Compensation: Lower School (K-1st Grade) Head Teacher: 1.0 FTE (with benefits), $85,000 - $100,000 depending on experience

Peninsula School, a leader in progressive education since 1925, is a Preschool-8th grade school where children thrive and develop to their full promise as confident contributors in the world. At Peninsula, children learn about themselves and others, discover their passions, and grow intellectually in an inclusive community rich with choices, exploration, and play. In addition to intellectual development and social and emotional learning. Peninsula School has an explicit focus on educating for democracy, student choice and voice, and social justice. Peninsula School celebrated its centennial in 2025.

Head Teachers work closely together, sequencing and coordinating curriculum and miscellaneous logistics. All classroom teachers are responsible for teaching math, integrated social studies, literacy and social/emotional development. Teachers are provided flexibility in their classrooms to enable them to best serve the needs and interests of their students while remaining true to the mission, values, and progressive pedagogy of the school. 

 General Responsibilities

• Support and promote Peninsula School’s mission and values
• Provide a progressive program for children using instructional methods and materials that are responsive and appropriate to the intellectual, social and emotional needs of students and that fosters their positive learning and personal growth 
• Maintain a cooperative classroom environment that encourages problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, and intellectual curiosity 
• Create and maintain a welcoming, safe, equitable and respectful learning environment that honors and values a diversity of learning, cultural, ethnic, racial and sexual identities and lived experiences of the student population 
• Center student growth by managing and monitoring student learning 
• Remain current on educational research, topics and progressive practices
• Participate in and contribute to the school’s process of continual reflection and evolution of its program 
• Collaborate and communicate constructively with all other Peninsula School staff members
• Integrate culturally competent ways of thinking; incorporate anti-racist principles and practices into your daily teaching and learning approach
• Recognize and address the unique needs and varied learning styles of all children, ensuring each child’s progress in all areas
• Develop and implement teaching units that explore and examine multiple cultures, ethnicities, perspectives, lifestyles, lived experiences and identities 
• Monitor student learning 
• Build class community by fostering students’ social/emotional learning

Specific Duties and Responsibilities 

• Regularly adhere to the Peninsula School professional expectations and reflect on your engagement with our staff competencies (listed at end of job description)
•  Teaching and Learning Program:

• Serve as the head teacher who teaches math, English language arts, humanities with a focus on social-emotional development for students 5-7 years of age.

• Recognize and address the unique needs and varied learning styles of all children, ensuring each child’s progress in all areas 

• Develop and implement teaching units that explore and examine multiple cultures, ethnicities, perspectives, lifestyles, lived experiences and identities 
• Deliver a math curriculum that that is age-appropriate and that aligns with the scope and sequence of the overall school program 
• Deliver a structured literacy program that is age-appropriate and that aligns with the scope and sequence of the overall school program
• Share high level (month by month) curriculum goals and objectives for students with Director of Instruction & Belonging by the first back to school staff day 
• Monitor and document student learning with work samples
• Build class community by fostering students’ social/emotional learning
• All Peninsula LS Heads are to have completed Orton Gillingham Comprehensive Training before the beginning of the school year (Kindergarten - 4th Grade)
• Organize and lead fall and spring school overnight(s) and/or camping trip(s) (not including Preschool-1st grade teachers) 
• Communications with parents/caregivers: 
• Prior to the start of the school year, connect with families and students to welcome them to the class and begin to get to know them (could include but is not limited to a home visit, phone call, zoom meeting, feedback form, etc.)
• Clearly articulate program and developmental goals to parents 
• Clearly communicate student learning to students and parents 
• Maintain open lines of communication with parents 
• Post class schedule for families within one week of the beginning of school
• Communicate with families to share and preview classroom learning (newsletter, email, blog) on a bi-weekly basis
• Reflect on Practice:
• Examine and evaluate classroom program and teaching regularly and adjust as needed 
• Identify self-selected goals in 4 categories and work towards achieving them: dialogue with the Head of School and Director of Instruction and Belonging 2 times per year about your progress
• Identify a learning opportunity that will support your professionalism in your role at Peninsula School - submit a proposal and request to utilize the school's PD funds.
• Collaboration:
• Provide guidance and oversight to Assistant Teachers and Associate Teachers under the direction of the Director of Instruction & Belonging to nurture and enrich children’s experiences. This includes: supporting learning, goal setting, monitoring students, scheduling planning/prep and support time, providing feedback
• Support an open door policy for classrooms and meetings for teaching colleagues and program administrators, appropriate to role
• Participate in coaching conversations and peer-review on an as needed basis
• Logistics:
• Be present on campus from 8:45-3:15 pm daily. School day hours are 9am-3pm. 
• Attend the full work week before school starts, Tuesday staff meetings (until 5pm), in-service days, and other meetings as appropriate, according to individual classroom and student needs. Occasional weekend events required
• Attend (at least briefly) 2 of the 3 Big school community building and fundraising events organized by the “POP” People of Peninsula.  

Other Responsibilities 

• Meet with parents for conferences formally two times a year and provide additional conferences and communication as required or requested 
• Organize and facilitate group parent/caregivers meetings at least twice a year 
• Attend all staff meetings/in-services and contribute positively within those meetings
• Participate in school committees as needed 

To Apply:

Please fill out an employment application (also found on the Join Our Team page of our website https://www.peninsulaschool.org/about-us/join-our-team) and send it with a cover letter and resumé, to HR@peninsulaschool.org. 

Peninsula School is an equal opportunity employer and we actively promote the principles and practices of diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the school community. We actively support equal opportunity for all people and encourage members of BIPOC communities and LGBTQ+ candidates to apply. Our school is strongly committed to learning about and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all interactions and programs. We offer competitive compensation and a progressive community dedicated to learning and engaged citizenship. We encourage people of under-represented groups to apply.  For more information, please visit our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging webpage.

Qualifications and Requirements 

B.A. required. Passionate about working with children.  Experience with and/or aptitude for working with students and skilled in building a close rapport with children. Ability to work with a diverse population. Embrace progressive education ideals. Caring, flexible, creative, organized, good judgment, sense of humor.  Initial and continued criminal background clearance by DOJ and FBI and initial and continued tuberculosis clearance are required.

Competencies: To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging - A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and an ability to work with and support a diverse population of students and families. An ability to remain sensitive to the experiences of students, parents and faculty in all situations and integrate feedback into practice. 
• Growth Mindset – Recognizes the importance of learning and adopting and modeling a growth mindset. Stays abreast of best practices in schools and in supporting positive child and youth development, enthusiastically seeks out professional growth opportunities. 
• Relational Skills – Ability to relate well to a wide range of people, including building rapport with students, parents, faculty, staff, and administrators. Willingness to work to understand the culture of the school. Knowledge of each child’s challenges and strengths. Skill with conflict resolution, consensus building and decision-making. 
• Emotional Intelligence, Regulation, and Maturity – Ability to interact with individuals in heightened emotional states and navigate complex and emotionally challenging situations involving children and adults. A high degree of emotional stability, ability to separate one’s own emotions from a situation, and ability to maintain perspective in the midst of emotional situations is essential.  A willingness to center children.
• Communications Skills – Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of constituents. Maintains open communications channels with teaching staff, parents and administrators. Able to present information formally and informally in an effective manner both through oral presentations or conversation and through written means. Has a strong understanding of the power of word choice and the need for a high level of tact and professional, accurate communication. 
• Time Management Skills – Ability to manage many tasks and projects simultaneously and to prioritize them appropriately.
• Organizational Skills – Ability to balance many tasks and processes, including keeping track of progress on longer term projects or goals, managing details accurately, and following through in a timely fashion. 
• Problem Solving Skills – Ability to consider a broad range of internal and external factors when solving problems. Grasps complexities and perceives relationships among different problems or issues. Uses various solution-focused problem-solving strategies appropriate to the situation, including enlisting and seeking advice from others when appropriate. 
• Strategic Thinking Skills – Ability to work with others to gather, synthesize, and analyze quantitative and qualitative information and to develop plans for meeting short and long-range goals which support student learning and growth and advance the broader strategic direction of the school. 
• Child-Centered:  ability to center children, the Mission Statement and the values of the school. 

Physical Demands 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, ability to adjust focus, and sound hearing. The ability to speak clearly and coherently is required. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands, talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. On occasion, the employee is required to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, or crouch. Employee is required to operate a computer and office productivity machinery, communicate across a variety of media, and work in close proximity to others. The role may also require the employee to work in inclement weather during special activities and work at a desk for extended periods of time. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to listen, physically direct, and speak. The employee is required to sit (sometimes for extended periods); stand; walk on a variety of surfaces; climb stairs, bend and squat when communicating with younger students; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and ability to adjust focus. The noise and activity level in the work environment is variable, with times of quiet and times of high stimulation and activity. 

About Peninsula School

At Peninsula School, a leader in progressive education since 1925, nursery-8th grade children thrive and develop to their full promise as confident contributors in the world, learn about themselves and others, discover their passions, and grow intellectually in an inclusive community rich with choices, exploration, and play. In addition to intellectual development and social and emotional learning (SEL), Peninsula School has an explicit focus on educating for democracy, student choice and voice, and social justice.

Connections working at Peninsula School