Early Childhood Center Director

Description:

Aaron Milken Center

Early Childhood Center Director

Los Angeles, CA

About Aaron Milken Center of Stephen Wise Temple

Stephen Wise Temple is an exciting and vibrant Reform Jewish community of 1,500-families in Los Angeles, California. A welcoming Jewish community with a synagogue, early childhood center, elementary school and a state-of-the-art venue space, our mission is to make meaning and change the world. 

About Aaron Milken Center 

Aaron Milken Center is an essential part of the Stephen Wise Temple and Wise School community, an educational leader in the Los Angeles Jewish community for over six decades. The center provides children from two through five years with an innovative, educational experience tailored to the needs and expression of the whole child in an inclusive Jewish community. In addition, the Aaron Milken Center has a parenting center where parents will learn valuable parenting skills, children and parents will develop first and lifelong friendships, and all families will benefit from establishing Jewish roots in our school and temple community.

Our approach to education is through the lens of a Constructivist philosophy, focusing on hands-on, experiential learning that sparks curiosity, fosters creativity and encourages children to think deeply, imaginatively, and critically as they explore their classroom environment and unravel the challenges that arise through their work and their play. Our learning and community are informed by the highest values of our tradition as we endeavor to raise up future generations who will seek to partner with God in making the world a better place. Our core values of creativity, inclusivity, and generosity inspire our work day by day.

For more information about the Aaron Milken Center, please go aaronmilkencenter.org. 

Position

Aaron Milken Center is seeking an energetic, warm, passionate educator and forward-thinking leader with excellent interpersonal, problem-solving and communication skills to oversee the early childhood education program. 

This is a unique opportunity, as the school undergoes a massive physical rebuild to become the premier early childhood program in Los Angeles. A thoughtful construction plan will maximize the beautiful hilltop campus with state-of-the-art facilities and a sense of connection with the natural world. Vibrant interior spaces will foster growth and learning for our children in a nurturing community for parents and families alike. More than 90% of the funding for the project has already been secured and groundbreaking is scheduled for this summer. View a tour here.

The support of our community is allowing the school to grow into a thought leader and changemaker, and we are looking for an experienced early childhood administrator who can lead our school to even greater heights. The Director of Early Childhood Education will manage three direct reports and will report to the Head of School. The Director will be responsible for all aspects of our early childhood programming and operations, and will work closely with the other School and Temple administrators to create and implement policies, programs and curricula that will support the overall mission of our schools and Temple.

Priorities 

• Serve as lead executive of the Aaron Milken Center, which includes visioning, strategy, implementation of early childhood classes, summer camp and parenting center.
• Instill Jewish values into everything. Partner with parents in raising “menches” who will work to repair the world.
• Deep focus and action on recruitment, retention, outreach and marketing to achieve increased enrollment and sustainable growth as the campus grows. 
• Create, build and maintain relationships with current and prospective families. 
• Recruit, retain and inspire and support teachers and staff to be the best possible educators and professionals.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities 

• Oversee the curriculum, programming, and atmosphere of the early childhood operations, ensuring a strong developmentally appropriate learning environment, while blendingcelebration, history, culture and traditions of the Jewish People in concert with an emergent curriculum and mission of Stephen Wise Temple
• Actively recruit and retain students and families, effectively employing marketing and programmatic strategies, and articulating the preschool’s strengths and attributes to prospective families
• Manage all aspects of staffing for the preschool, summer camp and parenting center program including recruitment, supervision, coaching, mentoring and professional development for educators and the administrative team
• Maintain proactive and consistent communication with parents, administration, leadership and colleagues, with keen focus on clear communication during the pandemic and campus construction
• Provide oversight of a $4M departmental budget and ensure smart allocation of supplies and resources across classrooms
• Supervise accreditation, licensing, and inspection requirements
• Participate and work collaboratively with the Head of School and senior management team to foster intradepartmental cooperation and symbiosis
• Create and maintain strong relationships with faculty, parents, Wise Parents Association, board and community partners
• Develop outstanding curricula infused with Jewish values, and informed by a deep sense of connection to the Jewish People in collaboration with the Head of School, Curriculum Director, and Clergy

Capabilities

• Serves as a mentor to teachers and staff, actively facilities professional development, and inspires staff to work cooperatively to build community
• Excels at communicating with parents, board members and staff
• Forms warm and caring relationships with preschool children, their parents and caregivers that honor the importance of all individuals to the community
• Demonstrates an inclusive management philosophy and style that encourages creativity, collaboration, and problem solving 
• Uses networking, marketing and community outreach effectively to promote programs and build enrollment
• Ability to integrate public health guidelines into the operations of the school
• Understands the focus on the celebration, history, culture, and traditions of Reform Judaism in concert with an emergent curriculum that includes academic readiness experiences in math, reading, social studies, and science

Qualifications: