SYLead Teacher

Position: SY25-26 Lead Teacher ($2,500 Sign-On Bonus)
About Apple Tree

Apple Tree's mission is to close the achievement gap before students get to kindergarten. To accomplish this mission, we focus exclusively on Preschool and Pre-K education. We provide free, full-day public charter school programming for three- and four-year olds in 12 locations across Washington, DC, employing our innovative and award winning instructional model, called Every Child Ready (ECR). This instructional model provides educators with tools and resources for "What to Teach", "How to Teach" and "How to Measure Success."

Our instructional model is also used with partners across the nation. We continuously test and improve this model through feedback from Apple Tree educators, partners and other stakeholders to ensure that children are learning and exploring through play and appropriate instruction.

Position Summary

The Lead Teacher, with the support of a teaching team, is responsible for the growth and development of a classroom of students. The Lead Teacher uses his/her knowledge of the development of young children, the ways in which young children learn and scientifically based practice to provide instruction and support the social, emotional and cognitive development of young children. Lead Teacher is a non-supervisory position, and reports to the Principal.

This is an on-site position based in Washington, DC.

What you'll do…

Establish rich and engaging physical learning environments:

* Create a safe, clean, thematically based, attractive and engaging centers-based classrooms that encourage both exploration and complex play

* Ensure the classroom contains sufficient supplies and materials for the weekly plans and for all components of the day, and that unit materials are inventoried before and after each unit

* Encourage children's ownership and contributions to the classroom environment

Create environments and instructional opportunities that meet the needs of diverse learners:

* Implement the Every Child Ready (ECR) instructional model with fidelity and collaborates with the coach and principal to ensure fidelity

* Demonstrate an understanding of the problem-solving Response to Intervention (RTI) Instructional model

* Actively seek out available resources and supports for children who are not making expected progress, provides additional support for students in need of remediation and differentiation in the classroom

* Use a variety of observational and direct assessment tools in collaboration with ECR standards to determine children's varying needs and opportunities

* Use information and data from a variety of sources in order to differentiate instruction for all children

* Establish clear behavior expectations, rules and procedures to maximize learning time. Ensures effective implementation of universal behavior management systems as well as targeted plans to support student behavior

* Actively support the diversity of learners in their classrooms (e.g. cultural, linguistic and academic diversity)

* Foster tolerance and a sense of community in their classrooms, modeling and explicitly teaching acceptance and appreciation of others

* Collaborate and cooperate with related service providers and student support staff (SPED, ELL, PBS, etc.) to ensure the needs of all children are met, as needed

Support the development of young children:

* Plan adequate time for student talk and encourages children's language use throughout the day

* Plan and integrates instructional activities that promote children's understanding of the way things work and the world around them into the thematic curriculum

* Skillfully and systematically motivate students to participate in activities that support the development of their early literacy skills

* Implement instructional activities that encourage children's abilities to analyze, conceptualize, synthesize and evaluate

* Intentionally provide modeling and support for children's expressive and receptive language throughout the school day

* Intentionally and systematically implement direct instructional opportunities and provides modeling and practice opportunities for activities that promote children's social and emotional development throughout the school…