Our Community

Har Shalom Preschool and Kindergarten is an essential part of Congregation Har Shalom’s Center for Jewish Living. Congregation Har Shalom was established in 1975 with the explicit aim to create a space to educate Northern Colorado’s children. We started as a religious school and a non-denominational synagogue, and soon expanded to include our vibrant full-time preschool.

With a current enrollment capacity of 32 students, our Preschool is dedicated to serving students from a wide-diversity of faiths and ethnicities through a Montessori-inspired curriculum that integrates Jewish culture and values. This program serves a limited number of kindergarten students also. The methodology-combination curriculum focuses on developing children’s social-emotional and academic skills within a nurturing, non-competitive environment. We honor each child’s unique abilities and learning journey by tailoring our program to meet the children where they are. Families can choose to enroll for a partial or full-time week and afterschool care.

Job Summary and General Description

Har Shalom is seeking an energetic, organized, and articulate individual with excellent people skills to oversee our growing preschool program. This full-time, management position requires independent judgment, collaboration, initiative, creativity, and flexibility. The ideal candidate brings expertise in early childhood education with management experience. The candidate must be able to work within a collaborative environment, promoting an atmosphere of community and cooperation among all interested parties. By working with a team of professionals across Har Shalom programs, our Preschool Director supports the mission and philosophy of Congregation Har Shalom’s Center for Jewish Living.

As our community looks towards the future, we plan to expand this program to include early childhood focused summer camps, additional preschool classrooms, and infant and toddler rooms to better serve our community’s families and their children. Therefore, this candidate should bring a capacity for long range planning, budgeting experience, and goal setting.

Job Responsibilities

Administrative Responsibilities

• Facilitate positive relations among staff, parents, and leadership of other Har Shalom programs.
• Update policies and procedures around admission, attendance, and tuition.
• Sit in on monthly local health and early childhood meetings as well as relevant monthly Har Shalom campus-wide committee meetings.
• Ensure all state licensing requirements are met while serving as the primary point of contact with all governmental and regulatory bodies in connection with the Preschool.
• Keep and maintain full and complete records pertaining to the administration and operation of the Preschool.
• Develop and adhere to a budget for the Preschool program.
• Work with the Executive Director to identify and develop fundraising opportunities to support teacher education and expansion opportunities.

Program Development

• Maintain or modify the Montessori-based, social-emotional curriculum to meet the needs of children enrolled in the Preschool by remaining current with developments in the field.
• Develop and implement a program based on best practices in early childhood education.
• Oversee program growth, including recruitment of new families and retention of current families.
• Work with the Executive Director to support the development of long-term plans to grow the Preschool, including expanding into infant and toddler care.
• Work with the Rabbi to include weekly Shabbat and Jewish holiday programming.

Staff Supervision

• Provide professional supervision, mentorship, and evaluation of Preschool staff.
• Determine all schedules and assignment of Preschool staff responsibilities.
• Coordinate recruitment and hiring to fill Preschool Staff vacancies.
• Identify ongoing staff development and training opportunities.
• Arrange for substitute help for the Preschool staff and serve as a substitute, as needed.
• Delegate responsibilities to staff to encourage and foster individual development.

Communication

• Communicate effectively with Preschool parents and staff, prospective families, and other Har Shalom staff to promote understanding and support of Preschool programs.
• Facilitate regular and proactive communication with parents through a variety of paperless venues such as email and social media.

Other duties as requested

Education and Experience

• Must meet State of Colorado’s required Preschool Director licensing credentials and pass a background check.
• Must have experience with preschool licensing procedures.
• Must have at least five years of classroom teaching experience in a preschool and/or an Early Childhood Education program.
• Must have knowledge of Montessori principles.
• Must have knowledge and appreciation of Jewish values, traditions, and practice.
• Must be creative and bring an imaginative Jewish programming perspective.
• Must possess computer literacy including Excel and Word
• Candidates must be fully vaccinated