School Name: Lake Country School
Start Date: 08/18/2022
Title: Children’s House Guide
Closing Date: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled
Position Begins: August 18, 2022
Status: Full Time Salaried – 10 month teaching position
Salary: DOQ with competitive benefits package
FLSA Category: Exempt
Reports to: Children’s House Director
School Overview
Lake Country School (LCS) is a compassionate and joyful community of children, adolescents, families, and faculty and staff that learn and grow together year after year. An independent school with a 45+ year history that is a nationally recognized leader in Montessori education, LCS is guided by its mission and its core values of Montessori pedagogy, peace education, stewardship, and love of work. LCS supports its faculty and staff with competitive salaries and benefits, strong adherence to AMI standards, beautiful, simple, and rich learning environments with a full complement of materials, and a commitment to professional development.
LCS is truly one of a kind with its urban and rural campuses. Its urban campus is nestled into the vibrant Kingfield Neighborhood in South Minneapolis: a mile from the chain of lakes and a few miles from downtown Minneapolis with access to the high quality parks, museums, universities/colleges, and businesses of the Twin Cities. Its rural campus is a 160 acre farm property 75 miles away in western Wisconsin that provides an incredible environment for deep, rich, and meaningful learning opportunities on the land during day trips and overnights.
Position Overview
The Children’s House (CH) Guide is the educational leader of the classroom with the primary responsibility of creating and maintaining an authentic Montessori learning environment and offering presentations and guidance to support the developmental needs of children according to Montessori training. The CH Guide is also responsible for communicating and giving professional guidance to individual families regarding their child’s holistic growth and development, with regular connections throughout the year and a detailed written report annually. The Guide will work with an assistant as an educational team and provide direction to the assistant to support them in supporting the classroom.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Prepare and maintain a high quality Montessori learning environment for children ages 3-6 years old inside the classroom, in the hallway, and outside in the garden area
Plan presentations for the children and keep accurate records of presentations, classroom observations, and notes for conferences
Provide detailed information about a child’s overall development for families at fall and spring conferences, special conferences as needed, and end of year reports
Communicate with families through email and phone calls as needed throughout the year
Communicate with colleagues, the CH Director, and Head of School as needed regarding children in the classroom
Support new families transitioning into LCS
Help to plan and implement all CH special events annually (orientations, open houses, etc)
Set professional goals annually and plan and complete annual professional development that supports those goals
Manage their classrooms consumable budget throughout the year in coordination with the accountant and submits requests for their non-consumable budget to the CH Director annually
Support the school and its mission, vision, and values through being an engaged colleague by attending and contributing to creating a strong and vibrant school community
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree
Association Montessori Internationale Diploma for 3-6 year old children
Minimum of 2 years previous experience in early childhood education
Interest and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and working with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds
Effective verbal and written communication skills
Ability to pass background checks
Additional Characteristics of an Ideal Candidate
Minimum of 3 years experience as a Montessori Guide at the Elementary Level
Positive attitude, problem solver, honest and compassionate communicator
Enjoys and is skilled at building relationships with children, families, and colleagues
Driven to do high quality work
Interested in collaborating with colleagues
Warm and welcoming with children while being clear, confident, and firm when needed
Approaches differences with curiosity and acceptance
Experience and interest in equity, justice, and inclusion, as well as anti-racist, anti-biased education
Loves nature and connecting with the natural world
Welcomes feedback and wants to develop, learn, and improve professionally
Interested in hearing and understanding different and new perspectives
Skilled and experienced with Transparent Classroom record keeping program
Speaks a second language (Spanish or French preferred)
Humility, a sense of humor, and a warm and nurturing personality
Applicants from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply for all positions as Lake Country School is committed to its faculty and staff reflecting the diversity of the Twin Cities area.
Please submit a letter of interest, professional resume, and two professional references to:
Applications will be accepted until a successful candidate is selected.