Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

ABOUT MOONSTONE

Moonstone Preschool, a 501(c)(3) organization, is one of the most sought after and distinctive early educational institutions in Philadelphia. Founded in 1983 by Sandy Robin, an artist and early childhood educator, Moonstone is grounded in progressive educational philosophy that promotes learning through personal experience. The Moonstone Method is a unique arts-based approach to early education with a curriculum that promotes the variety of ways that children learn through their interaction with the arts, each other, and their teachers. The Moonstone Method fosters a love of learning and confidence in students.

Described as magical, whimsical, joyful, creative, fun, progressive, welcoming, supportive, and celebratory, Moonstone is a year-round preschool for about 100 children from 18 months to four years. Each day starts with a play production with the full school and then the days are filled with art, music, reading, language, and culture. Moonstone’s holistic approach to education through the arts creates an environment that is open-ended, imaginative, and fun in which children learn through exploring. Learn more at moonstonepreschool.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

The next Director will be an experienced educator and leader who actively embraces the mission, vision, and philosophy of the school. They will be an energetic, empathetic, culturally competent leader who delivers organizational goals by providing guidance, support, and oversight of the curriculum, teachers, assistant directors, and children. They are a resource to parents and an active leader in building community for parents, neighbors, children, teachers, and administrators.

The next Director will play a leading role in advancing an already great school forward, engaging committed parents, faculty, staff, and board members to create new opportunities for children to experience learning in a progressive, art-focused, early education environment. While there are things that will never change at Moonstone, the next Director will have the opportunity to define and address strategic questions to ensure Moonstone’s stakeholders are aligned around the vision and goals for Moonstone’s future.

In partnership with the Board of Directors, the Director has overall strategic, creative, and operational responsibility for the school. This includes upholding and modeling Moonstone’s mission and values, and ensuring the financial, operational, and curricular health of the school. The Director leads a team of 20 creative and passionate teachers and administrators.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership:

Models the Moonstone way to ensure quality outcomes in a deeply creative environment.
Leads with vision that motivates and inspires staff, board, parents, and other stakeholders.
Builds and maintains trust and community across multiple groups.
Attracts, develops, coaches, and retains high-performing team members.
Creates an environment of regular and on-going feedback, coaching, mentoring, and support for the teachers, parents, and children in service of the best outcomes for students.
Seeks the input of others before making strategic decisions.
Celebrates success and values the contribution of others.
Builds a strong partnership with the Board of Directors.
Plans and facilitates board meetings, preschool committee meetings, and staff meetings.
Resolves conflicts and provides mediation as needed.
Commits to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment.

Early Childhood Education and Development:

Oversees the educational operations of the school and ensures the curriculum is supportive of the Moonstone Method.
Holds and shares a deep understanding of early childhood education and development and stays abreast of current research and best practices.
Oversees and participates in student evaluations and parent conferences.
Creates a supportive learning environment functioning as the lead learner in the community.
Works with the staff team to plan and implement curriculum and programming.
Balances the needs of the student body and the needs of individual students.
Supports teachers in professional development, learning, and understanding of early childhood development.

Operations:

Oversees the daily operations of the school and ensures compliance with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
Creates and monitors the operational budget each year.
Ensures financial stability and growth through budgeting, monitoring expenses, and making recommendations for financial aid.
Directs, identifies, and participates in fundraising and grant writing opportunities.
Develops and enforces administrative policies and procedures for the school’s operation.
Prepares and participates in the preschool’s annual implementation with DHS.
Oversees admissions and enrollment process.
Manages all human resources including maintaining written policies, equitable reinforcement of policies and rules, overseeing compensation and benefits, communication with insurance carriers and brokers, and completes annual staff performance.

QUALIFICATIONS

Skills and experience to deliver key responsibilities.
Has or attains the required DPW qualifications for a Director (title 55/reg#3770.34).
Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or a related field.
Five years’ experience in preschool classroom, administration, and management.
Appreciation for the arts is a plus.
Capable of successfully managing, coaching and nurturing diverse people.
Able to exercise professional judgment with a high degree of confidentiality and ethical standards.

LOCATION

Moonstone Preschool is located in the Bella Vista neighborhood of Philadelphia and the Director works onsite at the school. The candidate will need to live in or be willing to relocate to the Philadelphia region.

COMPENSATION

The annual salary for the Director is $84,000. A generous benefit package includes health insurance (including vision and dental) for the employee, two weeks paid time off for new employees, five sick days, and enrollment in the 401k after one year of service. Children or grandchildren of employees are eligible for 50% tuition remission.

HIRING PROCESS

The anticipated process includes:

E-mail and telephone screenings
Interview with Search Committee
In-person day at Moonstone to meet students, teachers, and staff
Interview with Board of Directors

If you see yourself reflected in this job description but don’t feel like you meet every single criterion, we encourage you to apply anyway. Research shows that individuals from historically marginalized groups—particularly women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC—tend to self-select out of employment opportunities at higher rates. We take a holistic and equitable approach to our hiring practices and seek to hire those who best align with our mission and goals.

Moonstone is an equal opportunity employer. Moonstone Preschool provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Moonstone Preschool complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

SEARCH FIRM

Fairmount Ventures is a women-owned and led consulting business committed to catalyzing social impact and equity in cities and communities by building the capacity of the nonprofit and public sectors. See fairmountinc.com for a complete overview of the firm. To make recommendations for this position or to ask questions, please contact the search lead: Lori Blair, Vice President.