Role:  Infant Bilingual Classroom Teacher  

Team: Child Development 

Scope: Individual Contributor

Reports To: Classroom Manager

Years of Experience: 2+

Location: Ventura, CA

Age Group: Infants (0-2)

COVID-19 Vaccinations: Patagonia requires all employees to demonstrate proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of their employment.

Great Pacific Child Development Center was founded in 1982 by Malinda Chouinard and Jennifer Ridgeway to provide childcare to employees of Patagonia. What the company has learned over the decades about children, childcare, and supporting working families is chronicled in the book: Family Business and in a series of videos - https://www.patagonia.com/family-business/ Currently, Patagonia provides on-site childcare for employees in three locations: Ventura, CA Main Campus, Ventura, CA Brooks Campus, and in Reno, NV at the Distribution Center.

Patagonia’s mission and values are put into practice every day throughout our child development centers.

A classroom teacher is responsible for all aspects of teaching the children in their care and works closely with the classroom primary teacher and classroom manager to ensure a high-quality childcare environment. Classrooms are typically structured with children from birth to two years, or two to three and a half years or three and a half years to kindergarten. Responsibilities include: physical caregiving, implementation of age-appropriate, individualized curriculum, facilitating supportive relationships with children, parents, and colleagues, and assisting in parent communications such as newsletters and Educa updates.

In addition to our immersive literacy curriculum, the Child Development Centers also support a robust Spanish program referred to as the Bilingual Program. Our centers are in multilingual societies in Reno, NV and Southern California where children either speak or encounter the Spanish language in their daily lives. Patagonia believes that children who are exposed to a second language grow up to be better communicators because they have an easier time understanding the perspective of others. Ongoing exposure to a second language builds neural connections in the brain which create pathways to innovation, creativity, and problem solving throughout a lifetime. Therefore, each classroom has at least one teacher who is fluent. Spanish speaker and infuses the classroom with rich Spanish language, as well as their individual culture and traditions.

The Bilingual Teacher can bring their expertise of the Spanish language as the role of Primary Teacher, Classroom Teacher, Center teacher or Kids Club teacher. A Bilingual Teacher is also eligible to apply for the Classroom Manager position. Currently, we have 4 employees who began their career as a Spanish speaking teacher in the above-mentioned roles and have been elevated to Classroom Manager (CM). As a CM, an additional Spanish speaking teacher will be added to the teaching team to allow to CM to focus on the job responsibilities of manager.

A bilingual teacher is a member of the bilingual committee and meets regularly with the other bilingual teachers on campus. As a team, the teachers assess the bilingual curriculum, share ideas, and discuss best practices for dual-language learners. Within this team, there is a bilingual coordinator who aligns program practices across classrooms, fosters community among the team, and provides coaching and leadership for our bilingual program. In order to be eligible for the coordinator position, a teacher must have at least one year experience working at our center.

What You’ll Do

The responsibilities of this position will include, but are not limited to the following:

Classroom Management and Practices

The learning that takes place at our Child Development Centers extends beyond the four walls of the classroom. Our children are immersed in emergent curriculum and outdoor exploration that fosters curiosity, joy, and self-expression.

• Co-create and organize a stimulating and developmentally appropriate learning environment both inside and outside.

• Ensure visual supervision and child safety at all times.
• Support emergent curriculum that meets the needs of the individual learning styles of the children in your care.
• Form relationships with parents, children, and co-teachers that are respectful of individual differences and culture, family styles and cultural/socioeconomic diversity. 
• Assist the teaching team to ensure a structured routine that allows for scheduled meal and rest breaks for the teaching team and maintains a flexible yet consistent daily schedule and routine for the children.

Communication Skills

The staff at the Child Development Centers are responsible for building meaningful relationships with children, families, and their coworkers.  We believe transparency, professionalism, and empathy are critical in sustaining these bonds.

• Foster a safe, inclusive environment for children, parents, and teachers.
• Create an environment that embraces open communication and trust between staff to ensure a high-quality environment for children and families.
• Communicate with children using developmentally appropriate language .
• Treat each child with dignity and respect.
• Guide children in becoming responsible integral members of the group and community.
• Establish regular communication with parents about special moments that happen throughout the day, or specific issues as they occur on a day-to-day basis. 
• Partner with parents to create an easy transition into the classroom.

• Provide Early Childhood/community resources and share information through a variety of mediums: bulletin boards, newsletters, Educa, and emails.

Language

• Bilingual teachers are responsible for infusing the classroom with the Spanish language and Latin/a/o/x culture, or whichever culture aligns with your heritage.
  • The goal is to speak Spanish as much as possible throughout the day. Bilingual teachers should aim to speak Spanish at least 75-85% of the time.
    • It is important to use Spanish during child-initiated play, transitions, and mealtimes. These activities are an opportune time to engage with children in smaller groups and ask reciprocal questions in Spanish.
  • Bilingual teachers need to use their best judgement to discern when speaking English is appropriate.
    • For instance, English may be used when bilingual teachers are when building a relationship with a new child whose native language isn’t Spanish, addressing health and safety, teaching complex social emotional skills, communicating with families or colleagues who speak only English or when training a new teacher.
• Infuse the Spanish language into the indoor and outdoor environments, including the classroom library and outdoor classroom.

Classroom Management and Practices

• Incorporate the Spanish language in the classroom through songs, games, and activities that complement the curriculum being explored in the classroom.
• In addition to complimenting the English curriculum, bilingual teachers are encouraged to bring their knowledge and passion into their classroom through whatever medium they find inspiring to bring the Spanish language and culture to life.
• Incorporate Latin/a/o/x culture, or whichever culture aligns with your heritage, through activities and books sent home in the bilingual backpack and hands-on cooking projects.
• Parent engagement is a critical component to this role. Bilingual teachers are asked to include parents in age-appropriate bilingual activities including but not limited to: Bilingual book picnics, group sing-a-longs, and hands-on cooking projects.

Communication and Collaboration

• Bring the Latin/a/o/x culture, or whichever culture aligns with your heritage, to life through classroom and community-wide celebrations. These celebrations include, Fiestas de la Primavera and Dia De Los Muertos.
• Actively participate in and design Parent Talk Times to create a learning community at Patagonia; topics include Bilingual Program, and Anti Bias Education.

• Serve as a member of the Bilingual Team and participate in monthly Bilingual Meetings with other bilingual teachers to discuss curriculum and planning.
• Mentor new members of the bilingual team through coaching and teamwork.

Who You Are

Our staff at the Child Development Centers are a diverse group of educators who bring authenticity, experience, and passion to their job every day.

• High school graduate.
• Passionate about child development and supporting our company mission to save our home planet.
• Excellent customer service skills in person, via email, and on the phone.
• Comfortable with team-based work structure; ability to demonstrate flexibility on the job.
• Demonstrates initiative, is conscientious and provides complete follow-through on areas of responsibility.
• Expert in your classroom age-group and best practices in early childhood.
• Dedicated to life-long learning and the betterment of the early childhood education.

Physical Requirements

The educators at the Child Development Centers are responsible for the health and safety of their students as well as hands-on caregiving. Please review the physical requirements to ensure you are qualified to perform all job duties and that any accommodation issues you have could be addressed.

• Observe and respond to children’s needs, emergencies and/or conflicts that might occur during the day.
• Kneel down to maintain eye contact at child’s level.
• Sit on the floor to engage with your students.
• Respond to a child’s first aid needs which may include cuts, bruises, and bodily fluids.
• Lift 1-35 pounds from the floor to a waist-high table, or communicate effectively with your team to get the needs of the child met.

Experience You Bring

We are seeking educators who are dedicated, life-long learners and practitioners of early childhood best practices.

• Fluent in Spanish
• Ability to read and write in Spanish
• Two years’ experience working with young children (At least 150 hours working/volunteering with children within the last 6 months).
• Fifteen (15) units in Early Childhood Education (Growth and Development, Child-Family & Community, Administration in ECE, and two Program/Curriculum courses). If you are working in an infant classroom, you must have three (3) infant/toddler units. If you are working in a school age classroom, you must have three (3) school age units.
• Working knowledge of personal computers with experience in the use of such programs as Word, Excel, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook. 
• Successful completion of the fingerprinting process and/or successful transfer of fingerprints from another program. It is a job requirement to have a successful criminal background check as well as clearance from either Live Scan in CA or obtaining a Sheriffs Card in NV to meet State childcare licensing requirements.   If you have, or later obtain an exemption from Licensing, please know that you may still not qualify for employment as Patagonia has its own rigorous internal standards and review process given the nature of the work with children.
• Successful completion of the hiring packet.

Preferred Experience

Our philosophy is rooted deeply in the R.I.E. approach to caregiving, as well as the Outdoor Classroom and Anti-Bias Education. We are deeply committed to Patagonia’s mission to save our home planet, and our practices and program are informed by these cornerstones.

• AA or BA in ECE or related field
• Understanding of Family Business, Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Learning Stories, Pyramid Model, Outdoor Classroom, Anti Bias Education, Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), and Educa.

Employee Conduct

Our philosophy is rooted deeply in the R.I.E. approach to caregiving, as well as the Outdoor Classroom and Anti-Bias Education. We are deeply committed to Patagonia’s mission to save our home planet, and our practices and program are informed by these cornerstones.

• It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.
   

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.