Cooperative Forest School

Cooperative forest school is a new forest school morning program in Stoneham, MA for children ages 2-6, in the process of state-licensing with the Department of Early Education and Care.  

We are committed to the principles of community care, collaborative play, exploration, nurturing and environmental stewardship. United by a commitment to play-based outdoor education, we came together amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to create a much needed community and a deliberate and safer learning environment for our children.  Coop Forest School has a modified cooperative structure involving the caregivers and parents involved.

We are looking for an Experienced, Early Childhood Outdoor Educator to join our adventure in care and community and to lead our program, 3-5 days a week. 

Duties

• Lead the Cooperative Forest School program 3-5 mornings per week during the school year, alongside a co-teacher. 
• Make sure children are safe and supported
• Observe children’s behavior and learning, and foster problem solving, collaboration, confidence building and imagination by providing scaffolding experiential learning based on those observations
• Maintain visual and auditory supervision of children at all times to ensure their safety in the forest and on any field trips
• Help children resolve and negotiate conflicts when they arise; support development of self-regulation, impulse control and coping mechanisms through supporting conflict resolution; use consistent techniques in guiding children’s behavior
• Develop strong positive partnerships with families, students, and possible co-teachers
• Use positive, appropriate and supportive language with children
• Embrace a wide variety of weather conditions as pedagogical inspiration 
• Coordinate with parent-organizers on planning, preparation and organization.

Qualifications

• Experience in early childhood education and/or outdoor/nature education programs  
• Strong emotional intelligence, including empathy and listening skill set
• Loves working with young children and is energetic and passionate about working one-on-one with children, as well as with groups of children
• Demonstrates working knowledge of hazards and risk assessment as related to the environments of young children
• Able to work cooperatively and collaboratively in an all outdoor, forest setting, and open and flexible to new ideas
• Dedication to place-based education and a passion for exploring the natural environment. Working knowledge of local flora, fauna, and seasonal changes is a plus!
• Physically able to walk up to 2 miles a day, in all weather, and lift objects of up to 50lbs.
• Current Emergency First Aid and Child CPR certificate; (or willing to obtain quickly)

• Comfortable with meeting children where they are on a given day.
• Reliable transportation. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Formal studies in the core subjects of Early Childhood Education 
• At least one to two years preschool teaching experience
• Knowledge of forestry, environmentalism, conservation, herbology, any and all Earth based / nature based wisdom or knowledge 

Salary: Competitive, and Based upon Experience, starting at $22 /hour

Cooperative Forest School is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to building a diverse, inclusive staff reflective of our community. We especially encourage applications from Black, Indigenous and People of Color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGTBQIA+ community.

How to apply: Send a 1) resume and 2) cover letter describing your teaching philosophy and 3) three references to Mary Jirmanus Saba cooperativeforestschool@riseup.net or mjirmanus@riseup.net 
Note: We are working to keep our children and extended families and communities as safe as possible. To this end, we are following a layered protections system. We will ask all children and educators to wear high quality masks at all times. We will also keep a community care agreement where we update one another of COVID exposures and symptoms, and plan to implement surveillance testing. We are committed to fair labor practices. This includes COVID pay in case of exposure, quarantine or illness.