Lead Infant Teacher - Orono Schools Discovery Kids

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.
• Reliability: Full-time availability Monday through Friday (40 hours per week).

What We Offer

• Work-Life Balance: A consistent full-time schedule with no weekend shifts.
• Professional Pride: The opportunity to lead a classroom in a top-tier, NAEYC-accredited, 4-star Parent Aware program within Orono Public Schools.
• Collaborative Community: A supportive, team-oriented culture with built-in PLC time, dedicated support staff, and continuous professional development.

Compensation: $21.62 - $23.84 per hour DOQ

Benefits:

• Insurance

  • Single Health: 90% Covered by District

  • Employee + 1 Health: 75% Covered by District

  • Family Health: 75% Covered by District

• Dental: 100% covered by District

• Life insurance equal to annual wages: 100% Covered by District

• LTD insurance: 100% Covered by District

• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)

VACATION AND HOLIDAYS
Vacation: 10 Days.
Holidays: 11 Paid Holiday/Year

OTHER BENEFITS
Incentive Pay: 1%

RETIREMENT/PENSION
Positions covered by Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)

Application Procedure:
All applicants must apply online at:

District Website:

Contact:
Kaela Gallup, Program Coordinator
952-746-5892 [email protected]
or
Dr. Scott E. Alger, Executive Director of Human Resources
952-449-8370 [email protected]