Sabot at Stony Point, Richmond, Virginia
Start Date: July 1, 2021
The Director’s essential duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Pedagogical Approach. Provide leadership, training, and ongoing support for the school’s pedagogical paradigm: a social-constructivist approach in which teachers and students investigate questions, build understanding, and represent and reflect on the shared learning of the group.
Curriculum Development. Work with the faculty to review and develop a curriculum that is coherent with the school’s philosophy and is informed by current research.
Faculty Development. Provide supervision to and support the development of preschool faculty. Facilitate the sharing of ideas and the co-construction of curriculum, provide relevant research, and support the continual improvement of teaching practice. With the support of the Atelierista and the Director of Teaching Learning, lead pedagogical meetings with the preschool faculty.
Recruitment. Support the selection process and onboarding of new teachers and the coordination of orientation and training.
Research. Engage in action research by generating hypotheses and questions, documenting the work of the program, and reflecting individually and collaboratively.
Engagement. Engage with the Sabot at Stony Point faculty through faculty development and community-wide events to forward the work of the school. Engage with the larger field of progressive education to disseminate Sabot’s work and remain conversant in best practices.
Program Coordination. Coordinate with the Licensing Manager and Auxiliary Program Manager in supporting the development and implementation of extended day and extracurricular programming. Ensure licensing requirements are met.
Student Support. Work with faculty to respond to and manage concerns and issues. Effectively communicate with teachers and families about student concerns and well-being, and mediate any disagreements or misunderstandings. Maintain student confidentiality.
Communication with Parents. Be visible, approachable, and available. Observe and listen to the intentions of the children in order to support learning in both individual and collaborative work. Conduct parent dialogues, parent conferences, and other communications as dictated by issues or student needs.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity. Uphold the school’s commitment to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic team committed to working in a multicultural environment.
The Director of Early Childhood will generally have at least the following qualifications:
A Master’s degree from an accredited college or university
Foundational knowledge and understanding of the Reggio Emilia Approach and experience working in a Reggio-inspired early childhood setting
7+ years of leadership positions
Advanced knowledge of childhood development including best-practice in social, emotional, and behavioral learning and development
Deep interest in students as learners
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to manage personal and professional relationships with tact, sensitivity, respect, compassion, and openness
Ability to work both indoors and outdoors
Ability to lift 40 pounds, bend or kneel to facilitate communication with children, climb two flights of stairs while supervising children, and maintain a high level of activity while supervising children
Upon employment, ability to pass criminal background checks
Full-time salaried position with benefits including paid leave, health, dental, retirement, short/long-term/life insurance, supplemental insurance.
Candidates must submit the following materials electronically (as separate PDF attachments) to HR@sabotatstonypoint.org with the subject of the email as “Director of Early Childhood Application”.
Letter of interest
Resume
Statement of educational philosophy
Contact information for three professional references
MISSION: Sabot at Stony Point is a school designed to sustain children’s quest for meaning and understanding, harness the power of their theories and ideas, and guide their inquiry and research. In an environment that supports collaboration and respectful exchange, we challenge our students to become effective communicators and disciplined thinkers, capable of solving problems in our increasingly complex world.
THE OPPORTUNITY: Sabot at Stony Point, a Reggio-inspired preschool through 8th grade school in Richmond, VA, seeks an enthusiastic and experienced Director of Early Childhood. This person will work collaboratively with students, faculty, parents, and other administrators to create and sustain a vibrant community of Reggio-inspired faculty and learners, and they will support both learning and professional development through an inquiry-based, social-constructivist approach. The Director of Early Childhood will join a cohesive, committed, and talented team whose members are garnering national attention for their ground-breaking work. Sabot has about 180 students and roughly 40 employees. As we grow, we are dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic team committed to working in a multicultural environment.
Our Reggio-inspired, social-constructivist curriculum is inquiry-based and driven in part by the children’s interests. We emphasize collaboration and recognize the gifts that each child brings to the group. Our approach is one that recognizes the whole child and focuses first and foremost on social and emotional learning and relationships as the necessary foundation for education.
Sabot is an educational home for teachers drawn to relationships and practices that are rooted in unifying beliefs about children and learning, are based on current neurological and educational research, and are reliant on our teacher-researchers’ collaborative problem solving and creativity. Sabot teachers are both guides and fellow travelers in the collaborative learning process and make students’ learning visible to themselves and others. We view teaching not as a static set of skills, but as a dynamic process, manifested in our culture of research and our commitment to teacher development.
https://www.sabotatstonypoint.org/employment/director-early-childhood/
No phone calls.
Together, we are empowering exceptional education.