Classroom Manager, Pre-K

Role: Classroom Manager

Team: Child Development

Scope: Leader

Reports To: Program Manager

Years of

Experience:

5+

Location: Ventura, CA

Age Group: Pre-Kindergarten (3.5-5)

Compensation Range: $29.00-$34.00 per hour

Great Pacific Child Development Center was founded in 1983 by Malinda Chouinard and Jennifer Ridgeway to provide childcare to employees of Patagonia. What the company has learned over the decades about children, childcare, and supporting working families is chronicled in the book:
Family Business and in a series of videos (). Currently, Patagonia provides on-site childcare for employees in three locations:
Ventura, CA Main Campus, Ventura, CA Brooks Campus, and in Reno, NV at the Distribution Center.

Patagonia’s mission and values are put into practice every day throughout our child development centers.

A classroom manager is responsible for all aspects of teaching and overall management of the classroom. Classrooms are typically structured with children from birth to two years, or two to three and a half years or three and a half years to kindergarten.

Responsibilities include:

physical caregiving, child development assessments, implementation of age-appropriate, individualized curriculum, facilitating supportive relationships with children, parents, and colleagues, mentoring and managing 2-3 people on the classroom teaching team and ensuring constant communication flow between administration, the teaching team and parents.

The responsibilities of this position will include, but are not limited to the following:

At our Child Development Centers, we understand the importance of a meaningful bond between child and caregiver. These relationships are foundational to our program, and they are an integral piece of high-quality group care. A primary caregiver is a role within the classroom that is specific to classroom managers and primary teachers. Typically, a primary caregiver will adhere to a ratio of 1:3/4 for infants, 1:6/7 with preschoolers, and 1:8/9 with pre-kindergarten.

Kids Club does not assign primaries.

• Assign the children in your care to a primary caregiver. Track the development of your primary children, managing their classroom transitions, and coordinate their integration hours.
• If a new family is joining the Child Development Center, primary caregivers are responsible for connecting with the family to review our program and practices. Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten primary caregivers will host a meeting onsite, and infant primary caregivers will conduct a home visit.
• Complete routine assessments of your primary children’s development including learning stories, facilitate parent input using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and share information during regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences.
• If needed, facilitate the referral process and individualized interventions with the help of the program manager to make sure each child reaches their developmental potential.

The learning that takes place at our Child Development Centers extends beyond the four walls of the classroom. Our children are immersed in emergent curriculum and outdoor exploration that fosters curiosity, joy, and self-expression.

• Ensure a high-quality, developmentally appropriate classroom exists in accordance with Patagonia’s policies/philosophy and Department of Social Services child care licensing rules and regulations as outlined by the state.
• Co-create and organize a stimulating and developmentally appropriate learning environment both inside and outside.
• Ensure visual supervision and child safety at all times.
• Design emergent curriculum that meets the needs of the individual learning style of the children in your care.
• Form relationships with families, children, and co-teachers that are respectful of individual differences and culture, family styles and cultural/socioeconomic diversity.
• Offer guidance and direction to support the professional development of your teaching team.
• Ensure a structured routine that allows for scheduled meal and rest breaks for the teaching team and maintains a flexible yet consistent daily schedule and routine for the…