Outdoor Youth Programs Lead Teacher

Hiring Nature Skills Homeschool Enrichment + After School Lead Teacher. This position is a 9 month school-year with school breaks the week of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and Spring Break. Hours will vary between 21 and 27 hours a week based on breaks between after school program sessions.

As a lead teacher, you will: 

Be the most senior educator in your classroom. Duties will include:

Lead Educator

• Teach and prepare the curriculum for your classroom with other members of your teaching team in alignment with Curriculum Intentions, Mission, Vision and Values. Implement provided curriculum with Coyote Mentoring learning platform. 
• Create a welcoming and emotionally safe classroom centered around a respectful relationship with nature. 
• Balances flow with structure and child led passions with teacher inspired activity invitations. 
• Keep personal and group empowerment at the forefront of all we do, believing in the children and teaching them to believe in themselves and each other. 
• Continually be aware of and address biased ideas and behaviors in the classroom and workplace, continue to learn your biases and dismantle them.
• Hold structure of thoughtfully designed classes and teach students real life wilderness skills along with science, literacy, math, art and engineering. 

Be Responsible for the Safety of Your Classroom

• Manage risk in an outdoor setting and proactively participate in daily and continual risk assessment.
• Maintaining the highest level of awareness and protection for members of the classroom at all times. 
• Manage inclement weather related challenges and class cancellations.
• All teachers required to maintain a first aid and toileting kit, kept on hand during all programs, replenishing form program stock when necessary. 

Be Responsible for the Wellbeing of All Students

• Address social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental needs of your students. 
• Seek support for student challenges from leadership when needed, report on progresses and challenges at routine meetings.
• Discipline students with positive discipline guidance; using respectful language, giving clear and achievable boundaries and giving reasonable and natural consequences whenever possible.

Family Communication and Support

• Lead family-teacher communication and student data tracking, using technology/collaborative tools such as Gmail, Google Drive, and student database.
• Conduct parent-teacher conferences twice a year for Nature Skills.
• Work with families of the program to meet needs, address concerns, and give reports, as needed at the end of the day.

Lead Teaching Team

• Collaborate with and cultivate a team of equally passionate, engaged educators, modeling best practices for the teaching team at your site.
• Help train and mentor assistant teaching staff for your classroom in partnership with Leadership.  
• Attend and sometimes lead (as directed) staff training and professional development. 

Manage Classroom and Site Needs

• Maintain planning for equipment and supply needs in partnership with the Assistant Teacher and other program staff aligned with the budget provided by Leadership. 
• Work with Leadership and land managers at the program site to maintain safety and excellent condition of land, suggesting projects or remediation as needed.
• Support class visits for potential students or guests when requested by Leadership. 
• Work with the public when in public parks to educate or increase safety. 
• Setup and take down the classroom daily, including canopies in wet/cold weather. 
• Complete daily paperwork including but not limited to risk assessment, health screening, absent child documents, and Incident Reports (when needed).

Other duties as assigned

How to apply:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Experience teaching children 5-12 years of age in environmental outdoor education programs or similar school settings. 
• Familiarity/Knowledge of Pacific Northwest hazards, wildlife, tracking, edible/medicinal plants and survival techniques including but not limited to: 
  • Strong experience in outdoor safety, assessing and teaching survival in wilderness situations
  • Bow drill and other friction fire starts, fire in all conditions, fire safety and respect for regulations in the operating area
  • Wood carving skills with a basic knife
  • Natural shelter building
  • Nature fiber work
  • Wild edible plants 
  • Stealth and natural camouflage
• Ability to lift 50 pounds on a regular basis, including loading and unloading classroom materials, moving sticks and logs, and moving children. Carry a backpack that weighs up to 30lbs for extended periods of time. 
• Must have personal transportation and be willing to transport program supplies as needed. 
• First Aid and CPR Certification or willingness to obtain. 
• Be able to pass a background check, have your own transportation and cell phone.

Find out more and fill out an employment application at www.olympicnatureexperience.org/meet-us