Seeds of Wonder Journey School
Roswell, GA
Start Date: April 10, 2023
The Role of the Teacher
SOWJS Teachers play a key role and help to set the tone of our community by valuing each child and each child’s family member as individuals. By modeling responsibility, welcoming, and caring, teachers foster children’s identities. SOWJS Teachers have the educational qualifications, dispositions, knowledge, dedication to lifelong learning, and professional commitment necessary to support children and their families as they grow and develop. Teachers work collaboratively with their colleagues to develop, implement, and evaluate the classroom pedagogy, and to provide a quality educational program reflecting the goals and values of the school. Teachers monitor the development and learning of the children and partner with families in sharing this information. Teachers also provide guidance to
substitutes and classroom volunteers. Experienced teachers serve as mentors for teachers who are new to the field or who would benefit from support in specific areas such as the Reggio Emilia approach, classroom management/conscious discipline, parent communication, room design, emergent curriculum planning, student observation and assessments, Jewish knowledge, etc.
SOWJS teachers are expected to respectfully engage each other as a community of critical colleagues, always with the intention of supporting and helping each other improve in our own practice. This job description is not all-inclusive, as working with children always presents us with unknown situations. SOWJS reserves the right to update the job description as necessary for the benefit of the children, families and the faculty culture.
The Dispositions and Knowledge of the Teacher:
SOWJS Teachers value and promote children’s play and exploration, are curious about each child’s perspective, understand child guidance in a developmental context and are alert to the learning process for each child. Teachers model anti-bias practices and cultural sensitivity, ask for help, accept suggestions, and offer guidance. Teachers maintain confidentiality and are diligent about health and safety. Teachers are lifelong learners and take time for regular reflection and self-examination. Teachers are open to feedback and offer feedback to others respectfully.
Reports to (supervisor): Director
Responsibilities
General
1. Attend to children’s physical and emotional safety
2. Develop relationships with families and colleagues
3. Be with children joyfully, maintain a positive attitude and a team spirit, willingness to collaborate and reflect openly with colleagues.
4. Maintain own and shared physical spaces respectfully
5. Attend to daily communication
6. Identify your professional development goals
7. Participate in self-evaluation and school evaluation process
8. Stay current in the field
Pedagogy
1. Pay close attention to children’s play, engage in reflection and discussion about children’s growth and learning, and respond to children’s play themes and developmental themes
2. Plan and implement a balanced pedagogy based on observation and reflection and according to the school goals and philosophy – Teachers with the Virtual Learning Pods will implement and facilitate each child’s online curriculum and will plan appropriate activities while children are not in their online classes. Homework should happen at SOWJS whenever possible; if there is homework to complete at
home, teachers will communicate that to parents daily.
3. Careful documentation of children’s play and learning, including, but not limited to, documentation displays in the classroom, portfolios, newsletters.
4. Attend to classroom management, including flow of the day, group dynamics, and conflict negotiations
5. Support and facilitate children’s play indoors and out
6. Care for classroom environment and aesthetics
7. Nurture physical, spiritual, emotional, social, and intellectual growth and development of each child
8. Provide care, protection, consistency, and guidance to the children
Administrative & Classroom
1. Preschool classes only – Read and maintain children’s files and portfolios including work samples, anecdotal notes and other documentation
2. Provide a cheerful, nurturing, healthy, safe and clean classroom environment.
3. Inform Preschool Director of any maintenance issues in a timely fashion.
4. Request materials and supplies to be purchased in a timely fashion (at least one week in advance).
5. Maintain attendance records
6. Maintain organization and cleanliness of equipment, materials, and classroom
Communication & Community
1. Uphold the Faculty & Staff Handbook
2. Communicate regularly with Director, including all concerns regarding children’s progress
3. Plan and participate in school social and family education programs
4. Monitor growth and development of each child and communicate progress and concerns with parents and Director
5. Maintain a continuing dialogue with families, (preschool teachers – parent/teacher conferences as scheduled and as needed)
6. Maintain an open dialogue and respectful problem solving with the teaching team
7. Protect the rights and privacy of children and families by maintaining strict confidentiality
8. Attend school wide and class events such as parent meetings and other special events
Professional Development
1. Participate in lifelong learning by increasing knowledge and abilities in the field of education through attendance of workshops and courses, reading books, blogs or periodicals, etc.
2. Work towards increasing knowledge of Judaism and related topics
3. Preschool Teachers – Work towards increasing knowledge of Reggio Emilia philosophy, Project Approach and Emergent Curriculum
4. Participate in teacher professional development days, teacher workdays and staff meetings.
5. Partner with other school educators for professional development on the peer to peer level
6. Complete at least 10 hours of certified professional development hours as required by Bright From The Start annually
Leadership
1. Provide support for fellow teachers; lend a “helping hand”; try to go “above and beyond” whenever possible
3. Assist in the organization and facilitation of parent meetings and other events
4. Help to orient new families
Qualifications Required:
1. AA or CDA
2. All qualifications in accordance with Georgia’s Bright From The Start regulations including 10 hours Health and Safety or willingness to acquire
3. CPR and First Aid certification or willingness to acquire
4. Strong communication skills: oral, reading, writing
5. Ability to relate to children and adults
6. Working knowledge of the growth and development of children and ability to utilize this information in the classroom
7. Ability to supervise volunteers and substitutes and work in a teaching team
8. Desire for continued development of teaching skills including collaboration with specialists and consultants
10. Comfort with and skills to use technology to communicate or willingness to acquire
Preferred Qualifications:
1. Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in a child related field
2. At least three years of experience in the group education of children
3. Judaic knowledge or willingness to acquire
4. Familiarity with community resources
Physical Requirements:
Ability to actively participate in children’s play and care including frequent reaching, running, and sitting on the floor and in small chairs in order to speak to children at their eye-level. Hearing and speaking to exchange information in person and by phone; seeing to read and prepare documents, monitor children for safety, perform assigned duties; sitting or standing for extended periods of time when necessary; dexterity of hands and fingers to operate tools and equipment; kneeling, stooping, bending at the waist, and reaching overhead, above the shoulders and horizontally, to retrieve and store supplies; occasionally lifting moderate weight objects, including children, up to 50 pounds. Ability to maintain mental and model calm and flexibility in the face of stressful situations.
$16-25/hour (commensurate with experience)
401K
Vision
Dental
Life Isurance
Short Term Disability Insurance
12 PTO Days
Paid Birthday
Paid Professional Development
Holidays Off
Bonuses Available
Email resume & cover letter to: seedsofwonderjourneyschool@gmail.com
Attn: Hannah Williams, Director
Seeds of Wonder provides a hands-on, developmentally appropriate curriculum to children and families of all backgrounds. Children are encouraged to explore and learn about their world by engaging their natural curiosities and creativity. Master teachers guide children to become socially capable problem solvers. Our child-centered philosophy and intentionally smaller class sizes set us apart from the other preschools, daycares and childcare centers in Roswell!
Progressive ~ Child-Centered ~ Play Based ~ Emotionally Responsive
Our Mission: Childhood is sacred time. At Seeds of Wonder Journey School, children learn about their world by engaging their natural curiosities and creativity, and are guided to become socially capable problem solvers in a progressive Jewish environment.
The care and learning that happen in the preschool years set the tone for a child’s development as a lifelong learner and as a member of a larger community.
We believe children are competent and capable and succeed when they are able to be co-constructors of their learning experience in an environment that speaks to their interests in an authentic way. We believe each person is uniquely created b’tzelem elohim (in God’s image), and our role as professional preschool educators is to support each child’s development, learning and well-being.
Our teachers understand the importance of taking the time to listen to each child’s melody and it is equally important that each teacher is supported along his or her own professional journey to best serve the children and families with whom we work. We educate each child according to his/her own way. Our collective job is to nurture each child’s ability so that the child can grow and learn, and the school leadership does the same for the teachers and families.
Our preschool, kindergarten and school-age teachers have a genuine respect for the children as individuals, and for the children’s families, as the children’s first teachers. They work within a collaborative environment, with a community of critical colleagues who push each other to improve their craft and constantly strive for excellence together.
We believe in meeting all children and families and supporting them “where they are.” This strategy requires that teachers and administrators know the child well and have good communication with the child’s family. Our emotionally responsive preschool puts children at the center of all partnerships – teacher/child, parent/child, parent/teacher – each of these is a partnership, and each holds at its heart a sacred promise of expectations to fulfill.
In preschool, the continuum of developmentally appropriate expectations for our youngest students means that each child will be taught according to his or her unique learning style, and children are valued in their differences. This attitude supports the process of assisting each child in developing self-knowledge and insight about his/her own learning style, interests, and strengths. An essential component of our preschool philosophy is the creation of a community of caring adults who value and understand children AND each child, and who, in turn, feels supported in their roles as parents or teachers.
Our co-founders, Donna Smith Aranson (President) and Hannah Aranson Williams (Executive Director), are not only skilled educators with an abundance of experience working with children and their families in various elementary, preschool and daycare settings, they are a mother-daughter team who share a dream and a passion for bringing the very best in early education and childcare to their local community. Between them, they have more than 65 years of Early Childhood Education experience, including teaching, administration, and supporting children with special needs.
We proudly support progressive, liberal causes. We advocate for our youngest citizens and model for them how to find their voices in the world. We stand with marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ+ community, BIPOC and of all religious backgrounds, immigrants (both refugees and otherwise), and any otherwise disenfranchised/marginalized communities and families. We welcome respectful and helpful discussion around these subjects within the Seeds of Wonder community, with the intention of learning more about one another and our values, and always for the benefit of the children in our care.
Our child-centered philosophy and intentionally smaller class sizes set us apart from the other preschools, daycares and child care centers in Roswell!
Hannah Williams
seedsofwonderjourneyschool@gmail.com
Together, we are empowering exceptional education.