Lead Teacher

Please note that references provided at the time of application for staff positions will not be contacted until the applicant has been offered the position.

Description

The Berea College Child Development Laboratory (CDL) serves as a training facility for professionals who work with young children and their families. The CDL is a democratic, early learning environment that seeks to make the learning of children visible to others. The Lead Teacher facilitates child-led, inquiry-based learning, acting as a co-learner and researcher who observes, documents, and plans emergent curriculum based on children's interests, fostering critical thinking and collaboration within a rich, stimulating environment (the "third teacher"). Key duties involve creating provocations, documenting learning through photos/stories, communicating with families, mentoring and collaborating with a teaching team (including aspiring professionals), and maintaining a safe, respectful space that honors the child's "hundred languages" of expression.

Teachers are expected to adhere to CDL policies and procedures, program philosophy, state childcare regulations, and NAEYC and KY ALLSTARS standards. Teachers will engage in research with college faculty to develop new and innovative classroom methods. Teachers are expected to participate in ongoing professional development and have the disposition of a lifelong learner and researcher. Teachers are also expected to view children as competent, capable beings and commit to revealing and supporting children’s competence.

Your Key Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Regular and predictable attendance is essential. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Serve as a model of ethical and best practices in the early childhood profession.
• Engage with children in intentional ways.
• Intentionally observe and write documentation about children’s play and development, continually assessing children, and developing and implementing emergent curriculum to engage children.
• Organize and maintain a safe, clutter-free, and stimulating learning environment appropriate for children of diverse ages and ability levels.
• Plan, implement, and evaluate a daily schedule of activities appropriate for young children.
• Utilize positive guidance strategies and best practices.
• Maintain a portfolio on each child that includes copies of required documents, ongoing documentation and work samples as a record of the child’s development.
• Perform housekeeping tasks as necessary for all indoor and outdoor play spaces.
• Manage day-to-day operations of the classroom. This includes providing leadership and oversight to Assistant Teachers, Teacher Aides and Labor Students.
• Keep up to date records on attendance, accidents, incidents, etc., in accordance with licensing regulations and program policies.
• Practice open, respectful communication with families, co-workers, and supervisors at all times.
• Work collaboratively and respectfully with children, families, all classroom support staff, college students, and CDL administration.
• Inform and engage families in curriculum and decision-making regarding children.
• Participate in IFSP/IEP team meetings.
• Meet regularly with classroom team to develop weekly classroom plans and appropriate curriculum and to confer about classroom issues and concerns.
• Participate in mentoring, constructive feedback, and evaluation to classroom support staff and college students.
• Supervise and assist college students in completing assignments and requirements for coursework, including reading and providing feedback on documentation and planning.
• Attend and present at various conferences, trainings and workshops to continue professional development.
• Assist faculty in evaluating college student performance for coursework.
• Work collaboratively with faculty to develop new and innovative practices
• Work on publications with faculty
• Attend scheduled staff meetings and required college training and orientation meetings.
  
  

Other roles/duties will be assigned as necessary to assist the College in the attainment of the goals set forth and the enhancement of a positive, respectful learning environment for all staff, faculty and students.

What You'll Bring

Education required to ensure success in this position:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field Required
  
  

Experience required to ensure success in this position:

• Two years related experience (paid and/or supervised in childcare or an early childhood education classroom)
  
  

Special skills, knowledge and abilities:

• Knowledge of child development and early childhood emergent curriculum and methods
• Knowledge of state childcare regulations
• Ability and willingness to learn and implement Reggio Emilia inspired practices
• Ability to organize and maintain a safe and stimulating learning environment
• Ability to communicate effectively with children, families, co-workers and students
• Ability to work alone and to lead a teaching team
• Ability to make sound decisions and remain calm during a crisis
  
  

License, certification, or registration necessary:

• Ability to meet state licensing requirements
• Complete orientation I & II training and a minimum of 15 hours Professional Development annually
• Clear criminal background check
• Clear child abuse and neglect check
• Clear TB skin test
• Clear Drug Screen
• Obtain Adult/Infant/Child CPR & First Aid
• Obtain Food Handler Certification
  
  

Physical requirements:

• Ability to lift 35 pounds and move swiftly
• Ability to be aware of all children in your care at all times
  
  

Environmental conditions:

• Work in well-lighted, temperature-controlled building with reasonable space and equipment
• Work with children outdoors in various weather conditions
  
  

Ability to operate the following vehicles or equipment:

• Personal Vehicle
• Laptop Computer
• Printer
  
  

Founded in 1855, Berea College is nationally recognized as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. Berea has a longstanding commitment to interracial education and is one of the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. With an emphasis on service to Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls more than 1,500 students from 44 states and U.S. territories and more than 60 countries. Berea College admits students who are unable to afford tuition and provides every enrolled student with a fully funded degree that covers 100% of tuition, housing, food, supplies, and fees without loans, for all four years. Berea’s students excel in the College’s supportive yet demanding academic environment, and most are the first in their families to attend college. As one of only 10 federally recognized Work Colleges, all Berea students work 10-12 hours weekly in various positions across campus, building professional skills in a real-world learning environment. Washington Monthly ranked Berea College the #1 Best College for your Tuition and Tax Dollars, 2025. Berea also ranks #1 in educational access by The New York Times, 2023 and #1 for lowest educational debt by U.S. News and World Report, 2025 and 2026. Berea College is also the only institution in Kentucky to receive the 5-Star Rating from Money Magazine, 2026.

Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 17,000) lies 40 miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at www.berea.edu.

Berea College, in light of its mission in the tradition of impartial love and social equality, welcomes all people of the earth to learn and work here.

Our Benefits

Berea College offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees and their families including health care, dental, vision, retirement, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability and an Employee Assistance Program. The benefit package also includes access to the Child Development Laboratory for children of College Staff, ages 6 weeks to 6 years, Seabury Center Membership, Staff Development Funds and Tuition Reimbursement.

Eligible staff employees also receive paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.

Part-time employees who work an average of twenty-four hours per week over the course of a year, receive benefits on a pro-rated basis.

To learn more details, visit our benefits page at https://www.berea.edu/human-resources/employee-benefits.

Our Unique Culture

Berea College strives to be a place where people with various Christian interpretations, different religious traditions, and no religious traditions work together in support of Berea's Great Commitments.

Over the past century, various leaders of the College have applied the College’s inclusive scriptural foundation and spirit to their expanding world and welcomed those whose beliefs were consistent with the Christian gospel of impartial love. Therefore, Berea College today affirms its inclusive Christian tradition even as it respects the traditions of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, as well as other faiths, and those holding no religious beliefs. We strive not to ignore our differences, but rather seek to understand each other honestly and respectfully, and together create a climate where anyone can openly discuss what they believe without fear of sanction. To that end, all persons who are willing to share in the spirit and the work of the Great Commitments as shaped by its preamble are welcome to study, to teach, and to work at Berea

Labor Supervision

In support of Berea College’s great commitments, staff and faculty serve as labor supervisors. Our fourth great commitment, The Dignity of Labor, promotes learning and serving in community through the student Labor Program, honoring the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual, and taking pride in work well done. Student Labor Supervision includes scheduling, assigning, and approving student work, developing students' workplace acumen, and providing tangible work experience. To learn more about the labor program office please see the following link Labor Program Office.