We are Hiring!

Full-Time Support Educator - Early Childhood Focus

We are looking for a Full-Time Support Educator with an Early Childhood focus for the 26/27 school year!

The Full-Time Support Educator works alongside our full-time educators to support Sprout and Younger Spiral Learners (ages 4–8), fostering a cohesive and enriching environment where every child can thrive academically and socially. This role blends two functions: assisting full-time educators in daily classroom and studio operations, and stepping into a leadership role when needed. While support for Sprout and Younger Spiral Learners is the primary focus, there may be times when you're asked to support all learners across PK-8. Success in this position requires initiative, a strong understanding of child development and diverse learning styles, fluency in SAU's educational philosophy, and the ability to guide both structured and emergent learning experiences.

JOB DESCRIPTION 

• Actively support learners across all spirals, with a focus on the Sprout and  Younger spiral(s) 

• Lead studios in alignment with our studio guidelines (studios is a self-directed study time when our learners can deep dive into a subject of their choosing or sharpen a skill they’re working to improve).

• Take initiative in organizing and leading lessons with the Younger & Sprout spiral learners on various topics.

• Support students in setting and achieving personal academic and developmental goals.

• Provide individualized support when needed, both academically and socially.

  • Recognize when a student needs one-on-one attention and respond appropriately.

• Support the development of learner portfolios and display of work within the classroom.

• Provide care and support for students with medical needs

• Facilitate conflict resolution and support students in resolving social challenges independently.

• Follow and implement individualized conduct support plans.

• Maintain classroom and whole school order and aesthetics to contribute to a positive and inspiring learning environment.

• Understand and uphold SAU’s core policies and agreements, including safety rules, conduct expectations, and studio guidelines.
  
  Responsibilities & Commitments include

• Checking with FT educator(s) upon arrival to learn updates for the day and share in any lesson plan adjustments

• Participate in a meeting before school opens with FT educators, to review specific duties and plan for them, develop a clear plan for any classes that FT support educator will be taking leadership in, learn about opening themes/classes and any upcoming events, ensure understanding of safety rules, school agreements, and students on a conduct plan

• Follows process of performance reviews

• Leading the process for studios with other educators on a weekly basis

• Read and respond to email communications in a timely manner

• Attends scheduled meetings outside of school day (4-5 a year, paid)

• Attends one monthly staff meeting TBD

• Attends a portion of each planning day TBD

  
  Performance Review

• This role reports to Core Leadership Circle 

• Participate in SAU’s goal setting and performance review process

 Work Schedule, Vacation & Benefits

• 36.25 hours per week, during scheduled days of school - Monday - Friday,  8:15 - 3:30. 

• Job follows SAU’s school year calendar, starting in September, ending in the beginning of June.

• Attend meetings outside of the school day for performance reviews, staff meetings and teacher planning

• This is an hourly position, no benefits are connected to this role, $20/hr

• 10 days of personal paid time off

• There are opportunities for additional days/hours during special programming events throughout the year and during our theater intensive in March & April.

• FT Support Educators do not work during scheduled vacations, and they are not paid for those days off

Interested applicants should submit their resume, cover letter and three references to hiring@schoolaroundus.org

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Full-Time Sprout Spiral (4-6yo) Lead Educator for the 26/27 School Year

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

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Substitute Teachers for 2026-27 School Year!

We are seeking high quality substitute teachers on an as-needed basis for the 2026/27 academic year! No teaching credential is required, just a love of children and a willingness to learn and apply our educational approach. A substantial amount of our programming is spent outdoors in outdoor classrooms through all four seasons.

Qualifications:

• Love for children

• Comfort with being outdoors 

Requirements:

• Background check

Work Schedule: On-Call, As-needed

Pay: $18/hour

If interested, please email resume, availability, and the names of 2 references to hiring@schoolaroundus.org.