Director of Early Childhood Education

Job Description

St. Louis Catholic School, located in Pinecrest, Florida, is hiring for a Director of Early Childhood Education for the coming 2025-26 school year. S/he assists the principal in providing leadership in planning, organizing, and administering all functions of the early education program which are essential to the operation of a responsive, effective, and efficient instructional environment. This employee ensures the early education program provides maximum opportunity for student growth, by maintaining the highest standards of quality and compliance with local, state, ADOM, and FCC guidelines to achieve the fullest attainment of the school's unique Catholic mission. The Director of Early Childhood Education performs all duties and responsibilities in alignment with the mission, vision, and values of the Archdiocese of Miami.

Essential Functions include:
Creates a learning community of children and adults that promotes optimal child development and healthy families.
Responsible for the operation and instructional leadership of the center.
Application of a program to meet the needs of young children at different developmental levels.
Manages staff to carry out the mission of the program.
Recruits, selects, and orients personnel.
Oversees systems for the supervision of staff including retention and professional development.
Establishes collaborative partnerships with programs, staff, and family members to improve the services for children and their families.
Advocates on behalf of high-quality services that meet the needs of children and their families.
Applies knowledge of policies and procedures that meet state and local regulations as well as professional standards about the health and safety of young children.
Thoroughly understands and applies knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies that affect professional conduct with children and families.
Makes professional judgments based on the NAEYC "Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment."
Uses different observation techniques including formal and informal observation, behavior sampling, and developmental checklists.
Evaluates program effectiveness through observations and checklists.
Communicates effectively with parents through written and oral communication.
Implements practices for indoors and outdoors that help prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.
Maintains accurate record keeping.
Supervises teachers, teacher aides, after-school, and office staff.
Establishes performance goals and objectives.
Meets with other administrators, parents, and community organizations.
Works with the Principal to develop policies for early childhood and communicate the policies to parents and staff.
Ensures that all staff meet the professional development requirements of their jobs.
Ensures that the physical facility complies with local, state, and federal laws, and is a safe and appropriate environment for children.
Evaluates and orders equipment and supplies for early childhood programs.
Works with the principal to plan, organize, and direct all activities for early childhood programs.
Always maintain privacy and confidentiality.
Supervises arrival and dismissal procedures.
Demonstrates willingness to learn new skills, principles, tasks, procedures, and roles.

Qualifications:
A knowledgeable and practicing person of faith who is an active, participating member of a parish with a thorough understanding of and commitment to the Catholic philosophy of education.
Minimum: Bachelor's degree in early childhood education, child development, or elementary education, with Florida certification and at least five years of classroom experience.
Director's Credential.
Knowledge and experience with DF rules, regulations, and inspections.
Experience with leadership and management.
Experience in customer service and building professional relationships with parents.
Ability to work well with others (staff, children, and parents) and to foster a team environment.
A strong understanding of child development.
Excellent leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
Infant/child CPR and First Aid Certification.
Preferred: Master's degree in early childhood education with Florida certification and/ or Master's degree in educational leadership with Florida certification.
Experience in Roman Catholic environment preferred.
Demonstrated a history of maintaining confidentiality concerning school matters.
Good computer literacy, including the ability to navigate online applications and search engines effectively.
Good spelling and grammar are required.
Excellent customer service skills, including the ability to maintain focus on and professionalism with people in challenging situations, both in person and by phone.
Good time management, including the ability to manage several projects at the same time.
Good oral and written English-language communication skills, including a clear speaking voice.
Good Spanish-language spoken communication skills are strongly preferred.
Must be supportive of the mission and tenets of the Roman Catholic Church.
Must have a professional demeanor and the ability to relate to and influence others and to work in a collaborative and mission-focused environment.

To apply: Send a completed ADOM employment application, cover letter and resume to Principal Julie Perdomo.

About the Employer

The Archdiocese of Miami is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastic territory includes Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties in the U.S. state of Florida. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, which covers Florida. The archbishop is Thomas Wenski. As archbishop, he also serves as pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Mary, the mother church of the archdiocese. Also serving are 428 priests, 160 permanent deacons, 50 religious brothers and 300 religious sisters who are members of various religious institutes. These priests, deacons and persons religious serve a Catholic population in South Florida of 1,300,000 in 118 parishes and missions.