Elementary Class Teacher for 2025/2026 School Year+
Elementary Class Teacher for 2025/2026 School Year+
Job Category: Lower School: Grades 1-5
Opening Statement
The Hartsbrook School is seeking an experienced, enthusiastic candidate for a new Elementary Class Teacher with Waldorf teacher training and classroom experience for the 2025-2026 school year and beyond. An Elementary Class Teacher carries primary responsibility for teaching the Waldorf elementary school curriculum, collaborating with colleagues on a daily basis, and participating in parent/caregiver, department, and faculty meetings, and contributing to an intentionally inclusive school culture, both within the classroom as well as the wider school community. Following the Waldorf education principles, the teacher will design daily and weekly activities, establish a healthy rhythm, and implement a yearly curriculum reflecting the seasons and festivals.
Read the full job description.
About
About The Hartsbrook School
The Hartsbrook School is a Waldorf school, originally founded in 1981 with five preschool students in a little farmhouse. We have grown to over 250 students with programming from Parent/Infant classes to Grade 12. Our 54-acre campus, with farmland, woodlands, streams, and spectacular views the Seven Sisters hills of the Holyoke Range, enhances and deepens our students’ daily experiences. We are situated in the middle of the five-college area of the Connecticut River Valley, which offers world-class cultural events, restaurants, movies, galleries, boutiques, local farms, dance, music, and theater. Our faculty and staff are a multi-generational group who strive to support each other in our shared work.
The Hartsbrook School holds a vision in which our larger community is represented, reflected, and celebrated in our school – in race, economic situation, gender, sexuality, family composition, ability, nationality, religion, and more. Such a vision is rooted in and expands upon Hartsbrook’s mission to nurture the unique spirit of each child and to prepare students to meet the challenges of the future and to find purpose and meaning in their lives.
We have taken up the work of building a more equitable, diverse, and accessible school culture in a robust way and are proud of our accomplishments in this area. We are committed to continuing to deepen our community’s ability to connect people from diverse backgrounds, build mutual understanding and friendship, and enrich the collective life of the school and our individual lives. We believe such work is healing, restorative, and life-giving for everyone involved. As we learn to fully see and understand each other in our differences – and to celebrate those differences – we will move towards a more equitable, just, and welcoming school environment where everyone can feel a sense of belonging.
Essential Job Duties
Work with the children:
- Designs and implements a daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal rhythm and curriculum that includes opportunities for student agency, small group work, outdoor time, movement, artistic activities, and developmental skills building.
- Designs and leads daily lessons which support developmental benchmarks with experiential exercises, songs, verses, movement and games
- Plans and prepares for artistic activities – drawing, painting, beeswax/clay modeling, crafting – as appropriate for the class.
- Cultivates an inclusive class community.
- Plans and prepares for seasonal festivals.
- Ensures that the classroom is clean, tidy and organized for the next day.
Work with assistants, when applicable:
- Cultivates respectful, collaborative and professional relationships with assistants.
- Works with assistants as part of a team, shares expectations for daily and weekly rhythm and the assistant’s participation in that work.
- Advises and informs assistants on topics such as health, safety, or conflicts related to organizing or managing the program.
Work with elementary faculty:
- Works collaboratively and respectfully with colleagues.
- Oversees compliance with state licensing and regulatory concerns
- Reviews and develops the program in collaboration with colleagues and department chairs.
- Collaborates with the Elementary Chair regarding budget for materials.
Work with wider school faculty and staff:
- Participates in employee orientation and training
- Participates in full faculty meetings
- Participates in professional development opportunities
- Participates in enrollment events
Work with parents/caregivers:
- Communicates directly with parents/caregivers as appropriate and needed and expectations
Qualifications
Qualifications
- Experience teaching and working with children
- Experience or interest in Waldorf education and Waldorf Elementary Education certification, and teaching experience is preferred.
- Enjoys working with and interest in making a positive impact on the lives of children
- Solid understanding of the needs of children of varied ages
- Enjoys working outdoors
- A willingness to adapt teaching methods to meet the needs of the students and create lively, interactive lesson plans.
- Demonstrated strong communication and interpersonal skills with students, colleagues, and parents
- Provides Supervisory and organizational skills
- Ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively with colleagues, parents, and families
- Experience in equity and inclusion work that supports a diverse community. The Hartsbrook School is committed to enhancing diversity and equity in education and employment. To that end, the School welcomes candidates from all backgrounds and lived experiences, who will contribute to a culture of inclusion and respect.
Employment Details
Compensation
The base salary for a full-time teacher starts at $44,166.
Benefits include employer contributions to health and dental plans and a 403(b) plan, short- term and long-term disability insurance, sick time, personal time, and professional development funding. Tuition remission is available for eligible children enrolling at Hartsbrook.
To Apply
Please send your complete application to employment@hartsbrook.org which will include:
- A cover letter explaining your interest and suitability;
- Your most recent and up-to-date resume;
- A completed Employment Application including the names of at least three (3) references;
- All employees need to pass a background check, including fingerprinting, and must possess the legal right to work in the United States.
Please visit our website for application instructions and to learn more about Hartsbrook: https://www.hartsbrook.org/about/employment/
The Hartsbrook School is committed to enhancing diversity and equity in education and employment. To that end, the School welcomes candidates from all backgrounds and lived experiences, who will contribute to a culture of inclusion and respect. For more information about Hartsbrook’s position on diversity and inclusion, please visit our website at: hartsbrook.org/about/inclusion-equity-and-diversity