Pre-Kindergarten Lead Teacher

A Day in the Life

Your day starts before 8:00 AM with quiet hellos, lunchbox cubbies, and parent drop-off. Morning meeting at 8:15 — Bismillah, the day of the week, a story. Centers open at 9: sand and water, fine-motor work, dramatic play, beginning-letter games, blocks. You sit with small groups while an assistant supervises the rest. Snack is family-style. Quran with the specialist mid-morning; you stay and reinforce. Lunch in the classroom around 11:30 AM, then outdoor recess. Wudu (you walk them — they're four) and in-class Dhuhr in the early afternoon, after zawal. Rest period, specials, more centers, family pickup. PreK runs an extended day to accommodate working families.

Qualifications

Required

• • Bachelor's degree.
• • Authorization to work in the US (we do not sponsor employment authorization).

Preferred

• • 2+ years lead-classroom experience with PreK or Kindergarten.
• • Specialized training in early-childhood education or developmentally-appropriate practice.
• • North Carolina B-K or K-6 license, or in the process of obtaining one.

Key Focus Areas

Skills, Duties, and Responsibilities

• • Plans and runs play-based, center-driven literacy and numeracy work appropriate to age 4.
• • Builds phonological awareness through rhymes, syllable claps, and beginning-sound games.
• • Introduces all 26 English letters by sight and roughly 18 letter-sounds by year-end.
• • Develops one-to-one counting to 20, numeral recognition to 10, sorting, and patterning.
• • Manages family-style snack as a teaching moment (sharing, etiquette, language).
• • Supervises rest period and supports independence in bathroom and dressing routines.
• • Communicates daily with parents at drop-off and pickup.
• • Establishes a safe, orderly classroom and a culture grounded in Akhlaq — character formation modeled after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
• • Manages classroom behavior using a graduated, restorative approach. Public shame and physical discipline are not used.
• • Walks students to wudu and leads in-class Dhuhr prayer daily. Reinforces Islamic etiquette (greetings, Bismillah, right hand for eating) throughout the day.
• • Knows and applies NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development; develops lesson plans aligned to it.
• • Conducts ongoing observational assessment; uses results to adjust instruction within days, not months.
• • Submits weekly lesson plans, mid-quarter check-ins, and quarterly progress notes on time.
• • Collaborates with grade-level peers and subject specialists during weekly faculty meetings.
• • Participates in school-wide events: open houses, Eid celebrations, family nights, end-of-year program.
• • Open to feedback from administration and peers. Participates in professional development.
• • Other duties as assigned by the Head of School.

Faith Expectations

Lead teachers are not required to be practicing Muslims. 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.

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.