Assistant Director - Early Childhood Education

Children from infancy through first grade deserve a year-round program where curiosity, care, and academic readiness grow together. This role turns that promise into daily practice: coaching educators, aligning curriculum, and making sure every child is known, safe, and progressing. You will shape the conditions in which teachers do their best work and families trust the journey from the first months of life into elementary school. This position is onsite in Jersey City, NJ.

Performance Objectives

• Raise instructional quality so each classroom delivers developmentally appropriate, individualized learning that moves children toward age-appropriate milestones.
• Coach head teachers and assistants on weekly planning, creative learning experiences, routines, and positive guidance—with observable improvement in practice within the first two terms.
• Build a consistent family-communication standard so caregivers receive clear, timely updates on progress and behavior, approved through the teaching team.
• Keep ratios, supervision, health, and safety practices inspection-ready across the full-day, year-round program.
• Close staffing and coverage gaps by scheduling, onboarding, and developing educators who can flex across age groups without lowering care quality.
• Use child-progress and classroom observations to adjust curriculum, identify children who need more support, and report trends to school leadership each month.
• Lead professional learning that helps teachers use their strengths while holding a shared standard for social-emotional, physical, and cognitive growth.

Environment & Resources

You report to the school director and partner daily with head teachers, assistants, and families. The program runs across multiple buildings and age groups, from infants through first grade, on a structured 12-month calendar. You will have authority to set classroom routines, observation cycles, and coaching plans, and access to curriculum materials, family-communication tools, and a benefits-supported professional development budget. Success depends on being present in classrooms, not managing from a desk.

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a closely related field; master’s degree or equivalent leadership credential preferred.
• At least four years in early childhood settings, including two leading or coaching teachers of children from infancy through early elementary.
• Demonstrated ability to design culturally responsive activities and individualized plans that teachers can actually implement.
• Working knowledge of state child-care licensing, health and safety standards, and positive behavior guidance.
• Clear written and spoken communication with children, families, and staff; comfort using school technology to plan, document, and assess.
• Physical ability to supervise active classrooms, including lifting up to 40 pounds and moving, kneeling, and sitting at child level.

Role Selling Points

• Lead a holistic program that treats physical, cognitive, and social-emotional growth as one job, not three separate tracks.
• Shape practice from the earliest months through first grade, where strong routines make the move into schooling smoother.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) with match, paid time off, employee assistance, and a child-care discount.
• Gym reimbursement, professional development support, and room to grow inside a community-oriented school.
• A culture that expects teachers to use their talents while holding every child to a high, personal standard.

Call to Action

If you can coach a team, protect childhood, and prove that children are learning, apply now. Tell us about a classroom you improved and how you knew it worked.