Director of Lower School

Greensboro, NC

Professional and personable … serious and silly … meticulous and magical … inspired and inspiring. If those four alliterative pairings fit you (and if you know the deep value of bringing your teachers chocolate at just the right moment), you might fit in pretty well at Greensboro Montessori School.

We are seeking a passionate and skilled Montessori leader to join our crew and to fill a newly created administration role of director of lower school.

Our School
We are a 250-student, toddler-through-ninth-grade, independent school located in Greensboro, North Carolina and are accredited by both the American Montessori Society and the Southern Association of Independent Schools. For 45 years, our deep commitment to Montessori pedagogy and program have allowed us to successfully help students unleash their full potential. Our main campus is 10-acres that includes three buildings, four permaculture gardens, multiple outside play spaces, an athletic field, gymnasium, commercial kitchen, and an acre of woods. And with a fantastic group of faculty and staff, very supportive and engaged families, a clear long-range plan, a 37-acre satellite environmental education campus, a strong financial portfolio, and a fantastic board of trustees, we are rock-solid and field-tested.

Our Lower School includes three Toddler rooms (13 students each), four Primary rooms (20 to 24 students each), and two Lower Elementary rooms (25 to 30 students each). After 30 years of service to our community, our associate head of school has announced their retirement, and we are transitioning to having a director of lower school (Toddler, Primary, Lower Elementary) and a director of upper school (Upper Elementary, Junior High), both of whom report directly to the head of school and advise them on running all parts of the school.

Pedagogical Pedigree
Our new director of lower school must have a deep commitment to and significant experience with Montessori philosophy. AMS credentialing and several years teaching experience in at least one of the Lower School divisions (Toddler, Primary, Lower Elementary) is a must. Additionally, they need to value and have direct experience with teaching to students’ different learning styles, being a champion for professional development, and building and maintaining strong parent partnerships.

Leadership Style
We seek a leader who believes in empowering faculty — in being a servant leader. We believe leadership is based on authenticity, humility, and connections, not power and control. We seek someone who is calm under pressure, who sees both the big picture and the hundreds of myriad details, who believes in our peace curriculum, and who finds joy in their work every day.

Our new director of lower school will be equally confident supporting faculty as managing difficult parent conversations as getting down on the ground and giving a lesson to a student. We want to feel comfortable asking this person for help, knowing that we won’t be judged and that we may gain some practical tips or insights derived from your many past Montessori experiences.

Needed Skills and Experiences
- Proven school leadership experience.
- Montessori-aligned pedagogy and philosophy of learning.
- At least five years Montessori teaching in in a lower school environment (Toddler, Primary, Elementary).
- MACTE or AMS credential in at least one of the three lower school divisions (Infant & Toddler, Early Childhood, or Elementary I).
- Experience cultivating a professional adult learning culture.
- Strong spoken, digital, and written communication and interpersonal skills.
- Impeccable attention to detail and organization, especially in terms of managing student outcomes, check-lists, and spiraling vertical curricula.
- Flexibility and the ability to listen deeply.
- Master’s degree in a relevant field.

Roles and Responsibilities
The director of lower school is a 12-month position and will be responsible for coordinating the 18-month to third grade curriculum and program, as well as the 20 to 25 faculty who teach within the divisions. Coordination will include internal and external communications, scheduling, parent partnership, student outcome and program assessment, bridge to the administration team, budget review, and being the face of our Lower School. Direct contact with students in various capacities will be part of the job, in addition to coaching and partnering with faculty and families. They will also support other members of administration, offering high-level oversight to our after-school and summer camp programs and working closely with our director of upper school.

Contact Information for Applicants
If you want to help us nurture and challenge our 18-month-olds through our third graders, and if you have the skills to lead an extremely talented and dedicated group of Montessori educators, we want to hear from you. If you are from outside the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina, know that this state is a fantastic place to live and that Greensboro is a wonderful, very affordable, medium-sized city. Relocation support is available. We will share more about the interview process with applicants once they apply. The position ideally starts August 1, 2020, but we have some unique flexibility as to when the position could start.

Please email a (1) cover letter, (2) résumé, (3) single digital picture that captures what you think is a critical part of Montessori philosophy, and (4) your leadership statement to our director of human resources, ​Heather Goggin, at [email protected].

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