Sponsored – A new preschool is opening up in Battery Park City this September and they are looking for a Lead Teacher to start immediately. The preschool is called Battery Park Montessori and it looks like it is going to be a beautiful location right on the esplanade. It was started by Dr. Jennifer Jones, a local mom who has a great deal of prior success opening more than a dozen schools around the country. There will be six classrooms with 10 children per room and two teachers per class. Students will range in age from two to five years old. Below is a description of the position and if you are interested or know someone who is, please send an email to jjones@greenivyschools.com. This looks like a wonderful opportunity for someone!
Battery Park Montessori is a beautiful new preschool, located on the Hudson River, with views of the Statue of Liberty and nestled in one of Manhattan’s most breathtaking natural landscapes.
We are looking for an inspired and confident leader, with substantial Montessori teaching experience at the early childhood level, to captain our founding team of teachers and assistants and join us in launching a flagship location in Lower Manhattan.
Our school, which will be AMS accredited, will serve approximately 100 children, ages 2-5, in a combination of half days for younger children and full days for older children. Each group of ten children will have a Montessori-certified teacher and each teacher will have an assistant.
There is also the potential to expand this preschool into a small preK-5th grade Montessori program in 2015/2016, which would provide additional employment or promotion opportunities for any member of our staff.
Battery Park Montessori is the first of a network of schools under the umbrella of Green Ivy (www.greenivyschools.com). Green Ivy offers modern, community-inspired private schools and was founded by school development expert and Lower Manhattan mom, Dr. Jennifer Jones, in response to a local baby boom and rising shortage of schools.
Your position reports directly to Dr. Jones.
As a member of the Battery Park Montessori team, you would also receive the benefit of membership in the Green Ivy network, including possible employment opportunities in any of our schools. We currently have a second school opening in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District in the Fall of 2014 and serving preK-8th grade.
As a school leader or teacher in the Green Ivy family, you would have the additional benefit of being freed from the administrative responsibilities that typically hinder inspired teaching staff. Green Ivy will have responsibility for the majority of the school’s administrative needs, such as reporting and compliance with Department of Health requirements, management of staff benefits and other clerical Human Resource elements, and any and all issues pertaining to the school’s facility and its needs. In essence, you, as the school’s leader, would be free to focus on what matters most in the school: children, parents and teachers.
As our Lead Teacher, we would look to you to:
Safeguard a Montessori Culture
- Establish and maintain Montessori classroom culture, paying particular attention to the needs of students/parents new to Montessori
- Implement and update curriculum as student needs dictate, and recommend expenditures on needed materials
- Oversee the planning, preparation and maintenance of all units of study, lessons, and “works”
- Oversee the planning and preparation of a bi-annual presentation for school families
- Schedule all guest presenters and organize all field trips
- Give lessons when needed
Build, Manage and Nurture the Teaching Team
- Lead the hiring of teachers and assistants
- Ensure that an effective team is created and maintained through proactive and constructive oversight and feedback
- Conduct weekly teaching team meetings
- Conduct regular in-service training, starting prior to school opening and continuing indefinitely and as needed
- Ensure that all staff are informed of certification requirements and are on a path toward mutually established credentialing goals
Build the Parent Community
- Communicate with parents about their children’s school lives every 2 weeks
- Conduct or be responsible for implementing Parent Education workshops
- Contact and meet with specialists and/or parents regarding children with special needs
- Prepare for and schedule 2-3 individual communications with all parents during the year- including 2 parent conferences, Montessori community programs, parent visitations, and 2 open houses (Fall & Spring)
- Meet individually with prospective parents and students
- Schedule parent observations for perspective parents
We are seeking a candidate who, at a minimum possesses the following:
- Montessori certification at the Early Childhood level
- At least 5 years of Montessori classroom teaching experience
- A Bachelor of Education or related equivalent degree
We offer competitive compensation, which includes medical, dental, disability and profit-sharing (401k) benefits.
This position starts immediately.
If you are interested in this position, please respond directly to Dr. Jennifer Jones at jjones@greenivyschools.com with a narrative about yourself, your experience, your leadership capabilities, and your fit for this role in the context of this unique opportunity to launch a new school. We invite your detailed and personalized response. Please also include a résumé, your salary expectations and where you learned about this opportunity.