Lead Teacher - Infant​/Toddler

Lead Teacher - Infant/Toddler

Baldwin Park

A little about us… Kidango (kidango.org) is an early learning nonprofit committed to setting every child on a path to thrive in kindergarten and in life. We believe that all children can reach their full potential if they and their families have access to the right opportunities and resources. As the largest child care provider in the San Francisco Bay Area, we provide thousands of children, especially those from low-income families, with safe, healthy, nurturing environments and relationships.

Through our policy work, we aim to take our expertise beyond the children and families that we serve, and drive change in early childhood education at the local, state and federal levels. Our goal is to make sure all children have the social, emotional, and academic skills they need to learn, grow and realize their potential.

The Lead Teacher provides leadership for the daily care, supervision, and early learning experiences of infants and toddlers in a state-funded early childhood program. This role is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe, nurturing, healthy, and developmentally appropriate environment where children feel secure, supported, and ready to explore and learn.

This role sets the tone for the classroom by modeling high-quality infant and toddler practices, including responsive caregiving, primary caregiving relationships, continuity of care, positive guidance, and strong teacher-child interactions, and leads the implementation of curriculum, supports individualized daily routines, conducts ongoing child observations, maintains developmental documentation, and fosters meaningful communication with families. The Lead Teacher also guides and supports classroom staff in maintaining consistency, safety, and professionalism.

Working closely with the Center Director, the Lead Teacher ensures that classroom practices align with organizational expectations and all applicable state regulations, including Title 22 and Title 5 requirements. The role supports individualized care and learning by adapting routines and environments to meet each child's developmental needs, including those with IFSP goals or other specialized supports.

• Lead the daily care, supervision, and early learning experiences of infants and toddlers in a safe, nurturing, clean, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment.
• Plan and implement age-appropriate curriculum, lesson plans, learning experiences, and daily routines that support each child's development, interests, and individual needs.
• Promote children's social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and early communication development through responsive caregiving, play-based learning, positive guidance, and strong teacher-child interactions.
• Ensure all classroom routines, including feeding, diapering, toileting, napping, transitions, indoor/outdoor play, and small group activities, are carried out safely, consistently, and with respect for each child's needs.
• Maintain active supervision at all times and ensure the classroom team follows Kidango's health, safety, supervision, licensing, and program requirements.
• Ensure compliance with Title 22, Title 5, and all applicable Kidango policies and procedures for state-funded early learning programs.
• Observe and document children's development using required assessment tools, screenings, notes, photos, and work samples, and use this information to plan individualized learning experiences.
• Support children with IFSP goals, developmental needs, disabilities, or other specialized supports in partnership with families, center leadership, and support staff.
• Maintain accurate classroom records, including attendance, meal counts, child observations, developmental documentation, assessments, and other required program records.
• Partner with families through regular, respectful communication, parent-teacher conferences, and family engagement practices that recognize families as the child's first teacher.
• Provide leadership, modeling, and daily guidance to Associate Teachers, Teacher Aides, and classroom support staff to promote strong teaching practices, teamwork,…