207.967.0857
School Around Us (SAU) in Arundel, Maine has an opening for a full-time early childhood educator to join our team and lead our sprout spiral (ages 4-6) starting in August 2026. SAU’s mission is to bring together young people, educators, families and our extended community to create a participatory, learner-driven environment grounded in meaningful relationships, which expresses the world we would like our children to live in—a world where all are supported to be self-aware and engaged global citizens.
As a “Co-Learning Community” one of our core values is that we focus not only on learners, but on families and communities together as ecosystems of learning. School Around Us serves youth ages 5 - 14 who are registered with the State of Maine as homeschoolers.
SAU seeks an awesome and adaptable educator who values a co-created educational environment balancing structure and spontaneity/freedom. This educator will be responsible for designing and implementing holistic, learner-driven educational programming for a group of children ages 4 -6.
SAU is led by a Core Leadership Circle made up of employees (educators & admin) who also want to shape the vision and nurture the sustainability of the organization. Coming into our third year of this staff-led model, we are actively fine-tuning our systems and looking to grow and adapt as our progressive organizational structure finds its form.
You may be an amazing fit for our organization if you are a passionate educator who believes that humans are built to learn, that education is a life-long journey, and that education is a collaborative process of self-discovery where one size doesn't fit all.
Job Description
An educator at SAU is…
A teacher, mentor, and guide for students
A collaborative co-creator of educational experiences with fellow teachers, with parents, and with learners
An advocate and coach who aids young people in developing and achieving their own desired path to learning and becoming themselves
Someone who uses an integrated, hands-on curriculum appropriate to developmental stages, knowledge, and abilities and able to adapt to emergent curriculum
Someone who shares their own passions with the SAU community
Someone who implements School Around Us’ philosophy of holistic education through the framing of Eight Knowledge Areas (Logical Thinking & Quantitative Reasoning, Scientific Inquiry & Environmental Understanding, Practical Life Skills, Creative Arts, Language & Communication, Citizenship, Body Knowledge) in our curriculum
Someone who addresses issues of diversity, inclusion and equity with learners.
A creative guide able to balance freedom with co-created structure.
Someone who establishes strong relationships with learners and their families by:
Being consistently in contact with families in person and by email/phone as needed
Posting on our “Loft” social network to inform our community of SAU programming (through written posts and videos) and through our year-long portfolio-building process
Someone who facilitates supportive conflict resolution processes
A willing participant in a democratic organizational and staff culture
Work Commitments
At SAU we contract our teachers annually for 210 working days through the school year: August - June. These days include on-site school days, planning time before and during the school year, and other events that support our organization. A typical week for teachers during the school year is Monday - Friday, 8:30 to 3:30. There are weekly staff meetings and monthly community gatherings afterschool / in the evening that we ask teachers to attend in addition to occasional evening school events (eg. School Play, Concerts). It is important to note that a substantial amount of time is spent outdoors throughout our programming through all four seasons so teachers are expected to be prepared for both indoor and outdoor time.
Compensation + Benefits
Salary Range: $43,000-44,500 (depending on experience and qualifications)
Current Benefits:
10 days Paid Time Off (includes both sick and personal days)
50% Tuition Discount
Professional Development Stipend
Certification Support (if needed)
Job Requirements:
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent educational and training experience
Minimum 3 years of experience working as a teacher (need not be in traditional schooling context) with learners ages 4-14
Exposure to and interest in holistic education + self-directed learning
Knowledge of, and ability to use, conflict resolution skills that are supportive of an equitable and inclusive learning environment
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Able to give and receive honest and thoughtful feedback. Willing to use feedback to grow as an educator and support the SAU community.
Excitement to create educational experiences in a non-prescriptive context and is not attached to assessments and curriculum looking a certain way (Eg. tests, teaching at grade level, following standards)
Can embrace both structure and spontaneity and utilizes both as a teacher
Able to share the stage and work within a collaborative organizational environment
Can design effective, clear and meaningful learning experiences
Willingness to engage with parents/families consistently, nurturing these relationships
Willing to spend substantial time outdoors with learners throughout all four seasons
Openness to team teaching / working in a collaborative teaching environment
Preferred
Master’s Degree
Maine Teaching license/certification
Experience guiding project-based, experiential learning programs and environments
Experience in holistic learning (i.e. child-led education, montessori, waldorf, reggio, free schools, democratic education, agile learning, etc.)
Multiple years experience working with children ages 4 - 8
Demonstrated ability to facilitate group processes
Experience with participatory decision-making processes such as consent (as used in sociocracy/holacracy), consensus, robert’s rules, etc.
Is willing to create unexpected, spontaneous and unimaginable things based on student interest and passion
Experience as part of a teaching team and/or collaborative teaching environment
First-Aid and CPR certifications
Interested applicants should submit their resume, cover letter, and three references to: hiring@schoolaroundus.org
Initial Interviews for qualified applicants will be scheduled during the weeks of July 6th & 13th in the afternoons / evenings.
School Around Us is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture and workforce reflective of our mission, values and communities we serve. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.
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