Early Childhood Center Director

The Intro Part

Hi! My name is Bethanne, and I’m the Area Manager for Thrive, a swiftly growing preschool organization devoted to providing exceptional play-based learning experiences for young children and cultivating a better humanity for all. We are looking for a highly qualified Preschool Director with significant experience in leadership, stability, and success of an early childhood school community. This includes supporting and developing a strong team of educators, enrolling new families, maintaining compliance with all state licensing and health regulations, ensuring high-quality early childhood programming, and cultivating meaningful relationships with prospective and current families.

The About Us Part

Thrive is a nurturing community of early childhood professionals who share a deep belief in the power of play, discovery, and meaningful relationships in children’s learning. Across our schools, we strive to create environments where children, families, and educators thrive together, while supporting both personal and professional growth for our team. We seek leaders who are passionate about early childhood education and committed to building strong teams, meaningful family partnerships, and inspiring learning environments.

The How Much Will I Make & How Many Hours Will I Work Part (aka the First Thing You Are Probably Reading Part)

We are looking to hire a full-time program director (Monday-Friday, 8 hours/day) for a salaried position making $66,000–$74,000 per year, plus performance bonuses and extensive benefits.

The Benefits Part

We have strong beliefs about maintaining harmony between work and life for all our staff, and those beliefs drive the benefits we offer.

We believe that time is our most valuable resource:

• 6 weeks of paid holidays and breaks with additional non-student contact days for professional development and teambuilding (you can visit our website, thrivepreschool.com, to see the school year calendar)
• 80 hours of paid time off each year in addition to the regular school holidays and breaks
• We believe in caring for others now and into the distant future:
• Full group medical, dental and vision coverage
• Supplemental insurance offerings (disability, accident, hospital, etc.)
• 401(k) plans with employer contribution matching

We believe the best environment for learning is one built around the community:

• Monthly community give-back programs.
• Seasonal festivals with pumpkin patches, food trucks, ice cream socials and more
• Catered meals in the centers

Your imagination is the limit—we’re always looking for great new ways to bring the community together, so share your passions with us, and we’ll work together to make something special

• We believe every human being has the right to continued personal and professional growth:
• Extensive professional development and continuing education opportunities as you grow with the organization

The Are We a Great Fit Part

Compatibility means everything to us. If you are dedicated to the future of our children, thrive when managing and supporting others, and believe in the power of play-based learning, you’re probably in the right place. But let’s get the usual qualifications out of the way first.

Just to make sure we’re on the same page, let’s start with the basics:

• Proven successful results in ECE enrollment processes and conversions, taking families confidently from first contact through the first day of school.
• A positive attitude, warm personality and passion for working with young children, families, and teachers
• Strong organizational, leadership, and communication skills
• Deep knowledge of hiring, recruiting and retaining quality staff for childcare programs
• Skilled in the use of electronic systems for the management of enrollment, staffing, student documentation, staff time management, and capable of learning and adapting to new systems as they are introduced to improve the efficiency of our programs
• Looking to grow and evolve with a new and forward-thinking organization for many years to come
• High levels of self-awareness (emotional IQ, emotional awareness, strengths & weaknesses), and passionate about growth.
• Intentional, mindful and reflective in professional practices
• Ability to receive and utilize feedback and constructive criticism, as well as to provide and give the same collaborative feedback to staff you manage
• Ability to create and maintain professional and positive energies throughout the building and among staff
• Creative and “go-getter” mindset
• Ability to work occasional weekends and evenings (open houses, family-teacher conferences, seasonal holiday celebrations, etc.) We pinky promise to make these as rare as possible
• Must meet minimum qualifications for employment as a director of a large childcare center in the state of Colorado, including training, experience, and background check requirements and have an active director’s certificate
• Minimum of three years of experience as a director of a large childcare center in the state of Colorado.
• A Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from a regionally accredited college or university and/or a master’s degree with a major emphasis in child development, early childhood education, or early childhood special education is preferred but not required as we are open to alternative pathways to leadership credentials.

And here are some of the philosophies and lifestyle choices we share with our educators that make Thrive a special place to learn and grow:

• A love of, or appreciation for, nature and spending time outdoors
• Dedication to play-based, child-led learning
• Experience, training, and/or knowledge surrounding child-led educational practices and philosophies and Conscious Discipline.
• A special talent, skill, or hobby (artistic, multi-lingual, play an instrument, singing, puppetry, storytelling, woodworking, knitting, cooking, gardening etc.) that you would enjoy sharing with the children and staff. We take the “play” part very seriously.

The Responsibilities Part

As a Program Director, you’ll work closely with our management team, classroom teachers and support staff to guide all aspects of the program.

Your responsibilities to the school will be:

• Prioritize families throughout the enrollment process and maintain detailed records through all stages of the enrollment and attendance process for students and families utilizing the school’s software systems
• Recruit, hire, train and evaluate primary and supporting staff
• Define and manage efficient staff schedules and ensure staff are accurately logging attendance and time off in the school’s systems
• Oversee the implementation of inquiry-based emergent curriculum, documentation, and work projects of children in accordance with our guiding educational philosophy
• Establish educational standards and goals, and build and uphold policies, procedures, and programs to carry them out
• Foster culture that is in alignment with school missions and philosophies
• Manage budgets and determine allocations of funds for classroom supplies, materials, and equipment; authorize staff purchase requests
• Direct and coordinate activities with teachers and staff, including monthly staff meetings, professional development, staff scheduling, and special events (i.e., open house events, back-to-school nights, parent-teacher conferences, holiday celebrations, etc.)
• Review and evaluate new and current programs to determine their efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with state, local, and federal regulations, recommending any necessary modifications
• Create and disseminate informational materials for program marketing, family/community engagement, and parent education
• Monitor facility safety, security, and maintenance operations and procedures
• Maintain all documentation as mandated by the State of Colorado (i.e., attendance logs, vaccination records, student and employee files)
• Substitute for staff in classrooms or provide direct care to children if needed

Your responsibilities to the teachers will be:

• Facilitate teachers monitoring student progress and gathering information for assessment
• Assist teachers in developing everyday classroom behavioral management solutions
• Support teachers and staff in goal-setting and overall quality program improvement
• Observe classroom to assess teacher-student interactions and instructional methods
• Complete performance evaluations

Your responsibilities to the families will be:

• Host warm and engaging tours of the school and consistently communicate with families during the onboarding process, including offering virtual tours where families may not be able to tour in-person
• Confer with parents and staff to develop educational programming and school policies that will support all students

The Goodbye Part

If you’re interested in providing a brighter future for our children, please don’t hesitate another moment in reaching out! When we find the right person to join our community, we always wish we could have had you with us from the very beginning, but we’ll have to settle for the joy of having you now and growing with you for many years to come. Any questions? Of course, go ahead and ask. That’s what we’re here for. That’s what we’re all here for: to question.

Sincerely,

Bethanne Rodriguez

Area Manager @ Thrive