: Bilingual (English and Spanish).

Special requirements

• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Must be able to complete health assessments including a physical exam and TB screen.
• Must pass background searches including criminal, sex offender, and child abuse/neglect.
• Must have independent, reliable transportation to get to work.
• Must have reliable home internet.

Why you should join us

At MACAA, we believe that when we work together, we’re able to create opportunities for all people to thrive, build strong, resilient communities, and ensure a more equitable society. We strive to form and cultivate teams with diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives that reflect the diversity of those we serve and enable us to live out our mission. We’re committed to creating an inclusive environment in which each team member can be the best version of themselves.

For this position, we offer a full benefits package, with:

• Competitive pay
• $1,000 signing bonus
• Flexible PTO
• Generous paid holidays (25 )!
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage options
• Retirement and health savings plan options
• Learning and development opportunities. Earn your CDA for FREE!

To learn more about someone who may be conducting the interview, find their job title on ourteam page.

• Qualified candidates will be invited to schedule a 15-20-minute screening call with the recruiter.
• Next, candidates will be invited to schedule a 45-minute panel interview with the hiring manager.

Onboarding process

In the first week, expect to:

•  Begin basic orientation and training, to include VA childcare licensing and Head Start requirements.
•  Tour classroom/program space.

In the first month, expect to:

• Begin cultivating relationships with your co-teacher, Family Support Coordinator, supervisor, and other program staff.
• Collaborate with your co-teacher to understand job responsibilities, expectations, and plan how you will work together.
• Become familiar with the students and families in the classroom.
•  Complete trainings on a range of early child education topics to prepare you for success in the classroom.
• Set up and prepare your classroom according to guidelines. Conduct home visits and orientations with enrolled children and families. 
• Review your 90-day goals.

In the first three months, expect to:

• Continue to develop relationships across the program.
• Practice most day-to-day job responsibilities independently.
• Provide children with individualized care, interactions, and learning experiences throughout the day.
• Develop and implement group and individual lesson plans using the Creative Curriculum for Preschool. 
• Share information regarding learning experiences and assessments with families.
• Enter assessment observations in Teaching Strategies GOLD.
• Ensure program compliance with all local, state, and federal standards.
• Set yoursix-month goals.