EDUCATING THE WHOLE CHILD IN A NURTURING, CREATIVE COMMUNITY

Potomac Crescent Waldorf School is seeking a preschool lead teacher for the 2025-2026 school year to join our dedicated faculty and vibrant community at our newly renovated school in historic Old Town Alexandria. 

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The preschool lead teacher leads a class of 3 and young 4-year-old children. The class meets Monday-Friday during the school year from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with outdoor forest days on Thursdays and Fridays. The early childhood department lead teachers rotate coverage of lunch until 1:00 p.m. and have planning time until 3:00 p.m. for class preparation, faculty collaboration and parent work

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Duties include the following:

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• Creating a plan for the year centering around an understanding of the year’s seasonal progression and festivals;

• Planning a curriculum that nurtures healthy child development throughout the early childhood years and provides a strong foundation for kindergarten and first grade. This includes a progression of complexity and ability related to circles, self-control, coordination, and healthy movement;

• Working collaboratively with the other early childhood teachers;

• Planning, carrying out, and reviewing the program and activities on a day-to-day basis;

• Working closely with class parents through regular communication and by scheduling, organizing, and hosting four parent evening meetings and two parent-teacher conferences during the year;

• Keeping records of attendance and student progress;

• With the help of the assistant, maintaining the classroom in a neat and orderly fashion;

• Meeting with new students and their families before the school year, either at their home or at the school;

• Writing narrative reports for each child in their class at the end of the school year.

The lead teacher will meet with the assistant teacher at least weekly for planning and review to ensure a meaningful classroom role for the assistant. Collaborative work with the assistant teacher is essential for a healthy class environment. 

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As an active member of the school’s faculty, the lead teacher participates in weekly faculty meetings, early childhood department meetings, and committee work and must be able to work collaboratively with colleagues. The lead teacher will work with the enrollment administrators and the early childhood teachers to admit families into the early childhood program. Attendance at school events, admissions events, and festival celebrations is required.

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We are seeking candidates who have completed a Waldorf early childhood teacher training program recognized by WECAN and have early childhood teaching experience. We will also consider candidates who are currently enrolled in a Waldorf early childhood teacher training program or have Waldorf early childhood teaching experience and are receptive to training and mentoring. The ideal candidate will also have strong social and communication skills, a love for children and teaching, and the ability to be active indoors and outdoors with the children in all safe weather conditions. A commitment to our principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice and a willingness to participate in ongoing work related to this is essential.

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PCWS offers a collaborative work environment with dedicated faculty, competitive salaries, and a benefits package that includes salary recognition of Waldorf teacher training and experience, child tuition discounts and health insurance options. We value ongoing professional development for all teachers and support new lead teachers with mentoring. This position is exempt.

Potomac Crescent Waldorf School is seeking an assistant teacher for children aged 3- to 6-years old enrolled in our afternoon program for the 2025-2026 school year. The hours are 12:00-3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and include outdoor forest day programs on Thursdays and Fridays.

The position includes supporting the full-time lead and assistant teachers in carrying out the following elements of the program: 

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● Preparing the classroom for rest time 

● Transitioning the children from their morning programs 

● Overseeing lunch with the children 

● Settling the children for rest and story time 

● Gently transitioning the children from rest time to free play or other activities

● Dismissing children who leave after the afternoon program

● Tidying and cleaning classroom(s) and other spaces used so they are ready for the  morning classes 

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The ideal candidate will have early childhood teaching experience, a warm and gentle classroom presence with strong social and communication skills, the ability to work cooperatively with other teachers, the ability to work outdoors in all safe weather, and an openness to training and guidance about how Waldorf pedagogy supports our curriculum. A commitment to our principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice and a willingness to participate in ongoing work related to this is essential. Waldorf early childhood training and/or experience is highly valued. This position is paid hourly.

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Potomac Crescent Waldorf School seeks a part-time Mandarin teacher for the 2025-2026 school year to join our dedicated faculty and vibrant community at our newly renovated school in historic Old Town Alexandria. This is a salaried position.

The Mandarin teacher is in charge of teaching and guiding first-fifth grade classes with curriculum and activities that meet the needs of each developmental stage, following the Waldorf curriculum. The Mandarin teacher will teach 40-minute classes twice a week for each grade, for a total of ten classes per week. 

Responsibilities

• Plan, carry out, and review programs and activities in the class throughout the year, using games, songs and poetry, as well as basic vocabulary and simple conversations on everyday topics; when developmentally appropriate, writing and character recognition can also be introduced;

• Create the overall plan for the year, keeping in mind seasonal progression and incorporating some traditional Chinese festivals; 

• Keep records of student progress to help contribute to November and February parent-teacher conferences and to help with end-of-year reports;

• Write narrative end-of-year reports for each child in their classes;

• Maintain appropriate professional development through self-study.

The ideal candidate will be a native Mandarin speaker who has an understanding of Waldorf pedagogy or a commitment to learning about it, a love of teaching, excellent classroom management skills, and strong communication and collaborative skills. We value previous Waldorf teaching experience.

We welcome applications for qualified substitute teachers for our Early Childhood and Grades programs. Applicants should enjoy working with children and express an interest in Waldorf education. Substitute teachers play a valuable role in the life of the school and help us provide continuity of education and care to our students. Please use the "Apply Now" button above to submit your application. Additional questions can be addressed to our personnel committee at personnel@potomacwaldorf.org.

Potomac Crescent Waldorf School is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation or military status in any employment decision. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors and vendors. If you would like further information about PCWS' commitment to providing equal opportunities for all job applicants, contact our Equal Opportunity Coordinator at eoc@potomacwaldorf.org.

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As an equal opportunity employer, Potomac Crescent Waldorf School values the diversity of our work force and the knowledge of our personnel. Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) for specialty occupation petitions are displayed electronically in accordance with notice requirements pursuant to U.S. Department of Labor regulations, and public access files are available pursuant to regulation.  See 20 CFR § 655.734, 655.760.