Lead Infant Teacher - Orono Schools Discovery Kids at Orono Public Schools in Long Lake, MN

Job description

Lead Infant Teacher - Orono Schools Discovery Kids Schedule: Full-Time (40 hours per week, Monday - Friday) Program Status: 4-Star Parent Aware & NAEYC Accredited Do you love cuddle time, milestone celebrations, and making a genuine difference in a child's foundational early months? At Discovery Kids Childcare, part of Orono Public Schools, we believe early education should be joyful, nurturing, and collaborative. As a Lead Infant Teacher, you are the heart of our infant classroom - creating a safe, responsive environment where our youngest learners thrive. If you are passionate about early childhood development and want to lead a classroom in a supportive, NAEYC-accredited, 4-star Parent Aware program with a dependable Monday-through-Friday schedule (hello, free weekends!), we would love to have you on our team. The Opportunity: What You'll Do You will lead your classroom team in providing a nurturing, high-quality learning environment while guiding infant development and partnering closely with families. Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction Developmental Activity Planning: Plan and implement developmentally appropriate daily activities tailored to infant growth based on program guidelines. Authentic Assessment: Incorporate authentic assessments into weekly lesson plans to differentiate instruction for each child's individual needs. Progress Checkpoints & Conferences: Complete Teaching Strategies GOLD checkpoint assessments and conduct parent-teacher conferences with written progress reports twice per year. Classroom Schedules & Sub Plans: Post and follow the daily classroom schedule consistently, draft detailed routines for substitute folders, and prepare lesson plans and staged materials in advance for seamless transitions. Infant Health, Care & Environment Safe & Clean Space: Keep the physical classroom environment clean, orderly, and conducive to optimal infant development, picking up at the end of the day for custodial staff. Sanitation Standards: Sanitize mouthed toys daily and wash/sanitize classroom toys on a rotating basis. Ratio & Safety: Maintain required staff-to-child ratios while offering support to neighboring classrooms when ratios permit. Limit screen time strictly to age-appropriate and developmentally necessary content. Team Leadership & Family Connections Classroom Leadership: Guide, mentor, and supervise Assistant Teachers and Aides assigned to your classroom team. Family Engagement: Send a monthly newsletter covering upcoming learning goals and post daily photo updates on Seesaw. Respectful Partnerships: Build warm, collaborative relationships with families while honoring diverse parenting styles and maintaining strict confidentiality. Holistic Support: Collaborate constructively with office staff, Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) staff, and the Early Learning Student Support Specialist. Operations & Professional Conduct Communication: Regularly check your Orono email, connect to the Early Learning Staff Google Calendar, and promptly notify office staff of student absences via Google Chat. Professional Growth: Attend all scheduled staff meetings, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and Professional Development Days. Core Values & Organization: Model character traits of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship while keeping shared storage spaces clean and organized. What You Bring (Qualifications) Early Childhood Expertise: Strong background in early childhood education, with experience leading a classroom and caring for infants. Assessment Knowledge: Experience using authentic assessment tools (such as Teaching Strategies GOLD) and implementing developmentally appropriate infant curricula. Leadership Skills: Proven ability to guide, mentor, and collaborate effectively with assistant teachers and classroom aides. Professional Standards: High standards for confidentiality, organizational skills, and a commitment to honoring diverse parenting styles. Reliabil