Part-time Position
Part-time employees (under 20 hours per week) earn vacation time and paid holidays, which is prorated based on the number of hours worked.
Internal Number: 1441
About This Position The purpose of Mass Audubon's innovative, licensed Nature Preschools is to provide a high-quality environment for young children that helps them grow as learners, curious thinkers, community members, and life-long stewards of the natural world. Through hands-on activities, exploration, movement, and play, we support children's curiosity and wonder using our wildlife sanctuaries as outdoor classrooms. At Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Community Preschool, children learn through hands-on nature-based experiences that address the developmental needs of children ages 3-5 as they explore the varied habitats at the farm and wildlife sanctuary.
Candidates for this position must possess a love of nature and teaching outdoors with children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years.
The Lead Preschool Teacher is the primary early childhood educator of the teaching team and holds lead responsibility for the one or more preschool classes, managing curriculum development, implementation, and family communications for students. They are responsible for designing educational experiences for nature preschool students in accordance with Mass Audubon’s Action Agenda strategic goals and Mass Audubon’s education frameworks, guidelines, and policies. Lead Preschool Teacher candidates must possess a strong respect for young children and families, a love of teaching young children and a strong desire to connect children and nature and teaching outside. Lead Teachers must possess the ability to plan daily multi-sensory, play and nature-based, anti-bias, emergent and developmentally appropriate curriculum, incorporating a variety of hands-on experiences. The Lead Teacher is the primary contact for families in the class, prepares progress reports, parent-teacher team conferences and maintains a warm, professional relationship with children, their parents, and caregivers.
Application Instructions Please submit a resume and cover letter with your ADP application.
Responsibilities
Lead in the preparation and presentation nature-based, multi-sensory, integrated, anti-bias and emergent curriculum for multi-age groups (3-5 years) of children in collaboration with co-teaching faculty Understand early childhood development and manage reasonable expectations for young children Work with teacher colleagues and Director to develop nature-based curriculum that enhances the physical, social/emotional, and cognitive growth of young children Observe, document, and assess the ongoing development of each child and write narrative-based progress reports twice/year in the 5 domains; complete progress reports in December and May and conduct parent-teacher team conferences, as scheduled by Preschool Director Serve as a resource for parent/caregivers, families, and faculty Provide a physically and emotionally safe environment for young children both indoors and outdoors Maintain clear communication with the co-teachers and share teaching amongst the co-teaching faculty team Responsible for engaging parents/caregivers in conversations about children’s challenging behaviors and teams with the Director to plan meetings with parents to explore appropriate strategies, interventions, and possible collaboration with outside consultants Responsible for emotional and physical health and safety of students and completing accident reports/injury forms as needed as well as medication logs The Lead Preschool Teacher is charged with keeping current with relevant and ongoing changes in Mass Audubon, Sanctuary-based, and MA Department of Early Education and Care policies and regulations as well as the Mass Audubon mission and action agenda Maintain the physical environment by contributing to classroom housekeeping tasks as needed and storing personal belongings away from preschool program space Enhance the physical space by thoughtfully placing child-initiated art, emergent language poems, emergent math charts and graphs, photographs of nature, students/families in class community, murals and other learning centers that reflect a nature-based curriculum Conducts fire drills, fills out accident forms and medication log as needed per MA EEC regulations Communicate with families via a written weekly newsletter about the happenings in the classroom Safely and appropriately support children in authentic opportunities to meaningfully connect with and engage with our resident nature ambassadors from our Wildlife Care Center, our farm animals, animals in the field, and our resident animal friends (rabbit and chickens) Safely and appropriately engage children in the life cycle of growing food on the farm - from planting to harvesting and tasting Marketing, Public/Community Relations
Attend Nature Preschool Open Houses, as scheduled by Director, to describe the philosophy of the program, provide a general overview of what the preschool offers young children and their families and how to apply to the preschool Attend school-wide community socials as scheduled by Director Act as an ambassador for the Nature Preschool, recognizing that preschool classes are frequently observed by the general public, visiting professionals, prospective families and Mass Audubon staff members Other Attend regional staff meetings and actively participate in statewide education staff meetings, audience professional learning communities, and professional development trainings as required Assist in other sanctuary and regional education activities, as needed
Qualifications At Mass Audubon, our highest priority is finding the best candidate for the job. Research has shown that people of color and women are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t believe they meet every one of the qualifications described in a job description. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of our described qualifications or you have a less traditional background. We are looking for applicants with the following qualifications:
Must Haves
MA EEC Lead Teacher certification At least 3 years of experience teaching young children Excellent writing and communication skills and ability to work cooperatively and independently Interest and/or experience in nature-based, emergent, and anti-bias teaching in early childhood education Ability to pass a background records check (Fingerprinting) Nice to Haves
Experience caring for animals in an educational setting
Mass Audubon is the largest nature-based conservation organization in New England. Founded in 1896 by two women who fought for the protection of birds, Mass Audubon carries on their legacy by focusing on the greatest challenges facing the environment today: the loss of biodiversity, inequitable access to nature, and climate change. With the help of our 140,000 members and supporters, we protect wildlife, conserve and restore resilient land, advocate for impactful environmental policies, offer nationally recognized education programs for adults and children, and provide endless opportunities to experience the outdoors at our wildlife sanctuaries. Explore, find inspiration, and take action at www.massaudubon.org.