Pre-K Lead Teacher

Harmony DC and Apple Tree Partnership

Harmony DC Public Charter School is a public charter school located in NE Washington, DC. serving students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade. The mission of Harmony School of Excellence-DC is to prepare students for higher learning in a safe, caring, and collaborative atmosphere through a quality learner-centered educational program with a strong emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  The 2021-22 school year will be the first year of the Pre-K program at Harmony-DC.  Classrooms will be supported by a specialist from AppleTree Institute, who will provide coaching and professional development throughout the year.  We are seeking energetic, experienced educators to join our founding Pre-K team!

Every Child Ready (ECR) is the instructional model developed by AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation.  Used in classrooms across the country, it is a well-respected model for its comprehensive approach to developing students’ academic and social emotional skills before Kindergarten.   ECR classrooms are engaging, intentional, and playful.

The Pre-K Lead Teacher, with the support of a teaching team, is responsible for the growth and development of a classroom of students. A teaching team may consist of two lead teachers OR a lead teacher, a Resident teacher, and a Teaching Assistant.  

 Lead Teacher is a non-supervisory position, and reports to the Principal.   

Duties and Responsibilities                                                                                                                     

The duties and responsibilities of the lead teacher align to Every Child Ready’s Guiding Principles.  ECR teachers and classrooms are:

• Nurturing and provide early-learning experiences that contribute to children’s positive feelings about school, teachers, and their communities.
• Reflective and use multiple data sources to make day-by-day decisions about instruction.
• Inclusive in ensuring that a child’s family, culture, and previous experiences are celebrated and incorporated into the classroom community.
• Playful and design classrooms in which children can learn through exploration and purposeful play.
• Intentional  in engaging in ongoing professional learning and have dedicated time for planning, practice, and reflection.
• Diverse; classrooms are rich with materials and print that represent diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Balanced to support children’s development across social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and academic competencies.

Teachers design developmentally-appropriate classroom learning environments in which children:

• Learn through exploration and purposeful play (playful)
• Contribute to the classroom environment
• Within these classrooms, children have access to:
  • Materials and print that represent diverse backgrounds and cultures (diverse)
  • Varied spaces in the classroom in which to learn both independently and cooperatively, as well as space to rest and relax.
  • A variety of books and writing utensils throughout the classroom

Teachers capitalize on instructional opportunities that meet the needs of diverse learners and support the development of young children.  Specifically, teachers:

• Implement the Every Child Ready (ECR) instructional model and collaborate with the coach and/or principal to ensure fidelity.

• Use multiple data sources (including ECR assessments, classroom quality observations, and other data collections) to make day-by-day decisions about instruction (reflective), 

• Provide early-learning experiences that contribute to children’s positive feelings about school, teachers, and their communities (nurturing).
• Support children’s development across social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and academic competencies (balanced).
• Apply a variety of strategies to promote both concept and skill development.
• Provide modeling and support for children’s expressive and receptive language throughout the school day.

• Collaborate with related service providers and student support staff (SPED, ELL, PBS, etc.) to ensure the needs of all children are met, as needed.

Teachers collaborate with families and communities to support children’s social, emotional and cognitive development, specifically teachers:

• Ensure that a child’s family, culture, and previous experiences are celebrated and incorporated into the classroom community (inclusive)
• Actively seek to make connections with their children’s family members and other important people in their lives.

• Regularly communicate the school’s and individual children’s educational goals and progress to families.

• Support school-wide family engagement activities 
•  Make provisions to be available to the students and to the parents for education-related purposes when required.

ECR teachers contribute to a community of practice, specifically teachers:

• Engage in ongoing professional learning and have dedicated time for planning, practice, and reflection (intentional).
• Share best practices with others throughout the ECR network.
• Provide informal and formal feedback on instructional materials and professional development/coaching.
• Incorporate coaching and feedback from regular observations to improve instruction.
• Communicate professionally and constructively with colleagues.
• Plan and supervise purposeful assignments for teacher aide(s) and volunteer(s) and, cooperatively with department heads, evaluate their job performance.
• Take necessary and reasonable precautions to protect the students, equipment, materials, and facilities.
• Maintain accurate, complete, and correct records as required by law, district policy, and administrative regulations.
• Assist the administration in implementing all policies and rules governing student life and conduct.
• Participate in district and campus staff development.
• Attend staff meetings and serve on staff committees
• Maintain a professional relationship with colleagues.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, reading, psychology, human development, early childhood education or a closely related field and two or more years of successful professional teaching experience.  Candidates must demonstrate the leadership experience, organizational skills and communication abilities to lead or co-lead the instructional team.  All Lead Teacher candidates must receive a passing score on the *Praxis II: Early Childhood Education (test code 5025) by the start of the school year or within 60 days of hire date, whichever comes first. 

*Previous Praxis Early Childhood or Elementary Content Knowledge accepted) (10014).

Disclaimer                                                               
The preceding description is not designed to be a complete list of all duties and responsibilities required of a Lead Teacher.