Assistant Early Childhood Teacher

About Frankford Friends School:

Since 1833, Frankford Friends School has offered a values-based Quaker education in of Philadelphia. Frankford Friends School students are members of a community that is highly diverse and inclusive and the racial composition of the school closely mirrors that of the City of Philadelphia. Frankford Friends School’s curriculum emphasizes the 21st century skills of critical thinking, teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving and uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a foundational framework to engage students in understanding issues that affect people and the planet. An important aspect of this initiative is the formation of partnerships with people and organizations who are working on the same issues that students explore in class. Not only do students see what action might look like, but they understand the connection between what they learn and local action and service, and become true protagonists for change in their own communities. 

Frankford Friends School’s campus in Frankford enrolls 220 students (3 yrs through 8th grade) and the Early Childhood campus in Fishtown enrolls 40+ students (2 through Kindergarten-ready). Our graduates attend selective public and private high schools.

General Position Description:

This is a full-time, year-round position at the Early Childhood Center at Fishtown.

The Early Childhood Assistant Teacher works alongside the Lead Teacher as a genuine teaching partner. Together, the teaching team observes and listens to children, documents their thinking, reflects on what they are curious about, and prepares environments and experiences that invite deeper exploration. The Assistant Teacher is warm, curious, and committed to continuous professional growth, and is a collegial member of the Early Childhood Center and the FFS faculty and staff.

Our Approach in the Early Childhood Center:

Our Early Childhood Center is inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia, and grounded in progressive and constructivist understandings of how young children learn: through play, relationships, hands-on exploration, and investigations that grow from their own questions. Just as Frankford Friends students become protagonists for change in their communities, our youngest learners are protagonists in their own learning. In our classrooms, you will find:

• A strong image of the child. Every child is competent, curious, and capable of constructing understanding, a belief that resonates with the Quaker conviction that there is that of God in everyone.

• Teachers as researchers and co-learners. Teachers observe closely, listen carefully, and wonder alongside children rather than simply delivering lessons.

• An emergent curriculum. Curriculum grows from children’s interests, questions, and theories, deepening over days and weeks into long-term projects.

• The environment as the third teacher. Thoughtful, uncluttered, and beautiful spaces, indoors and out, are filled with natural, open-ended materials and loose parts that invite exploration.

• The hundred languages of children. Children express and revisit their ideas through drawing, painting, clay, building, movement, music, dramatic play, and conversation.

• Documentation that makes learning visible. Notes, photographs, children’s words, and their work help children, families, and teachers reflect on learning together.

• Families as partners. Families are valued collaborators in their children’s learning and in the life of our community.

Reports to:

Director of Early Childhood Center

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Learning Alongside Children

• Partner with the Lead Teacher to co-create and carry out an emergent, play-based curriculum that grows from children’s interests, questions, and theories;

• Join children in play and investigation as a co-learner: listen closely, ask open-ended questions (“What do you notice?” “What do you think might happen if…?”), and offer materials and invitations that extend children’s thinking rather than supplying answers;

• Facilitate small-group explorations and whole-group gatherings such as morning meeting, stories, and songs;

• Encourage children to express and revisit their ideas through many languages, including drawing, painting, clay, building, movement, music, and dramatic play;

• Support children’s social and emotional growth through warm, consistent relationships and co-regulation; help children name feelings, consider one another’s perspectives, and work through conflicts peacefully;

• Treat daily routines (arrival, snack and lunch, rest, and transitions) as meaningful opportunities for connection, independence, and community;

• Provide diapering and toileting support with respect, patience, and dignity, fostering each child’s growing independence and following all health and safety procedures;

• Adapt materials, spaces, and interactions so that every child, including children with disabilities and multilingual learners, can participate fully and be known for their strengths;

• Support daily outdoor play and exploration in every season, encouraging curiosity, wonder, and appropriate risk-taking;

Observation, Documentation, and Reflection

• Observe and document children’s play, words, and work through written notes, photographs, short videos, transcribed conversations, and collected work;

• Contribute to documentation that makes children’s learning visible, including documentation panels, portfolios, and communications with families;

• Participate in regular planning and reflection meetings with the Lead Teacher and Director, sharing observations and helping to interpret children’s thinking to shape next steps;

Caring for the Environment

• Help prepare, organize, and refresh a thoughtful, orderly, and beautiful classroom in which materials are accessible, so that children can make choices and work independently;

• Care for classroom materials, natural and recycled loose parts, and shared spaces, and invite children to share in caring for their environment as a daily practice of simplicity and stewardship;

Families and Community

• Greet families warmly, build trusting relationships, and share small moments from children’s days; refer questions about a child’s development, progress, or concerns to the Lead Teacher;

• Integrate the Quaker testimonies of peace, simplicity, integrity, community, and stewardship into daily classroom life and into interactions with all members of the community;

Professional Growth

• Engage in ongoing professional learning, including study groups, readings, workshops, peer observation, and reflective conversations about Reggio-inspired and constructivist practice, and welcome feedback as part of a shared culture of inquiry.

Additional Knowledge, Skills, and Experience Required:

The successful candidate delights in young children and is genuinely curious about how they think. Prior experience in a Reggio Emilia–inspired program is not required; what matters most is a willingness to learn, reflect, and grow alongside children and colleagues. The successful candidate has:

• experience with young children in a classroom, child care, camp, or similar setting;

• deep respect for children as capable thinkers, and a disposition to observe and listen before directing;

• curiosity, patience, and comfort with open-ended, child-led learning in which teachers wonder alongside children rather than supply answers;

• a warm, calm, and steady presence with toddlers and preschoolers, including during moments of big feelings;

• interest in learning about Reggio Emilia, play-based, and constructivist approaches to early childhood education;

• excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to build cooperative working relationships with faculty, staff, children, and families;

• openness to feedback and a commitment to reflective practice;

• comfort and excitement about working with children and families from diverse racial, cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds;

• strong organizational skills and basic comfort using a phone or tablet to photograph and record children’s work;

• enthusiasm and passion for the school’s mission, culture, and values;

• an understanding of and commitment to living the Quaker testimonies of peace, simplicity, integrity, community, and stewardship;

• the ability to be adaptive, reflective, resilient, and flexible in work situations.

Educational Requirements:

• High School diploma required; AAS in Early Childhood Education or Child Development Associate (CDA) credential preferred;

• Coursework in child development, or experience in a Reggio-inspired, progressive, or play-based program, is a plus.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment:

• This position requires significant flexibility and the capacity to work in a variety of settings: classroom, outdoor play spaces, community meeting spaces, office, etc. It may require the ability to sit, stand, walk up and down up to three flights of stairs and through the campus for the entirety of the school day; to sit on the floor and on child-sized furniture in order to be at children’s eye level; to spend time outdoors daily in most weather; and to occasionally lift up to 35 lbs.

• Early childhood classrooms are lively, active places. The Early Childhood Assistant Teacher encounters a wide variety of challenges, works with a diverse array of contacts, and must remain calm, present, and responsive in an environment that can be demanding at times, while staying flexible as needed.

• Be able to pass all criminal record checks, background checks, and child abuse clearances.

Employment Type:

• Full-time, 10 months, with an additional 2 months of employment for summer camp.   

Hours: 

• 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., including a one-hour daily lunch break.

Wage Range and Benefits: 

• Competitive salary, commensurate with experience.

• Full benefits package, including: paid parental leave; tuition remission and free aftercare for children who attend FFS (Frankford Campus); health care; professional development; 5% match on retirement contributions; 10 days PTO; vacation time. 

This description is subject to change by Frankford Friends School as the needs and requirements of the position change.

FFS provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or gender. In addition to federal law requirements, FFS complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

Updated October 2026