Teacher Kindergarten jobs in Stamford, CT

Greenwich Country Day School is an independent, co-educational day school with a current enrollment of over 1400 students in grades N-12 and a faculty and staff of over 350. The original Old Church Road campus is home to grades N-8. The  High School (9-12) established in 2019, is located less than two miles away on the Stanwich Road campus. Founded in 1926, GCDS is a school where innovative teaching is encouraged as teachers model and foster a love of learning, challenge and inspire children toward academic excellence, and cultivate students’ interests and talents outside of the classroom. We value purposeful and personal learning in a joyful environment, with emphasis on the development of character, creativity, and a sense of personal value along with strong academic skills. GCDS is committed to graduating ethical, confident leaders who possess a strong sense of purpose.

GCDS is fortunate to have built a large endowment that helps to fund competitive salaries and benefits,  a robust professional development program, and reimbursement for graduate school tuition. GCDS offers a substantial need-based financial aid program to support students from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. 

Diversity is a core value at GCDS, and we seek candidates who demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion. Candidates from underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply.  GCDS is pleased to offer transportation support and accommodations, as needed, along with an introduction to the local area, for those candidates who travel from outside of the region for on-campus employment interviews.

Greenwich Country Day School seeks a Pre-Kindergarten Homeroom Teacher to start in August 2024. The PreK teacher will collaborate with colleagues in their grade level and across the school, and act as a professional mentor and role model for the co-teacher in their classroom. The ideal candidate will have a passion for working with PreK-aged students to support their learning needs and be comfortable working with both their own class and students from across the grade level. Applicants must be certified in Early Childhood Education and have recent experience leading a PreK classroom. 

At GCDS we believe that the foundation for all learning is established during early childhood. The physical, cultural, social/emotional, cognitive, and language domains are inherently intertwined in the growth and development of our youngest students. Our early childhood professionals understand the importance of supporting each child’s growth throughout this process of learning, as well as their role in incorporating it into developmentally appropriate practice for students.

Each GCDS faculty member is expected to demonstrate ability in the following areas:

• Fosters and stewards a culture of mutual respect, equitable practice, and joy in and out of the classroom
• Demonstrates cultural competency and is able to communicate and collaborate effectively across difference
• Sets high expectations for learning, academic achievement, and character development

• Exhibits strong working knowledge of student cognitive development and learning preferences
• Identifies and supports students’ social, emotional, and academic needs
• Provides timely feedback to students, and collaborates with faculty to offer specialized support in pursuit of each student’s learning goals
• Implements a wide array of pedagogical tools and strategies in appropriate and effective combinations  

• Facilitates and designs effective group/collaborative work and productive dialogue among students and teachers
• Communicates effectively with students/families about classwork, learning goals, and student progress

• Demonstrates content knowledge and expertise; and scaffolds curriculum to ensure progress towards mastery
• Ensures that reading and writing are aimed across the curriculum and learning design
• Collaborates and plans actively for learning with teachers and students
• Implements backward design to align all lessons, activities, and assessments
• Designs formal and informal assessments that measure student progress; employs a variety of formative and summative assessments to gauge student progress toward mastery

• Fosters student growth through structured opportunities for reflection, including Student-Led Conferences and Presentations of Learning
• Provides opportunities for student engagement through “Voice and Choice”
• Creates relevant and authentic learning experiences; is able to include and/or connect with outside experts and resources towards this aim
• Showcases student work within the community and prepares students to exhibit and communicate effectively

The successful candidate will:

• Use educational programs identified by the school to deliver the GCDS PreSchool curriculum, and participate in regular professional development to ensure best practices are utilized
• Maintain a professional, open, friendly, and cooperative relationship with each child’s family, encouraging family involvement
• Communicate effectively with families about classwork, student progress, and social-emotional development
• Demonstrate knowledge and expertise in supporting early executive functioning skills, and design classroom layout, activities, and systems to support the development of EF skills
• Demonstrate knowledge of the many functions that language serves in the cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of development in the formative years
• Create and manage a literacy-rich environment that is responsive to each child’s unique path of development and supports reading and writing readiness practices
• Collaborate and plan actively for learning with the PreK teaching team, and with the Head and Assistant Head
• Collaborate and work with the school psychologist and members of the Student Support Team when required to support individual students or the class as a whole
• Implement backward design based upon the goals of the PreSchool program to create activities and assessments
• Employ a variety of summative assessments to gauge student progress 
• Facilitate student engagement and communication through small group, individual, and large group activities with the teacher and co-teacher
• Design and maintain a classroom learning environment that supports academic learning, and students’ developing independence 
• Design and maintain a classroom environment that is safe and nurturing for students, in which they feel confident to take risks, demonstrate their natural curiosity, and share their feelings and ideas
• Provide a variety of activities that facilitate the development of the whole child in the following areas: physical/motor, social/emotional, language/cognitive, and adaptive/living skills
• Participate and contribute to grade level, division, and school-wide events that contribute to the culture of the school and the experience of the students
• Participate and contribute to professional development and parent education opportunities

 Responsibilities Include:

• Instructional responsibility in the PreSchool curriculum
• Oversight of the development and progress of each child
• Assessment of all students’ progress in both written and verbal reports and conferences
• Communication with parents on a weekly or daily basis
• Collaborative work with colleagues on grade level, interdisciplinary faculty teams, Lower Elementary School faculty and staff, and the broader school community
• Supervision of students during recess and lunch, as well as arrival and dismissal on a regularly scheduled basis
• Participate in the school’s admissions process for new students.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree 
• A minimum of 3 years of successful classroom teaching experience with students in this age group, or demonstrated professional competency
• Entrepreneurial mindset and approach to building program beyond the current scope
• Demonstrated experience facilitating professional development for faculty
• A passion for learning and the ability to motivate and inspire students
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Commitment to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive school community
• Willingness to take on multiple roles within the division
• Personal traits appropriate for nurturing the growth of children - must be energetic, creative, flexible, patient, and have an inexhaustible sense of humor

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Education or Early Childhood
• Demonstrated experience in establishing collaborative relationships with external partners/organizations in the design and implementation of learning experiences
• Demonstrated experience in working as part of a department or grade-level team

Interested candidates are invited to use the link provided to submit a cover letter and resume to:

Raquel Salcedo, Director of Recruiting & Talent