Center for Early Education West Hollywood, California Director of Upper Elementary Programs (grades 4-6) July 1, 2017 www.centerforearlyeducation.org
Core Values
Mission The Center for Early Education, a socioeconomically and culturally diverse independent school for children, Toddlers through Grade Six, strives to graduate students who are joyful, resilient, lifelong learners. The Center embraces a philosophy of education that combines a nurturing, inclusive learning environment with an increasingly challenging academic program that addresses the developmental needs of each child.
The Center for Early Education embraces the following four core values: • • • •
Caring Inclusion Responsibility Honesty
The Opportunity Anchored by its core values of caring, inclusion, responsibility, and honesty, The Center for Early Education is committed to developing students who are joyful, service-oriented, and prepared to embark enthusiastically on a life of learning. The school now seeks a Director of Upper Elementary Programs (grades 4-6) who can help the school achieve this vision of growth and play an important part in assuring the continued legacy of the school. Faculty leadership, advocacy and support, parent relations, curriculum and program, and day to day operations are all encompassed in the role. After more than 75 years of operation, The Center has developed a strong culture and ethos focused on its core values. As it looks to the future, the school has exciting plans to grow while maintaining its commitment to offer an exceptional education and experience to its diverse community of young learners. The school is characterized by its sense of community, commitment to diversity, and a curriculum that fosters self-confidence, academic excellence, and good citizenship.
School History Originally called the School for Nursery Years, The Center was founded in 1939 by a group of parents, most of whom were professional psychoanalysts. Passionate about respecting the inner world of the child, this group sought to create a school that would develop early childhood education based on each child’s natural developmental pace and recognized developmental stages. Over the years, the school expanded to include older students while staying true to the impetus behind its inception: creating a developmentally-appropriate, psychology-based learning environment for young children.
The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
1
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
The school moved to its current location on Alfred Street in 1946. In 1947, it opened a training program for nursery school teachers and administrators, which eventually became known as the College for Developmental Studies. The college ran alongside the school until 1991. In 1967, a new brick building opened with the school for nursery years on the first floor and the College for Developmental Studies on the second. In 1968, this new building was dedicated, and the School for Nursery Years was officially renamed The Center for Early Education. In the 1970s, The Center added a K-6 elementary school and opened a new elementary school building in 1988. Between 1998 and 2003, The Center’s New Century Capital Campaign raised $15 million for campus expansion allowing the school, in 2003, to open a new upper elementary building. The Center is currently engaged in a $75M capital drive which will allow it to construct two new buildings on campus adding a gymnasium, improved and greater instructional space, and facilities which better complement The Center’s programs.
The School 540 students arrive at The Center each morning from a 25-mile radius of the school, including Central Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Brentwood, Hancock Park, West Hollywood, and the surrounding communities. The Center celebrates the 51% diversity in its student body. The Center’s 104 experienced faculty and staff include 33 master classroom teachers, 10 master specialist teachers, 11 associate teachers, and 9 in instructional support faculty members with an average tenure of 13 years. The school offers extensive professional development opportunities, a significant aspect of the high degree of professional satisfaction. Today, The Center still focuses its child-centered instruction on enduring methods of teaching and The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
2
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
learning. The school is proud of both its state-of-the-art technology, which is fully integrated into the academic curriculum, and its intentional focus on the way each student learns best. Committed to the community beyond the school, members of the Center family— students, faculty, parents, and alumni/ae—strive to be examples for one another. The children are wonderfully poised, respectful, curious, and engaged. Part of The Center’s ethos is an astounding and persistent sense of gratitude for the opportunity of being a part of this school community. This appreciation is palpable among parents, faculty and staff, and even in the smiling faces of the students. Mark Brooks is in his first year as Head of School, arriving from Pilgrim School where he served for eleven years as Head. He succeeds Reveta Bowers, the long-time Head of The Center (42 years at The Center, 35 as Head).
Academics The academic program at The Center focuses on each child, helping elicit passions, strengths, and— above all—a natural love for learning. The youngest students begin their time at The Center in the half-day Toddler Program. Throughout this established and supportive program, students learn to transition to a school setting while separating from their parents in a healthy way. Children play together, participate in a group, use a cubby, and serve themselves a snack. In a play-based curriculum, students naturally learn to socialize, discover, and retain the knowledge they’ve acquired. Two years of Early Childhood follow, EC1 and EC2, for students ages three to five. These programs focus on age-appropriate development of skills, concepts, and ideas. The classroom experience includes both indoor and outdoor environments organized around learning centers and themes which change throughout the year. Goals of the curriculum include developing self-esteem, motor skills, creativity,
The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
3
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
self-mastery, and autonomy. Skills in language and communication, socialization, logical and sequential thinking, literacy, and mathematical concepts are also focused on. In Elementary School for students in full-day Kindergarten and continuing through sixth grade, teams of two teachers per classroom allow children to bond with two caring and highly skilled professionals. The classroom structure differs slightly at the bookends of the program; in kindergarten, two additional assistant teachers support students throughout the day, while the sixth grade classrooms are structured around The Center’s four core subjects. The Center’s curriculum in these subjects, including math, language arts, social studies, and science, establishes a solid foundation. Simultaneously, students gain exposure to “specialists,” including instruction in art, music, physical education, and library. The elementary faculty also includes two full-time learning specialists for students needing accelerated or remediated instruction, as well as a full-time math specialist who works with students from Kindergarten through sixth grade. Lower Elementary, for students in full-day Kindergarten through third grade, is a time of transition and growth. Students begin to take part in the many special traditions of school, and start developing ageappropriate learning and social skills with the help of classroom teachers who consider the individual needs of each student. Independence, self-awareness, and understanding various perspectives all characterize the developmental goals of Upper Elementary. Students in grades four through six are challenged to think analytically and creatively as the curriculum deepens and connections are made across disciplines. Students develop time management and study and organizational skills, and explore how to clearly and fully express themselves in written, oral, and artistic forms. The Center’s four core subjects are emphasized as students learn to observe, collect, apply, and evaluate data to solve problems while working collaboratively as well as individually. Technology use is intentionally and thoughtfully integrated into the curriculum at all levels as part of the school’s vision to instill in students, faculty, and staff the skills and motivation to thrive in today’s technology-
The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
4
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
rich environment. In the Early Childhood Program through third grade, students can use computers at Learning Centers, where they practice basic skills, play educational games, and experiment with iPad apps. In Upper Elementary grades, The Center provides a 1:1 laptop program enabling students to further develop their skills, using their devices as tools to facilitate research, publish assignments, and create multimedia projects. The school’s unique Innovation Center supplements this daily exposure. In addition to these academic disciplines, The Center promotes a clear vision for character education and community involvement. Each community member signs a covenant stating that he or she will support the values that build the foundation for character education: caring, responsibility, inclusion, and honesty. The result is a student body that is empathetic, respectful, and inclusive. Student “families”, each composed of two students from every grade level, create a strong sense of community throughout the student body. Families remain together throughout their tenure at The Center, welcoming new Kindergarten students and saying farewell to sixth grade family leaders each year. In addition to community building activities, each family has the opportunity to participate in community service projects together two or three times during their elementary years. Community service and service learning are woven throughout the curriculum at The Center starting with the Toddler Program. Students engage in service oriented activities such as making soup and sandwiches for the hungry; visiting senior citizen centers; conducting food, clothing, and book drives; and volunteering at local children’s centers.
School Life Whether in class or at play, embarking on exciting field trips or volunteering in their communities, students at The Center appear eminently equipped for and in anticipation of joyful and engaging learning experiences. Parents appreciate not only that faculty are “really, really good” but also that
The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
5
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
their children are known individually and deeply by their teachers, and that administrators know the character and learning style of each child in their purview. A hallmark of the Center experience is the extensive opportunity for enriching field trips. Students take day trips to conduct service-learning projects, visit pumpkin patches in the fall, and visit downtown Los Angeles to see Disney Hall, the library, Olvera Street, museums, and the California missions, among other sites. Overnight trips begin in fourth grade, when students experience a three-day, two-night environmental experience in Malibu. As an extension of the science curriculum, students hike, explore astronomy, and study the local ecosystem. In fifth grade, students engage in team building, leadership, and problem solving activities in an outdoor setting for a three-day, two-night trip. In sixth grade students participate in a trip to Washington, D.C. where they spend four days exploring the city, touring museums, visiting monuments and learning about systems of government. The student experience at The Center is warm and inclusive. Through assemblies, the CEE Olympics, Grandparents’ and Grandfriends’ Day, the elementary Art Fair and Open House, and International Day, students are able to share their excitement for learning with those closest to them. As one long-time teacher explained, “There are lots of schools in LA but there is something special here; a family feeling, diversity, a caring about the individual and the heart and mind, where individuals flourish doing what they do best. Center kids are quite different – they have a stability that comes from a family that attends to every part of their being and the schools where they attend after leaving here notice that sense of purpose, poise, and passion – and the voice they have developed and use.”
The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
6
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
Physical Campus The Center for Early Education is located on an urban campus that occupies just over one acre in the heart of West Hollywood. Three instructional buildings—two with rooftop playgrounds—are home to the learning and playing that prompts development of ethical and knowledgeable students. In addition to these buildings, a central courtyard and three ground-level play yards flesh out the campus, and an underground parking lot accommodates faculty, staff and visitors. The structure and organization of the buildings and playgrounds creates a feeling of homey intimacy that complements the mission and vision of the school. Over the past several years The Center acquired adjacent properties to allow for transformative campus expansion and development, the construction for which is underway. The Center features state-of-the-art technology, with Smartboards in every elementary classroom and a 1:1 laptop program in the upper elementary school years. The school’s Innovation Center promotes, supports, inspires, and celebrates innovation. As the home base for the Director of Innovation and the Curriculum Technology Coordinator, the Innovation Center is a place for creativity and constant development. There, students can tinker, create multimedia projects, Skype with students from other areas of the world, and, using the center’s digital production studio, create podcasts and other multimedia to share with their peers, parents, or the broader community as appropriate.
West Hollywood, California Bordered to the north by Hollywood Hills, the east by Hollywood, and the west by Beverly Hills, West Hollywood is at the epicenter of a vibrant and culturally relevant portion of Southern California. Named the most walkable city in California, West Hollywood itself is very dense and compact, with
The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
7
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
small lots, mixed land use, and an easily walkable and charming street grid. The small city’s famed Sunset Strip—a 1.5-mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard—is home to a number of boutiques, restaurants, and music and night clubs, as well as the thriving music publishing industry that moved to the Sunset Strip in the 1960s. Opportunities for local entertainment abound. West Hollywood, like much of Los Angeles, is characterized by a socially-minded, diverse, and progressive population. The city passed one of the nation’s first mandatory green building ordinances in 2007. This ordinance ensures that new buildings will be healthier for residents and will use energy and resources more efficiently. This mission has extended to The Center for Early Education, whose Going Green Task Force strives to make the school a more efficient and environmentally friendly atmosphere.
Position Responsibilities The Director of Upper Elementary is a senior administrator who reports directly to the Head of School, and who has a direct impact on the vision and direction of the division and the school. The Director of Upper Elementary has direct responsibility for supervising the programs and faculty of grades 4 through 6. Essential duties include: • Participate in the interviewing, hiring, supervision, evaluation, and termination of elementary faculty for grades 4-6 as well as elementary specialist teachers. • Conduct team meetings, grade level faculty meetings, full faculty meetings, developmental, and grade level parent meetings for grades 4-6. • Plan curricular adjunct programs, i.e., human development, substance abuse awareness, and overnight trips for upper elementary students. • Discuss salient issues with a child, a small group of children, or with an entire class upon the request of a teacher. • Observe and evaluate children and participate in conferences with parents and children about their progress. • Attend weekly administrative meetings and regular meetings of the Board of Trustees and its committees as assigned. • Make faculty assignments. • Manage teaching team dynamics, facilitating communication, and problem solving. • Study, develop, and adhere to the budgetary needs of the Upper Elementary Division. • Interview and screen prospective families and children as a member of the Admissions Committee and participates in the selection process.
Desired Qualities and Qualifications The Center seeks an educational leader whose familiarity with upper elementary grades runs deep and whose experience includes faculty leadership. Serving in a key administrative role at CEE requires personal integrity, friendliness, patience, fairness, openness, sensitivity, flexibility, and enthusiasm. In keeping with the familial, relational culture of CEE, the successful candidate will also be adept at The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
8
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com
developing trusting and collaborative relationships with administrative colleagues, faculty, parents, and students. Other qualities and experiences The Center seeks in applicants include: • • • • • • • • •
Proficiency as a communicator and public speaker Solid elementary classroom teaching experience A broad understanding of elementary curricula and child development An active listener Engaging, warm style; relational Empathetic and emotionally intelligent A progressive, innovative mindset Organizational and education vision combined with experience managing change A passion for continuing education
Competitive salary and excellent benefits package. Tuition remission available; parking provided. The Center for Early Education is an equal opportunity employer.
To Apply Interested and qualified candidates should submit electronically in one email and as separate documents (preferably PDFs) the following materials: • • • •
Cover letter expressing interest in this position and school Current résumé Statement of educational philosophy and leadership practice List of five (5) professional references with name, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without candidate approval):
To: Ben Bolté Senior Search Consultant bbolte@carneysandoe.com / 617-933-3430 (dir) Rayna Loeb Senior Search Consultant rloeb@carneysandoe.com / 214-405-7774 (dir)
The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates
9
search@carneysandoe.com | www.carneysandoe.com