Job Description

Lead Teacher | Early Childhood Education

The Learning Experience | Wayne, NJ

Compensation: $17.50–$21.00 per hour

Where Happy Happens Here! 🐘

At The Learning Experience in Wayne, NJ, we believe great teachers do more than educate. They inspire curiosity, build confidence, create meaningful connections, and make a lasting difference in children's lives.

Our Lead Teachers are the heart of their classrooms, creating safe, nurturing, and engaging environments where children feel valued, supported, and excited to learn.

We are looking for passionate, dependable, and enthusiastic early childhood educators who are ready to take ownership of their classrooms, guide their teaching teams, and help children reach important developmental milestones.

If you love working with children, take pride in creating meaningful learning experiences, and are excited to grow as an educator and classroom leader, we'd love to meet you!

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay: $17.50–$21.00 per hour, based on experience and qualifications.
• Competitive compensation
• Health insurance opportunities for eligible employees
• Paid time off
• Childcare discounts
• Professional development and ongoing training
• Opportunities for professional growth and advancement
• A supportive, collaborative team environment

What We're Looking For

A Passion for Early Childhood Education: You understand the importance of early learning and are committed to supporting children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development.

Confident Classroom Leadership: You take initiative, lead by example, and confidently guide your classroom team while maintaining a positive, organized learning environment.

A Positive & Engaging Personality: You bring creativity, enthusiasm, patience, and warmth into your classroom. You understand that meaningful learning happens through active engagement, play, and positive interactions.

Strong Communication Skills: You communicate respectfully and effectively with children, families, coworkers, and center leadership.

A Growth Mindset: You welcome feedback, seek opportunities to strengthen your teaching practices, and continuously look for ways to improve the classroom experience.

Dependability & Accountability: You take ownership of your responsibilities, demonstrate professionalism, and understand the importance of consistency, preparation, and follow-through.

Key Responsibilities

Classroom Leadership & Team Development

• Take ownership of daily classroom operations, ensuring a safe, organized, welcoming, and engaging learning environment.
• Provide direction, guidance, and support to Assistant Teachers and other classroom staff.
• Delegate responsibilities appropriately while maintaining accountability for classroom routines, organization, and expectations.
• Model positive interactions, professionalism, and developmentally appropriate teaching practices.
• Establish consistent classroom routines, expectations, and transitions that support a positive learning environment.
• Collaborate with center leadership to address classroom needs, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.

Curriculum & Child Development

• Plan, prepare, and implement The Learning Experience's proprietary L.E.A.P. Curriculum® with consistency, creativity, and enthusiasm.
• Develop engaging, hands-on learning experiences that encourage curiosity, independence, and developmental growth.
• Maintain current lesson plans and ensure classroom activities align with curriculum objectives.
• Observe, document, and assess children's developmental progress.
• Use developmental observations and assessments to guide instruction and support individual learning needs.
• Prepare for and participate in parent-teacher conferences, sharing meaningful insights into each child's progress.
• Adapt teaching strategies to accommodate varying developmental stages, learning styles, and individual needs.

Classroom Management & Child Engagement

• Create a positive classroom environment through consistent routines, clear expectations, and developmentally appropriate guidance.
• Use positive reinforcement, redirection, and effective classroom management strategies to support children's behavior.
• Actively engage children throughout the day through songs, stories, movement, play, and interactive learning activities.
• Support children's social-emotional development by modeling kindness, communication, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Maintain a calm, patient, and professional approach when navigating challenging behaviors or classroom situations.

Health, Safety & Classroom Organization

• Maintain active supervision of children at all times, following all center safety procedures and applicable licensing regulations.
• Ensure accurate child accountability, attendance tracking, and face-to-name verification during transitions.
• Maintain a clean, sanitary, safe, and organized classroom, including learning materials, storage areas, and shared spaces.
• Ensure daily caregiving needs are met, including diapering, toileting, handwashing, feeding, and other age-appropriate personal care responsibilities.
• Follow all applicable health, safety, incident reporting, and center policies.
• Identify and promptly communicate safety concerns, classroom needs, or incidents to center leadership.

Family Communication & Center Collaboration

• Build positive, trusting relationships with children and families through warm, respectful, and consistent communication.
• Provide timely, accurate, and meaningful updates about children's daily experiences, activities, and developmental milestones through the center's communication platform.
• Ensure classroom documentation, daily reports, and parent communications are completed consistently.
• Communicate professionally with families regarding children's progress, classroom experiences, and concerns.
• Partner with center leadership to support positive family experiences, engagement, and retention.
• Participate in staff meetings, professional development, and center-wide events and initiatives.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Previous experience working in a licensed childcare center, preschool, or early childhood education setting required.
• Prior classroom leadership experience strongly preferred.
• Early Childhood Education coursework, CDA credential, or related degree preferred.
• Must meet all applicable New Jersey childcare licensing requirements for the assigned classroom and position.
• Must successfully complete required background checks, health screenings, and health and safety training.
• Must demonstrate strong classroom management, communication, organizational, and leadership skills.
• Must be comfortable guiding classroom staff, providing feedback, and maintaining accountability for daily classroom operations.

Physical Requirements

This position requires active participation in classroom activities and the ability to provide safe, attentive care to young children.

Essential physical responsibilities may include:

• Standing, walking, sitting, and moving throughout the classroom for extended periods.
• Bending, kneeling, crouching, and sitting on the floor to interact with children.
• Safely lifting and carrying children or classroom materials weighing up to 40 pounds.
• Reaching, stretching, and performing routine classroom tasks.
• Maintaining appropriate visual and auditory awareness to supervise children effectively.
• Participating in outdoor activities in varying weather conditions, consistent with center safety policies.
• Maintaining the alertness and stamina necessary to perform essential classroom, leadership, and caregiving responsibilities.

Reasonable accommodations may be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position, in accordance with applicable law.

Join Our TLE Family! 💙

At The Learning Experience Wayne, our Lead Teachers have the opportunity to shape young minds, inspire their teams, and create classrooms where children feel safe, confident, and excited to learn.

We're looking for educators who take pride in their work, believe in the power of early childhood education, and want to make a meaningful difference every day.

If you're ready to lead with passion, teach with purpose, and make happy happen, we encourage you to apply!

Happy Happens Here! 🐘

Compensation: $17.00 - $21.00 per hour

The Learning Experience

At The Learning Experience, we make early education joyful, engaging and fun so children are happy to learn, play and grow.

Our curriculum focuses on the six ages and stages of early childhood development and engages children in hands-on learning activities that encourage them to explore and solve problems at their own rate of development. This forms a foundation for kids to Learn, Play and Grow under the care of our nurturing teachers and staff.

At TLE®, we’ve created a full cast of characters that become our little learners’ educators, partners and friends through their preschool education journey. Each character has a unique personality and area of interest and brings learning to life by allowing children to explore the world through fun and imagination.