Associate Preschool Teacher (Educator) - School of Imagination

Position: Associate Educator
Location: School of Imagination & Happy Talkers, onsite in Dublin, CA
Hours: Full-time, hourly. Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm

Are you passionate about providing excellent early childhood education?
Do you seek a consistent, positive, supportive culture that values you as an educator and puts the children first?

The School of Imagination is one of a kind!

• A nonprofit, mission-driven team committed to bringing out the extraordinary in every child.
• Work from a beautiful, custom-designed center in the Dublin Hills
• Tailored roadmap to success for every student
• Highly trained & passionate educators and staff
• Award-winning 'Happy Talkers' program onsite providing support
• Continuous skill development
• Amazingly small class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratios ensure each child’s needs and potential are met.
• Our highly trained staff and cutting-edge curriculum make SOI a premier preschool program.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary ($23.28 - $26.78 per hour) plus bonuses.

• Opportunities for professional growth in a supportive environment.

• Premium health, dental and vision plans beginning your first day with 100 percent employer-paid options available

• PTO accrual and paid holidays beginning your first day

• 401k, FSA, life insurance, and college savings plan, among other benefits

• Reimbursement for CEUs, license fees, professional dues, CPR/first aid certification

• Low classroom ratios, with multiple educators to each classroom

Our Mission
The School of Imagination and Happy Talkers is committed to bringing out the extraordinary in every child. We offer groundbreaking early-childhood education programs, cutting-edge intervention services, and a full-inclusion preschool that empowers special-needs children to excel along with their typical peers, giving all children the foundation for success in learning and life. We truly do appreciate your interest in helping us accomplish this mission in serving more than 350 children each week at our beautiful Schaefer Ranch campus high atop the Dublin hillside in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information about the School of Imagination, please visit www.soi4kids.org or follow along on Twitter and Facebook @soi4kids.  

Job Summary:

The Associate Educator plays a crucial role in mentoring the Assistant Educator and supporting the Lead Educator. They are responsible for designing and implementing creative and engaging activities that cater to the needs of both neurotypical and neurodiverse children, integrating individual learning goals and DRDP objectives. This role emphasizes effective teamwork, preparedness, and communication within the educational team. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Gathering ideas for activities: The Associate Educator actively collects input from the classroom team to foster a collaborative and creative approach to planning activities.

• Writing lesson plans: Crafting detailed and well-structured lesson plans is a core responsibility of the Associate Educator. These plans serve as a roadmap for the class activities, ensuring that the learning objectives are met and all aspects of the curriculum are covered.

• Ensuring DRDP goals are implemented: The Educator ensures that the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) goals are effectively integrated into the lesson plans. Aligning activities with these goals helps track each child's progress and development accurately.

• Coordinating preparation efforts: To create a smooth learning experience, the Educator assigns tasks and sets deadlines for the team members. By coordinating preparation efforts, the classroom operates efficiently, and Educators are well-prepared for each activity.

• Ensuring everyone knows learning objectives/goals: Communication is key to successful learning. The Educator ensures that all team members, including assistant Educators and support staff, know each activity's learning objectives and goals. This clarity enables everyone to work cohesively towards a common educational purpose.

• Preparing materials and facilitating class activities: The Educator organizes and prepares the necessary materials for class activities.

• Ordering classroom supplies: A well-equipped classroom is essential for a productive learning environment. The Educator is responsible for ordering and managing classroom supplies, ensuring that necessary materials are readily available when needed.

• Work flexible hours as needed for Early Birds and Late Birds programs, adapting to the varying needs of children and parents.

• Provide instruction and supervise Assistant if the Lead Educator is out of the office

• Complete the cleaning tasks and weekly duties that have been assigned.

Reporting Structure:
The Associate Educator reports directly to the Lead Educator. They mentor the Assistant Educator, ensuring a unified approach to educational excellence and child care.

• Competitive salary ($23.28 - $26.78 per hour) plus bonuses.

• Opportunities for professional growth in a supportive environment.

• Premium health, dental and vision plans beginning your first day with 100 percent employer-paid options available

• PTO accrual and paid holidays beginning your first day

• 401k, FSA, life insurance, and college savings plan, among other benefits

• Reimbursement for CEUs, license fees, professional dues, CPR/first aid certification

• Low classroom ratios, with multiple educators to each classroom
   

Qualifications:

• A minimum of 12 ECE (Early Childhood Education) units and two years of experience is required. 

• 1 year of experience working with neurodiverse children in a classroom setting.

• Basic competence in duties and tasks of supervised employees. 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 

• Strong organizational, problemsolving and analytical skills; able to manage 

• competing priorities and workflow. 

• Ability to work independently and as a member of various teams and committees. 

• Good judgment with the ability to make timely and sound decisions 

• Demonstrated ability to plan and organize projects independently. 

• Versatility, flexibility, and a willingness to work within constantly changing priorities 

 

Work Requirements

• Coordinate multiple tasks simultaneously 

• Bend, reach and lift up to or above head 

• May be required to lift up to 40 pounds 

• Kneel or sit on floor for up to thirty minutes at a time while working with children 

• Climb and descent stairways 

• Ability to work in a moderate to loud environment

For more details and to apply, please visit our website https://schoolofimagination.org/.

School of Imagination is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

School of Imagination believes that diversity and inclusion among our employees are critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. Employment at the School of Imagination is based on merit, competence, and qualifications, and we are committed to providing equal opportunities for training and advancement for all employees. School of Imagination is also committed to making our application process accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request.