The Little School

Executive Director Position

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OVERVIEW
The Little School is a nationally recognized, relationship-based, inclusive preschool program committed to
providing individualized, quality education to young children. The San Francisco-based school is seeking an
outstanding Executive Director to lead its unique program starting in July 2016.
THE SCHOOL
Philosophy
At The Little School, we focus on the development of the whole child. We celebrate an individuals strengths,
encourage interests and support challenges. We believe that strong positive relationships and a robust,
supportive community, where everyone feels respected and included, are the keys to a successful learning
environment.
The pillars responsible for bringing our philosophy to life include:

Quality Early Childhood Education. Early Childhood Education principles and best practices are the
foundation of The Little School. Upon this foundation, the school has created its own inclusive,
relationship-based approach. This approach has received local and national attention; has been taught
in local and national conferences, workshops and consulting engagements; and has been documented in
a training film: Relationships: The Key to Teaching and Learning in the Early Years and a book
Including One, Including All: A Relationship-Based Guide to Inclusion.

Inclusion. The Little School is committed to serving children with diverse developmental profiles including
children with identified special needs. A range of children with unique strengths, challenges and interests
both strengthens the social competence and empathy of every child in the school and encourages
teachers to develop teaching strategies and learning tools that benefit every child.

Diversity. The Little School strives to create a community with racial, ethnic, socio-economic and familystructure diversity as well as a range of life experiences and abilities. This rich assortment of families
creates the potential for each individual member to stretch their cultural competence and communicate in
new ways.

Excellent Teachers. The school is fortunate to have an outstanding and tenured team of teachers. The
success and long tenure of our teachers (approximately one-third have tenure of greater than 15 years
and one-third 6-15 years) is due to the individuals themselves, to the schools commitment to professional
development and guidance, to teacher involvement in the programs development, and to the structure of
the teacher work week (e.g. 5-7 hours per week off the floor to support the program, children and
families).

Parent Teacher School Partnership. Parents at The Little School are actively engaged in the school
community. Parents, teachers and administrators collaborate to support each child and the community as
a whole. It is a culture of caring and contribution. Each member of the community assists where
possible, whether chaperoning a field trip, attending a family share day, participating on a volunteer
committee or serving as a Trustee. Parents also come together for Parent Education events focused on
topics central to early childhood and The Little Schools core tenets.

Tools
The fundamental tools which support our educational approach include:
The Sensory Lens. The Little School uses a sensory-processing lens as a basic tool for understanding a
developmental profile, for regulating and organizing children, and for helping children understand

The Little School

Executive Director Position

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themselves and others.

Social-Emotional Curriculum. Social-emotional curricula (e.g. identification, processing and validation of

feelings, as well as conflict-resolution) and regulation curricula (e.g. identifying our internal state and what
tools help calm and organize us, such as those outlined in Zones of Regulation and The Engine
Curriculum) are embedded in daily classroom life and conversation.

Emergent Curriculum. Teachers are intentional in providing experiences that reflect the emerging
interests of individuals and groups of children. The goal is to support overall development, be it cognitive,
social, emotional, symbolic, physical or creative.

Other Key Facts

The Program. There are 110-115 students enrolled with small class sizes and teacher ratios ranging from
1:4 to 1:8. Current individual programs or classes include: two 2-3 year-old programs with classes on
two half-days per week; two 3-4 year-old programs with classes on three half-days per week; two 4-5
year-old programs with half-day daily classes; one transitional kindergarten with half-day daily classes;
four intertwined extended day programs; and a summer program.

Admissions. The Little School has a stellar reputation. We have over 500 applications for approximately 25
spaces per year.

Facility Renovation. In Spring 2015, The Little School began a building renovation to: almost double the
classroom space and allow each class to have a dedicated classroom; triple the amount of meeting
space; and add additional public spaces.

The Legacy Campaign. Announced in February 2015, the Legacy Campaign is a $4 million capital
campaign to support the facility renovation as well as teacher recognition and retention. The Legacy
Campaign is well underway and is expected to be fully pledged prior to the Executive Director transition.

THE OPPORTUNITY
After serving as Executive Director of The Little School for over thirty years, Founder Leslie Roffman will be
retiring in Summer 2016. The new Executive Director will have the opportunity to lead a school that believes
passionately in its educational approach and is well positioned for new growth and development. The new
Executive Director will also have committed financial support to retain, recognize and attract top staff
members, and will enjoy the benefits and strategic opportunities provided by a newly-renovated facility.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL:

Be passionate about children and early childhood education
Embrace The Little Schools core values: relationship-based education, inclusion, diversity, commitment
to teacher excellence and strong parent / school partnership
Be a strong leader, who can inspire, manage, mentor and partner with a highly knowledgeable and
passionate staff
Recruit new teachers as needed
Facilitate Parent Education events central to the educational philosophy of The Little School
Partner with the Board of Trustees to honor the schools values, achieve the schools strategic goals and
maintain a financially sound organization
Honor and advance the vision, mission, philosophy and culture of The Little School

The Little School

Executive Director Position

Be an ambassador, team player and consensus-builder who is comfortable working with and balancing
the needs of multiple constituents including professional colleagues, Board of Trustees, parents and
prospective families
Be a strategic thinker and thoughtful problem solver who can listen attentively and consider many points
of view, develop an action plan, execute on the plan, and reflect on lessons learned
Facilitate Kindergarten admissions by giving general guidance to families about the transition to
kindergarten, understanding kindergarten options, and forging relationships with admissions directors
Be a strategic, active and enthusiastic partner in fundraising efforts

QUALIFICATIONS
Early childhood education expertise: both on-the-floor early childhood teaching experience and strong
knowledge of early childhood education practices
Demonstrated success as a leader and manager, including experience leading a team, structuring an
organization, and establishing and implementing a strategic vision and action plan; financial and
operational experience is a plus
Genuine enthusiasm for The Little Schools philosophy, especially the tenets of inclusion, diversity,
relationship-based learning, and individualized education
Strong interpersonal skills: a capable listener and communicator with high emotional intelligence and
empathy
Ability to understand the needs of a diverse community
Integrity, humility and a natural inclination for reflection and growth
The Executive Director of The Little School must meet all Director Qualifications per the California
Community Care Licensing Division. For more information, please see:
http://ccld.ca.gov/res/pdf/ChildCareCtrProviderReqStaffQual.pdf
TO APPLY
Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume to Mr. Andrew Spokes at
directorsearch@littleschool.org by August 31, 2015.