Early Preschool Lead Teacher

Early Preschool Lead Teacher

Cobb Children's Learning Center is looking for a warm, dependable, and enthusiastic Early Preschool Lead Teacher to create a safe, engaging, and nurturing classroom for young children as they build independence, language, social skills, and confidence.

This is a full-time, salaried position, generally 36+ hours per week.

About the Role

As an Early Preschool Lead Teacher, you'll guide children through an exciting stage of development filled with exploration, growing independence, emerging friendships, and rapid learning. You'll create a classroom where children feel secure and supported while also having plenty of opportunities to move, create, communicate, investigate, and learn through play. You'll also provide leadership within the classroom, work closely with Assistant Teachers and other staff, and build positive relationships with families.

What You'll Do

Your responsibilities will include:

• Plan and lead developmentally appropriate classroom activities
• Create hands-on learning experiences that encourage curiosity, creativity, communication, problem-solving, and cooperation
• Use children's interests, abilities, developmental levels, cultures, and experiences to guide classroom planning
• Establish predictable routines that help young children feel safe and successful
• Support children as they develop independence, communication, emotional regulation, and social skills
• Use positive guidance and age-appropriate behavior-support strategies
• Maintain a welcoming, organized, inclusive, and engaging classroom
• Actively supervise children throughout the day
• Maintain required staff-to-child ratios and group-size requirements
• Observe and document children's development, learning, behavior, and interests
• Use observations to help plan future learning experiences
• Communicate professionally and regularly with families
• Maintain accurate and confidential classroom and child records
• Work collaboratively with Assistant Teachers, administrators, and other staff
• Provide clear and respectful classroom leadership
• Participate in required meetings, training, professional development, and coaching
• Follow all health, safety, sanitation, emergency, licensing, confidentiality, and mandatory-reporting requirements

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who:

• Genuinely enjoys working with young children
• Is patient, encouraging, and energetic
• Can create a calm and predictable environment while still making learning fun
• Understands that early preschoolers are learning how to communicate, share, wait, follow routines, and manage big emotions
• Builds strong, positive relationships with children
• Communicates respectfully with families and coworkers
• Is comfortable leading a classroom and supporting other staff
• Is dependable, organized, and responsible
• Can adapt when children or classroom needs change
• Values teamwork and professional growth
• Is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate environment

Reliability Is Important

Young children benefit from familiar, consistent caregivers. Because the Lead Teacher plays an important role in classroom supervision, staffing ratios, safety, and continuity for children and families, regular and reliable attendance is an essential responsibility of this position.

We're looking for someone who arrives on time, communicates well, and can be counted on by children, families, and coworkers.

This Is an Active Job

Early preschool classrooms are busy, hands-on environments. With or without reasonable accommodation, this position includes:

• Standing, walking, sitting, bending, kneeling, crouching, and frequently moving between the floor and standing
• Participating in indoor and outdoor play
• Moving quickly when a child needs assistance or a safety concern arises
• Lifting and carrying classroom materials weighing up to 25 pounds
• Assisting or moving a child when reasonably necessary for care or safety
• Helping with classroom setup, cleanup, sanitation, and organization
• Continuously observing children and the classroom environment to provide appropriate supervision

CCLC considers reasonable accommodations for qualified employees as required by law.

Professional Requirements

The Early Preschool Lead Teacher must maintain all certifications, training, background-check eligibility, and other qualifications required for the position in the State of Oregon. All employees must also follow applicable child-safety and mandatory-reporting requirements.

Why This Role Matters

Early preschool is a remarkable stage. Children are discovering their voices, testing their independence, forming friendships, learning routines, and developing skills they'll build on for years. A great Early Preschool Lead Teacher helps children feel safe enough to explore, supported enough to try, and confident enough to keep learning.

If you enjoy getting down on the floor to play, reading the same favorite book again, celebrating small victories, helping children work through big feelings, and creating a classroom full of meaningful learning experiences, you may be exactly who we're looking for.

Compensation & Benefits

Annual Salary: $38,000-43,000 DOE. Salaried employees receive front-loaded PTO, holidays, closures, and other benefits in accordance with Cobb Children's Learning Center policies.

Apply Today

If you're looking for a teaching position where you can build meaningful relationships with children and families while helping young learners grow every day, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today to join Cobb Children's Learning Center as our Early Preschool Lead Teacher.