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:     http://bit.ly/oronojobs

District Website:  www.oronoschools.org

Contact:
Kaela Gallup, Program Coordinator
952-746-5892  kaela.gallup@orono.k12.mn.us
or
Dr. Scott E. Alger, Executive Director of Human Resources
952-449-8370  scott.alger@orono.k12.mn.us