Lead Teacher | Two-Year-Olds

Two-Year-Olds | Full Time

The Sunnyside Academy is seeking a dependable, motivated, patient, and confident individual to join our team as a Full-Time Lead Teacher working with two-year-old children.

Our two-year-old classrooms support children during an important period of rapid growth and development. Children at this age are developing language, independence, social emotional skills, self-help abilities, toileting skills, classroom routines, and the ability to interact successfully with peers.

Working with two-year-olds is active and hands-on. Children may be at different developmental stages and may require significant assistance with diapering, toilet learning, communication, transitions, emotional regulation, and daily routines. Repetition, redirection, messy learning experiences, and helping children work through big emotions are normal parts of this age group.

The Lead Teacher is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe, nurturing, organized, developmentally appropriate, and engaging classroom environment. In addition to participating fully in the daily care of children, the Lead Teacher provides classroom leadership by maintaining routines and expectations, implementing curriculum and lesson plans, completing required documentation, communicating with families, monitoring children's development, and working collaboratively with Assistant Teachers and other staff assigned to the classroom.

The Lead Teacher should be able to take ownership of the classroom while also working cooperatively with administration and the center-wide team.

Employment Status: Full Time
Age Group: Two-Year-Olds
Position: Lead Teacher

Full-time employees are generally scheduled for approximately eight-hour shifts within The Sunnyside Academy's operating hours. Specific start and end times are based on classroom enrollment, children's attendance schedules, staffing needs, and required staff to child ratios.

Employees should maintain reasonable flexibility regarding scheduled working hours. Classroom assignments may also change based on enrollment, children's transitions, staffing needs, and the operational needs of the center.

The Lead Teacher is responsible for the overall daily operation and organization of the assigned classroom.

Responsibilities include:

• Establishing and maintaining consistent classroom routines, schedules, and expectations.
• Ensuring the classroom operates in accordance with applicable licensing requirements and center policies.
• Providing direction and guidance to Assistant Teachers, Floaters, Substitutes, and other staff assigned to the classroom.
• Communicating classroom responsibilities and expectations clearly to classroom team members.
• Ensuring required classroom responsibilities are completed consistently throughout the day.
• Maintaining an organized, prepared, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment.
• Identifying classroom needs and communicating them appropriately to administration.
• Working collaboratively with administration and other educators throughout the center.
• Modeling professional conduct, appropriate interactions, and expected classroom practices.
• Participating fully in direct childcare responsibilities rather than functioning solely in a supervisory role.

The Lead Teacher is responsible for ensuring the safe and appropriate supervision of all children assigned to the classroom.

Responsibilities include:

• Maintaining active supervision of children at all times.
• Ensuring required staff to child ratios are maintained.
• Remaining aware of the number and location of children in care.
• Ensuring classroom staff are appropriately positioned to supervise children.
• Providing attentive supervision during classroom activities, meals, diapering and toileting, rest periods, transitions, and outdoor play.
• Responding promptly and appropriately to children's physical, emotional, and developmental needs.
• Ensuring classroom staff follow applicable health, safety, supervision, and licensing requirements.
• Promptly reporting and appropriately documenting injuries, incidents, safety concerns, or concerns regarding a child's health or development.
• Ensuring classroom safety procedures are consistently followed by all assigned staff.

Children in our two-year-old classrooms may be at very different stages of toilet learning. Lead Teachers are expected to participate fully in diapering, toileting, and personal care and ensure that these responsibilities are appropriately shared among classroom staff.

Responsibilities include:

• Changing diapers and pull ups as needed.
• Supporting children throughout the toilet learning process.
• Establishing consistent toileting routines within the classroom.
• Providing regularly scheduled and individualized opportunities for children to use the restroom.
• Assisting children with wet or soiled clothing and toileting accidents.
• Ensuring changing and toileting areas are properly cleaned and sanitized.
• Supporting proper handwashing and personal hygiene.
• Encouraging age-appropriate independence with toileting and personal care.
• Monitoring children's toilet learning progress.
• Communicating appropriately with families regarding toilet learning and individual needs.
• Ensuring each child's dignity is maintained and care is provided without punishment, embarrassment, or shame.

Children may use available classroom equipment, including step stools, to increase independence when developmentally appropriate. Employees must be physically capable of safely assisting or steadying a child when necessary.

The Lead Teacher is responsible for providing an intentional, developmentally appropriate educational environment.

Responsibilities include:

• Planning and implementing developmentally appropriate learning experiences.
• Completing required lesson planning and curriculum responsibilities.
• Using established curriculum resources and materials provided by The Sunnyside Academy.
• Creating opportunities for language, literacy, early math, science, art, music, movement, sensory exploration, and purposeful play.
• Supporting fine motor and gross motor development.
• Supporting children's language and communication development.
• Encouraging age-appropriate problem solving and exploration.
• Maintaining organized and engaging classroom learning areas.
• Adapting activities and expectations to children's individual developmental abilities and needs.
• Ensuring Assistant Teachers and other classroom staff understand and participate in planned learning experiences.
• Maintaining required classroom and curriculum documentation.

Lead Teachers are expected to understand the developmental needs of the children in their classroom and communicate relevant observations appropriately.

Responsibilities include:

• Observing children's development and participation throughout the classroom day.
• Recognizing individual strengths, emerging skills, and areas where additional support may be appropriate.
• Maintaining required developmental and classroom documentation.
• Communicating relevant observations with administration and families as appropriate.
• Working collaboratively with administration when developmental, behavioral, or other concerns arise.
• Supporting individualized strategies or recommendations established for children when applicable.
• Maintaining confidentiality regarding children and families.

The Lead Teacher establishes classroom routines and experiences that help children develop increasing independence and foundational skills as they progress through Sunnyside's classrooms.

Children are supported as they learn to:

• Follow consistent classroom routines.
• Communicate wants and needs.
• Participate appropriately in individual and group activities.
• Follow age-appropriate directions.
• Transition between activities.
• Clean up toys and classroom materials.
• Practice appropriate mealtime routines.
• Wash and dry their hands.
• Care for personal belongings.
• Complete developmentally appropriate tasks with increasing independence.

Expectations must be individualized according to each child's developmental abilities and needs.

Two-year-olds are still developing language, impulse control, emotional regulation, and social skills. Behaviors such as tantrums, difficulty sharing, frustration, biting, hitting, pushing, and needing frequent redirection can occur during this developmental stage.

The Lead Teacher is expected to:

• Establish a calm, consistent, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment.
• Remain calm and effective during challenging moments.
• Respond appropriately to tantrums, separation difficulties, frustration, and other strong emotions.
• Provide frequent and consistent developmentally appropriate redirection.
• Help children learn appropriate ways to communicate wants, needs, and emotions.
• Appropriately address age-related behaviors including hitting, biting, pushing, and difficulty sharing.
• Model appropriate communication and social interactions.
• Use positive guidance strategies.
• Guide classroom staff in the appropriate use of positive guidance and redirection.
• Communicate recurring behavioral concerns to administration and families as appropriate.
• Follow all center policies regarding behavior guidance and discipline.

Yelling, threatening, humiliating, frightening, shaming, or inappropriate physical discipline is prohibited.

Lead Teachers have an important role in maintaining appropriate and professional communication with families.

Responsibilities include:

• Communicating relevant information regarding children's daily experiences, development, routines, and needs.
• Maintaining professional and respectful communication with families.
• Communicating concerns through appropriate center procedures.
• Maintaining confidentiality regarding all children and families.
• Avoiding discussion of other children, families, employees, or confidential classroom matters.
• Working with administration when family concerns or situations require additional support.
• Using approved center communication methods and maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.

Lead Teachers participate fully in classroom meal and snack routines and ensure appropriate procedures are followed.

Responsibilities include:

• Preparing the classroom for meals and snacks.
• Serving food according to established procedures.
• Actively supervising children throughout meals.
• Encouraging developmentally appropriate self-feeding and utensil use.
• Modeling appropriate mealtime behaviors.
• Monitoring children for choking hazards, allergies, and other safety concerns.
• Ensuring applicable food allergy and dietary procedures are followed.
• Cleaning and sanitizing tables and eating areas before and after meals.
• Ensuring meal and snack responsibilities are appropriately shared among classroom staff.

Maintaining a clean and sanitary environment is an essential responsibility of all classroom staff, including the Lead Teacher.

Lead Teachers are expected to participate in and ensure completion of routine classroom cleaning throughout the workday, including:

• Cleaning and sanitizing classroom tables and surfaces.
• Cleaning and sanitizing toys and classroom materials.
• Addressing spills and classroom messes as they occur.
• Cleaning following meals and snacks.
• Cleaning and sanitizing following diapering or toileting accidents.
• Maintaining changing and restroom areas.
• Sweeping and completing other routine classroom cleanup as necessary.
• Organizing classroom materials and supplies.
• Ensuring end of day classroom cleaning and preparation is completed.
• Following required sanitation and infection control procedures.

The Lead Teacher position does not exempt an employee from routine cleaning, diapering, toileting, meals, or other direct-care responsibilities.

Regular, dependable, and punctual attendance is an essential function of this position.

Licensed childcare programs are required to maintain established staff to child ratios. Because Lead Teachers also provide consistency, leadership, and structure within their classrooms, dependable attendance is particularly important to the successful operation of the classroom.

The Sunnyside Academy recognizes that illness, emergencies, and unexpected circumstances occur. Employees are nevertheless expected to maintain consistent attendance, report to work as scheduled, arrive prepared to begin their responsibilities on time, and follow established notification procedures when an absence or delay is unavoidable.

Active supervision requires employees to remain attentive and available to the children in their care. Personal cell phones, smart devices, and other personal electronics may not be used while an employee is responsible for supervising children or counted within required staff to child ratios, except when specifically authorized for an emergency or legitimate work-related purpose.

The following qualifications are preferred:

• Previous experience in a licensed childcare or early childhood education setting.
• Experience working with toddlers or two-year-old children.
• Previous Lead Teacher, classroom leadership, or comparable experience.
• Early childhood education coursework, certificate, credential, associate degree, bachelor's degree, or other applicable education.
• Experience implementing early childhood curriculum and lesson plans.
• Experience supporting diapering and toilet learning.
• Experience communicating professionally with families.
• Current CPR and First Aid certification.

Candidates who have not previously held the formal title of Lead Teacher may still be considered if their education, childcare experience, leadership abilities, reliability, professionalism, and demonstrated skills indicate readiness to successfully lead a classroom.

The Sunnyside Academy considers continued professional development an expectation of employment for individuals working in educator positions.

Because this is a Lead Teacher position, candidates with existing early childhood education coursework, credentials, or degrees are strongly preferred.

Employees who do not already meet applicable early childhood education requirements will be expected to begin or continue an appropriate education pathway following employment. Depending upon available programs and the employee's existing education, this may include enrollment in an approved accelerated or bootcamp style program or applicable early childhood education coursework.

The Sunnyside Academy will provide employees with information and assistance regarding appropriate education pathways and available scholarship opportunities.

New Mexico provides scholarship opportunities for eligible early childhood professionals pursuing qualifying early childhood credentials and degrees. Qualifying employees may have the opportunity to complete required coursework at no personal tuition cost through available scholarship programs.

Scholarship eligibility and funding are determined by the applicable program. Employees are responsible for completing all required applications, enrollment processes, documentation, deadlines, and other requirements necessary to obtain and maintain scholarship funding.

Employees assigned to qualifying infant and toddler classrooms may be eligible for additional compensation through programs administered or supported by the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD).

The Infant/Toddler Pay Parity Program is intended to support compensation for qualifying early childhood educators based upon applicable education, credentials, experience, position, and program requirements.

Eligibility and parity compensation amounts are established by the applicable New Mexico ECECD program and are not determined or guaranteed by The Sunnyside Academy.

Candidates with existing early childhood credentials, college coursework, associate or bachelor's degrees, or other qualifying education are encouraged to review current ECECD eligibility requirements and compensation levels.

Current program information, eligibility requirements, and applicable parity compensation amounts are available through the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department.

Employment is contingent upon meeting all requirements applicable to employment within a New Mexico licensed childcare facility.

Employees must:

• Successfully complete and maintain all required New Mexico ECECD background clearance requirements.
• Complete fingerprinting and required comprehensive background check procedures.
• Maintain required background clearance throughout employment.
• Establish and maintain a Professional Development Information System (PDIS) profile when required.
• Complete required orientation, health, safety, and professional development training.
• Complete continuing professional development required for the position.
• Obtain and maintain CPR and First Aid certification as required.
• Maintain required employment and regulatory documentation.
• Comply with applicable New Mexico childcare licensing requirements.
• Comply with The Sunnyside Academy's policies, procedures, confidentiality requirements, and professional standards.

Current CPR and First Aid certification is preferred but is not required at the time of application. The Sunnyside Academy coordinates required CPR and First Aid training for employees who are not currently certified.

The Lead Teacher position requires regular physical activity throughout the workday.

Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position, with reasonable accommodation when applicable, including:

• Standing and walking for extended periods.
• Frequently bending, kneeling, crouching, and reaching.
• Sitting at child level and on the floor.
• Repeatedly transitioning between standing and floor level.
• Moving throughout indoor and outdoor environments while actively supervising children.
• Safely assisting or steadying children during diapering, toileting, handwashing, dressing, and other personal care routines.
• Responding promptly when necessary to protect the health or safety of a child.
• Participating in indoor and outdoor classroom activities.
• Handling routine classroom materials, equipment, meals, and supplies.

Successful Lead Teacher candidates are expected to demonstrate:

• Dependability and punctuality.
• Professional conduct and communication.
• Patience and appropriate interactions with young children.
• Strong classroom leadership and organization.
• Initiative and the ability to identify what needs to be done without continual direction.
• Ability to provide appropriate direction to classroom team members.
• Ability to remain calm and effective when several children need assistance at the same time.
• Ability to provide frequent repetition and redirection without becoming frustrated.
• Ability to balance classroom leadership with direct participation in children's care.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a classroom and center wide team.
• Ability to follow established procedures and accept constructive feedback.
• Flexibility in response to changing classroom and staffing needs.
• Appropriate professional boundaries.
• Respect for confidentiality.
• Willingness to participate in all aspects of classroom care, including diapering, toileting, cleaning, meals, and routine personal care.
• Commitment to continued professional education and development.
• Commitment to providing children with a safe, respectful, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate environment.

Candidates interested in the Full-Time Two-Year-Old Lead Teacher position are encouraged to submit an application for consideration.

The Sunnyside Academy is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants in accordance with applicable federal and state employment laws.