Preschool Director

Education Director Job Description, B’nai Simcha Jewish Community Preschool 

Join our team at B’nai Simcha Jewish Community Preschool, an esteemed non-denominational Jewish preschool serving the San Gabriel Valley for over 40 years. Our play-based child emergent curriculum beautifully weaves Jewish culture, history, rituals, and traditions into every aspect of learning. With a low staff turnover, we offer a warm, welcoming, and inclusive community that makes B’nai Simcha a great place to work and grow professionally.

Please email your resume and cover letter to the search committee at [email protected]. This posting will be active until May 31st, 2024.

Qualifications:

• Experience in Jewish early childhood education preferred
• Knowledge and understanding of Jewish beliefs, practices, values and culture 
• BA in ECE or closely related field, Masters preferred
• 3 or more years of experience as part of an administrative team in an early childhood setting. 

Philosophy and curricula

• Ensure that best practices in ECE are implemented in the preschool with an emphasis on play, exploration and hands-on experiences.
• Continue to foster a strong sense of Jewish identity in the students by providing an environment rich in Jewish life, materials, equipment and the celebrations of holidays and daily practice.
• Plan developmentally appropriate curricula.
• Stay current with the most recent research in child development and implement new findings as they apply appropriately to the school. 

Administrative Duties

Work together with and supervise the administrative staff in the following tasks:

• Managing all facets of the day-to-day administration of the preschool. 
• Plan and execute community events such as Holiday celebrations
• Plan for the evaluation of students in relation to progress, abilities, and special needs, using the California State DRDP forms. 
• Plan back to school night, family get-togethers and the like.
• Ensure compliance to the California State Licensing and policies and procedures of the preschool. 
• Ensure that all staff and children’s files are kept, updated and are in compliance with state licensing.

Supervision, staffing and termination

• Hire new staff as needed 
• Supervise, mentor staff regularly 
• Prepare and carry out staff education days and ensure further education goals are set and met. 
• Carry out staff meetings twice per month with lead teachers and once a month with the entire staff.
• The Director will meet with all staff twice a year to evaluate performance, set goals, share feedback and provide support for further education and growth.  The purpose of these evaluations are the following:

•       To determine how well the administration is performing in assisting the partnership with work performance and objectives.
•       To ensure communication and two-way feedback.
•       To provide a consistent, and fair method of making compensation decisions.
•       To provide a tool for career planning.
•       To provide a permanent record of employee performance and organizational contribution.
•       To assist employees in correcting deficiencies and develop the employee’s full potential.

As part of ongoing supervision and mentoring of staff the director must address any and all issues that come up with staff in terms of tardiness, inappropriate conduct and the like. The following procedure must be followed:

• First step is an in person meeting with the director addressing the issue at hand where a time frame will be given to fix the issue at hand. A written report must be put in the teacher’s file and a follow up meeting should be scheduled. In certain grave cases termination will happen at this stage.
• In the event the issue was not corrected within the time frame, a new meeting will be held to discuss the next step.
• At this point a new time frame may be set in hopes that the teacher will be successful in following the philosophy and protocols of the school however depending on the discretion of the Director, termination may be the option. In both cases written reports will be added to the teacher’s file. 
• The Director must make staff aware of how to file a grievance with the parent board, should they want to. 

Parent Liaison

• Communicate and work together with the staff and parents to ensure each child’s individual needs are met.
• Develop individualized plans and for children with special needs, communicate with parents and IEP team as well as attend IEP meetings as needed. 
• Teach and prepare the Parent and Me programs as well as Parent education events.

Community Partner

• Works closely with Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center (PJTC), Jewish Federation, PJ Library and nearby synagogues to establish positive community engagement. Meet regularly with leaders from these organizations.

Fiscal

• Assist in the preparation and operation within the annual budget. 
• Be responsible for building the school’s enrollment with community outreach and communication strategies. Explore and implement enrollment building techniques, and add or enhance an 18 month and up program to increase the school’s offerings to the community.
• Oversee purchases of classroom supplies and equipment. 
• Keep track of expenses and bank accounts
• Process payroll as needed 
• Review the budget and overall school finances on a weekly-monthly basis with administrative staff and board Treasurer/President.
• Have strong knowledge of budget vs. actual expenses
• Ensure insurance policies are up to date and research options available to make sure plans are advantageous to the financial well-being of the school.
• Work closely with the Board and the community to launch and manage the school’s annual appeal and other fundraising campaigns

Other: 

• The Director reports into the Parent Board of Directors and is expected to attend board meetings monthly.
• This is a full-time, salaried (exempt) position. As a Director and salaried employee, the majority of workday should be spent on campus, as it is important for the director to support students and teachers and to interface with current and prospective families on-site.

Salary

• $60-$90K commensurate with experience

Benefits

• Health benefit 
• Paid time off
• Professional Development Budget 
• Vacation and sick time