1st Grade Lead Teacher

Position Summary

The 1st Grade Lead Teacher leads six-year-olds through the transition from learning-to-read to reading-to-learn. The role spans reading workshop with guided-reading groups, advanced phonics, fluency work, place value to 120, addition and subtraction strategies within 20, paragraph-level writing across genres, and the start of true moderated student-led discussions and debates, all integrated within the Islamic values that shape Al-Razi School.

Al-Razi is an Islamic school — not a school that Muslims happen to attend. Therefore, faith is an integral part of every school day. The teacher partners with the Quran, Arabic, and Islamic Studies specialist to keep classroom routines spiritually consistent.

Hours: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

Qualifications

Required

• • Prior classroom teaching experience (private, public, homeschool, daycare, or educational setting).
• • Strong classroom management and instructional skills.
• • Commitment to supporting an Islamic learning environment and the school's mission.
• • Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• • Ability to work effectively with students, staff, and families.
• • Authorization to work in the US (we do not sponsor employment authorization).

Preferred

• • Bachelor's degree (Education or a related field).
• • 3+ years lead-classroom experience teaching K–3 (with at least one year leading 1st or 2nd grade).
• • Structured-literacy training (LETRS, Orton-Gillingham, FUNdations, or similar).
• • North Carolina K-6 teaching license, or in the process of obtaining one.
• • Experience working in an Islamic school or culturally diverse environment.

Key Focus Areas

Key Responsibilities

• • Runs daily reading workshop with guided-reading groups based on running-record data.
• • Teaches advanced phonics: vowel teams, magic-e, R-controlled vowels, common suffixes (-ing, -ed, -s).
• • Builds reading fluency with attention to accuracy, rate, and prosody.
• • Teaches addition/subtraction strategies within 20 (counting on, making 10, doubles, fact families).
• • Develops place value understanding to 120; introduces telling time to the half-hour and US coin recognition.
• • Moderates student-led discussions and debates where students respond to each other, citing evidence from the text.
• • Drafts paragraph-level writing in narrative, opinion, and informational genres with editing routines.
• • Knows and applies the NC Standard Course of Study and Common Core State Standards for 1st Grade; develops lesson plans aligned to them.
• • Conducts formative and summative assessment routinely by teachers and administration; adjusts instruction in a timely manner.
• • Differentiates instruction across reading levels, math fluency, and home-language background.
• • Submits weekly lesson plans, mid-quarter check-ins, and quarterly report cards on time.
• • Collaborates with grade-level peers and subject specialists on a regular and as-needed basis.
• • Supports the daily special-rotations block (PE, Art, Library/Media) — Arabic, Islamic Studies, and Quran are taught daily as core curriculum, not specials.
• • Establishes a safe, orderly classroom and a culture grounded in akhlaq — character formation modeled after the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) — using a graduated, restorative approach to classroom behavior. Public shame and physical discipline are not used.
• • Walks students to wudu and leads in-class Dhuhr prayer daily.
• • Reinforces Islamic etiquette throughout the day — eating, greeting, bathroom, cleanliness, and the discipline of leaving every space in a better state than it was found.
• • Communicates daily with parents through school-approved channels.
• • Participates in school-wide events.
• • Open to feedback from administration and peers. Participates in professional development.
• • Other duties as assigned by the Head of School.

Personal Attributes

• • Demonstrates professionalism, patience, and compassion.
• • Serves as a positive Islamic role model for students.
• • Organized, flexible, and solution-oriented.
• • Passionate about student development and lifelong learning.

Faith Expectations

Lead teachers are not required to be practicing Muslims. However, all faculty are expected to respect the school’s Islamic mission, support daily prayer and Islamic etiquette in the classroom, and adhere to the dress and conduct standards in the Staff Handbook.

Work Environment

Al-Razi is an Islamic school — not a school that Muslims happen to attend. True to our mission, Islamic principles are integrated with academic subjects so that faith and learning advance together.

Faculty collaborate closely with administration and colleagues to promote academic excellence while cultivating an environment grounded in Islamic values and community partnership.

Compensation & Benefits

• • Salary: competitive, based on experience and credentials.
• • Benefits: paid school-year holidays and breaks (including Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha), professional-development budget, and tuition discount for staff children enrolled at Al-Razi School.