Director of Early Childhood Education

Description:

K’tanim Preschool is searching for a new, full time Director of Early Childhood Education. We are seeking someone with a passion for early childhood education, a team oriented philosophy, outstanding listening and communication skills, unquestioned personal and professional integrity, an energetic, outgoing, optimistic personality, and an ability to work well with a broad range of constituencies. The Director will be asked to retain the warmth, creativity, and individuality of our long standing, successful program while also bringing in and integrating fresh, cutting edge, innovative ideas that draw on research and best practices in early childhood education. The Director will have the opportunity to think strategically and creatively about the preschool’s future direction. Recognizing the preschool’s tremendous potential for growth, the synagogue’s Board is interested in the Director’s long-term vision for the school’s development. The goal is to find an individual who can build a stronger, thriving community of preschool families and develop K’tanim into a higher quality and more successful school for the future.

Responsibilities:

The Director of Early Childhood Education reports to Beth El’s Executive Director and to the Vice President of Education. The Director will have overall responsibility for designing and managing all aspects of K’tanim Preschool. In addition, the Director will also be responsible for the synagogue’s early childhood programming. As a member of the synagogue’s senior staff, the Director will participate in senior staff meetings (Education Committee Meetings, Board Meetings, Preschool Committee Meetings) to help shape policies and programs for the school and participate in other child based programs.

K’tanim Preschool. The Director is responsible for all aspects of the daily operation of the Preschool, including curriculum development and implementation, staff hiring and management, marketing and communication, recruitment and enrollment, parent relations, budget development and oversight, purchasing of supplies and equipment, property maintenance and other duties which may be identified on an ongoing basis. Success in this role comes through active collaboration and communication with the Vice President of Education, the Executive Director, teaching staff, and our active and involved preschool parent population.

The Director should be capable of building upon the Preschool’s established strengths and reputation for providing a fun, warm, caring, and stimulating learning environment. Further, the Director will be responsible for delivering an exceptional, fun, and developmentally appropriate preschool experience that establishes each child’s sense of positive self-esteem, love of learning, and ultimately prepares children to be successful in Kindergarten. The school should provide child-directed, teacher-facilitated intentional learning experiences that connect play and learning and the school should assess children’s progress developmentally and educationally in order to tailor a curriculum that meets the specific needs of each child. Further, the Director and teachers should be equipped to identify children with challenges and provide some level of targeted supports or interventions if needed. The director should be skilled at sensitively working with families around any identified concerns and, when appropriate, referring them to Connecticut’s Birth to Three Program, Fairfield’s Early Childhood Center and other medical, therapeutic, or special education resources. In addition, the director and teachers should be skilled at assisting children and families in the transition from preschool to kindergarten.

Synagogue’s Early Childhood Programming. In addition to leading the Preschool, the Director will be expected to be involved in the Synagogue’s once a month children’s Shabbat service as well as with preschool age children’s activities during High Holiday services each year.  We are also proud of incorporating the preschool children into different events and holiday celebrations in the synagogue. Multiple Fundraising events are possible to integrate with our religious school activities.

Candidate Characteristics and Expertise

We are looking for a Director with the following characteristics and expertise:

• Ability to articulate and promote the school’s vision, values, and teaching philosophy to parents and teachers
• Ability to communicate with and ensure proper communication with parents and teachers
• Manage, inspire and support a talented team of teachers and ensure their professional development
• Ability to guide teachers in developing and implementing a high-quality curriculum
• Ability to guide teachers and parents in identifying and managing children’s special education needs or other developmental challenges and ability to sensitively work with families around any identified concerns and when appropriate to refer them to Connecticut’s Birth to Three Program, Fairfield’s Early Childhood Center and other medical, therapeutic, or special education resources.
• Guide and support families as their children transition to kindergarten
• Responsible for developing an annual budget and managing all business functions including budgeting, financial planning and human resources for the preschool.
• Seek opportunities for Preschool engagement with other Congregation-wide activities
• Ability to use web-based technology and social media for communications and marketing purposes.

Qualifications: