Lead Teacher - Child Development Center

As the nation’s leading nonprofit organization committed to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, the Y offers more than just a job. We offer you a career with a future and the chance to make a lasting difference in your community.

As a key player of our Child Development Center team, the Lead Teacher is responsible for the overall classroom atmosphere, the curriculum, the development of each child to their full potential and communication with parents and other classroom staff. As a center, we are committed to our vision as a place where staff, children and their families are a part of a learning community in which they experience a sense of wonder, play, adventure, investigation, and support.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Be punctual, reliable, creative, and self-motivated.
• Be responsible for creating, planning and executing developmentally appropriate activities in a weekly activity plan reflecting children’s needs, interests and abilities. Lesson plans will be turned in weekly to Director’s office.
• Maintain all documentation – attendance, incident reports, food program counts, medication waivers, Brightwheel, etc. – according to State Licensing and program requirements.
• Conduct ongoing observation and assessment of children’s age appropriate developmental growth.
• Ensure all children are treated with dignity and respect – understand that all children have their own unique abilities and gifts. Interact with children in a positive, calm and natural tone of voice. 
• Maintain classroom and center cleanliness, sanitation, organization and appearance.
• Build and maintain open communication with children, parents, director and other staff. 
• Conduct parent conferences twice yearly, or more often if needed to communicate a concern with a child’s developmental growth.
• Assist director in supervising teaching staff and providing input to performance evaluations.
• Be flexible to changing shift hours in order to meet center needs and classroom ratios.
• Attend all staff meetings – both center and YMCA meetings.
• Maintain State Licensing and YMCA required trainings annually. Maintain a negative TB test.

Know How/Requirements:

• Team player with personal commitment to YMCA Mission, Philosophy & Character Development Values.
• People centered, service oriented
• Ability to lead, manage, and supervise a staff team
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to care for young children in a group setting.
• Ability to work with others as a team. 
• Degree in Early Childhood Education or CDA preferred
• Experience in an Early Childhood setting required
• Infant/ Child/ Adult CPR and First aid (30 days post hire)
• Minimum age 18 years old
• Negative TB Test (every two years)
•  Able to pass multiple-screen drug test
• Completes required abuse risk management training. Adheres to policies and procedures related to appropriate boundaries with children.  Monitors building, staff and members and reports suspicious or inappropriate behaviors and policy violations to supervisor.   Follows mandated abuse reporting requirements to authorities.   

Physical Requirement:

• Lifting up to 50 lbs.
• Bending, stooping, sitting on floor or in child sized chairs
• Assisting with toileting 
• Climbing, reaching, running, pushing, walking, kneeling, stooping 
• Carrying or holding a child up to 50 lbs.
• Operating a computer
• Swimming with children are all required functions of the position
• Spending time outdoors during summer and winter months 
• Noise level – HIGH
• Ability to see
• Ability to hear
• Ability to project voice across a distance in normal and loud situations

The YMCA of Greater Louisville is an equal-opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, age, or disability status.