Cooperative forest school is a newly formed cooperative forest school based in the woods of Masachusett (specifically the Cambridge/Medford/Stoneham area) for children ages 2-6.

We are a group of parents and caregivers creating an educational program for our children based on 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 ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to create a much needed community and a deliberate and safer learning environment for our children. 

We are looking for a Part Time Lead Forest School Teacher who shares our vision to join our adventure in care and community.

Duties

• 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

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

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 $20/hour

Contact: cooperativeforestschool@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.