Early Childhood Education Specialist, Alpha

Salary & Benefits

$120,000 annual salary, distributed weekly. Full health, dental, and vision coverage begins day one. Relocation assistance is provided.

On-site position in New York City, NY.

Alpha School is transforming education by enabling children to achieve academic mastery quickly while dedicating greater time to developing essential life competencies. In Pre‑K, we focus on emotional security, curiosity, and the resilience to tackle new challenges.

Guide an on-site NYC Pre‑K group to foster a genuine love of learning while achieving approximately 2x the developmental gains seen in conventional preschool settings. Create purposeful, sensory‑enriched play experiences that integrate developmental objectives, document progress weekly, and rapidly adapt instruction for individual learners.

• Plan and lead 30–60 minute play‑based instructional blocks that foster joy, emotional security, and measurable developmental gains.
• Establish a movement‑ and sensory‑responsive classroom environment that sustains high engagement and enables four‑year‑olds to access learning through varied modalities.
• Conduct real‑time observation and documentation: record same‑day, objective observations linked to developmental domains, then refresh each child's milestone tracking weekly.
• Leverage data to inform teaching: review weekly documentation to pinpoint each child's next developmental threshold and design responsive instructional actions.
• Develop individualized, interest‑driven activity modifications anchored in each child's motivations, integrating one explicit developmental target, and reassess outcomes within two weeks.
• Support children through moments of frustration using composed co‑regulation and emotional guidance instead of reactive behavioral management.
• Share student progress, daily routines, and emerging observations clearly and proactively with families.

• Approach Pre‑K as custodial care instead of purposeful early education.
• Default to scripted worksheets or compliance‑focused teaching methods.
• Spend most of your day supervising academic applications rather than facilitating live, experiential learning.
• Apply reactive behavioral management instead of calm co‑regulation and emotional coaching.

Ensure NYC Pre‑K children develop a genuine enthusiasm for school while exhibiting accelerated early‑learning advancement through purposeful play experiences.

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development, or CDA/Montessori/Reggio credential.
• Minimum 2 years of experience working with 3–5‑year‑olds in a structured group setting (classroom, not solely one‑on‑one care).
• Documented success leading play‑based learning that produces observable developmental advancement.
• Confirmed ability to record developmental milestones objectively and reliably on a weekly schedule using a structured framework or rubric.
• Strong relationship‑building and emotional attunement: capacity to establish trust rapidly, interpret emotional signals accurately, and employ individualized motivators to activate engagement.
• Co‑regulation and frustration scaffolding: support children through emotional escalations using calm modeling and structured emotional coaching.
• Authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.
• Available to work full‑time on‑site in New York City, NY.

Alpha School is on a mission to reshape education with a bold approach that harnesses AI to accelerate learning and unleash student potential. We don’t play by the old rules. We are creating a new paradigm where students master core academics in just two hours a day, freeing up time for hands‑on, passion‑driven learning that truly prepares them for the real world.

This is a full‑time (40 hours per week), long‑term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $60 USD/hour, which equates to $120,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. Payment is weekly.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited. Hit the Apply button if you found this interesting and want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you!