Lead Teacher

Who We Are

For more than 140 years, The Family Partnership has built strong families, vital communities, and better futures for children. We fulfill our mission through counseling, education, and advocacy, primarily in the greater Minneapolis and St. Paul area. The Family Partnership was founded in 1878 as the Minneapolis Humane Society to protect and serve children that were being abused or exploited. Along with a few name changes, our work has continually transformed to anticipate and address the evolving needs of families and individuals, many of whom are the most vulnerable in our community.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

At The Family Partnership, we partner with you and in turn, we partner with those we serve. Our programs holistically address the needs of people in our community. Through our two-generation (2Gen) or whole family approach, we work with people so they can heal from trauma and adversity and move towards greater health and well-being. Our shared values establish a common purpose across our array of programs and services. You can bring your authentic self to the workplace, while practicing both cultural competence and inclusivity. We’re known for developing future leaders in the non-profit space and we expect employees to share their views. Our culture is one of open communication and transparency regardless of job level.

Wages

$23.00 per hour

Benefits

• Generous paid time off, plus 10 paid holidays
• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and options for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Long-term disability insurance – the employer pays the premiums
• Employer-paid basic life insurance with the option for additional coverage paid by the employee
• Voluntary benefits: Accident, hospital indemnity, critical illness, short-term disability insurance
• TFP sponsors a retirement plan with a tiered vesting schedule based on years of service, plus a 2% employer contribution after one year of service.
• This position is eligible for grant-funded additional compensation (typically up to +$2 per hour)

Because TFP is a member with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) who partners with St. Mary’s University, TFP employees and their spouses are also eligible for the following benefits at St. Mary’s University:

• Discounted tuition for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate programs
• Professional development opportunities
• Access to advancement (internships, job placement, field practice)

Job Summary

The Family Partnership is looking to hire 2 Lead Teachers at Four Directions – one for the Dakota Language Immersion room and one for the Ojibwe Immersion room. The age group is preschool for both positions. Four Directions is a full-day therapeutic education and care program for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years of age and is committed to the revitalization of the Dakota and Ojibwe languages. TFP is honored to partner with Wicoie Nandagikendan to provide language immersion and culturally responsive early childhood education.

This unique Lead Teacher position combines classroom leadership with collaboration in our language immersion program. During immersion hours, the Lead Teacher supports the Language Immersion Teacher and helps facilitate daily activities. Outside of immersion programming, including afternoons, non-immersion days, school breaks, and summer months, the Lead Teacher serves as the primary classroom teacher, responsible for lesson planning, curriculum implementation, classroom management, and family engagement.

Responsibilities

• Providing a safe, stimulating, healthy, and nurturing environment that ensures all children have a positive experience.
• Teaching age-appropriate activities for both group learning and self-selected play.
• Developing and implementing weekly lesson plans and learning opportunities that align with children’s ages and skill levels.
• Implementing the Teaching Strategies curriculum within the classroom.
• Completing child assessments and individual goal setting three times per year and including parents and therapists in the process.
• Supervising and actively participating in children’s daily activities and field trips.
• Ensuring constant and appropriate supervision of all children.
• Maintaining accurate participant and program records, including required daily notes for each child.
• Participating in parent-teacher conferences and making referrals based on individual child needs when necessary.
• Cleaning and disinfecting toys, tables, and classroom surfaces and conducting daily safety inspections of play areas, classrooms, and playgrounds.
• Maintaining compliance with DHS and CACFP requirements.

Who You Are

• You hold a current Child Development Associate (CDA) Certification or equivalent Child Development college credits (24).
• You bring at least six months of experience working in a childcare setting.
• You demonstrate knowledge of child development from six weeks through five years of age.
• You understand health and safety precautions, sanitation and cleaning techniques, and emergency response procedures.
• You have the ability to use effective skills to manage and guide children’s behavior in a supportive and developmentally appropriate way.
• You have the ability to work and communicate effectively with a diverse population, including parents, children, and other professionals.
• You are able to assist with and participate in outdoor activities.
• You are able to lift up to 50 pounds and meet the physical demands required to care for young children.
• You demonstrate a working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs and general office equipment.
• You communicate respectfully and effectively with people of different cultures, groups, and languages.

Diversity and open expression are fundamental to the work of The Family Partnership. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment where everyone can belong. Every member of our team enriches our work by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions. We welcome everyone to apply, especially those individuals who are underrepresented in our sector: individuals who identify as BIPOC, Indigenous or people of culture, LGBTQI+ and gender fluid or gender nonconforming, individuals with disabilities (both seen and unseen), veterans, people of any age or family status. We value the contributions of a diverse workforce, and we welcome and encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We encourage you to apply even if you feel like you don't fit 100% of the technical requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, disability, age, marital status, membership or activity in a local human rights commission, status with regard to public assistance, criminal history (justice-impacted status), housing or homelessness status, height, or weight.

Our organization has a partnership with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) to provide administrative services including management of the hiring process. If you apply for this position, you may see references to MACC in some online materials.

The Family Partnership participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. See E-Verify’s official poster at See E-Verify’s Right to Work poster at