Program Lead

North Country 3901 Little Rock Drive Antelope, CA 95843, USA

The Program Lead manages all programmatic and staffing aspects of an early care and education center, in accordance with the agency’s program and people management goals. This position ensures program quality is maintained in a single Catalyst Family Inc. licensed childcare center. The Program Lead provides oversight of the planning, implementation, assessment, reflection, and program requirements for school age and/or infant/toddler age children.

Program Leads are a classroom/program leader who must coach, mentor and provide ongoing observation and feedback to teaching staff, resulting in implementation of quality programming. Program Lead ensures that all children receive quality staff-child interactions and are supervised, at all times, in a safe and healthy environment.

The Program Lead works collaboratively with the Center Manager/Site Supervisor to support the business of the center including enrollment and attendance, purchasing and community relationship building. The Program Lead acknowledges and celebrates diversity among staff, children, and families, and provides an environment that reflects the diversity within a community. They create classroom environments that reflect the backgrounds and experiences of children, families, and staff.

Program Leads are in ratio approximately 33% of the time.

• Liaison for communicating Catalyst Family Inc. vision, mission, philosophy, and curriculum approaches to staff, parents, school personnel, the community, and State and local government agencies, as needed.
• Ensures streamlined processes for documented learning from observations/anecdotes to lesson plans, documentation, all assessments, internal and external reviews are consistent with Catalyst Family Inc.’s mission, values, philosophy, and position statements.
• Shares program information and assessment results with the center, supports, mentors’ and role models for teachers in the creation and implementation and evaluation/completion of center action plans through diverse strategies or approaches.
• Collaborates with center staff to provide an enriched, dynamic indoor/outdoor environment that meets the diverse and cultural needs and interests of children, utilizes staff, family, and community expertise. Environments are safe, clean, well maintained and meet agency and industry standards (ERS).
• Assesses program quality and curriculum implementation, health/safety, and licensing standards; takes steps to continuously improve in alignment with our agency’s quality standards as well as meet/exceed licensing and other external quality tools.
• Fully participates and leads QRIS for Infant/Toddler programs.
• Maintains knowledge of Developmentally Appropriate Practices and applicable curriculum influences such as Reggio Emilia, California’s Learning Framework and Foundations, Search Institute, and Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers (PITC) – as applicable to the age group(s).
• Using staff observations and program assessment tools, work with staff to develop and implement child growth plans.
• In partnership with center leadership and all staff, follows Catalyst’s Positive Behavior Approach and protocol with family members and provides tools and resources to support implementation of agreed upon strategies.
• Scheduled to be in ratio 33% of work week, depending on center needs.

• Manage a team at the center with a size ranging from 2-5 staff depending on center size and enrollment.
• Manage staff performance proactively; coach, support and provide feedback to staff regularly so that they can deliver their best.
• Conduct Annual Performance reviews on time and provide regular feedback.
• Facilitate highly effective, participatory team meetings that foster ownership of expected outcomes.
• Observe staff interactions with children, effectiveness of planned activities, maintenance and development of the learning environment and give staff immediate and useful feedback to achieve high program quality.
• Provide on-site mentoring and modeling in the classroom. Train and mentor teaching staff as needed,…