Head Teacher Responsibilities

The HT is the program director and is responsible for organizing and implementing program services in collaboration with the Parent Resource Teacher (PRT), School-Community Representative (SCR), Curriculum Alignment Liaison (CAL), classroom teachers, and other specialist staff.

The HT works under the direction of the Principal to lead the implementation of all services within the school, focusing primarily on the preschool and kindergarten grade levels, attending to the following six key responsibilities:

  • Collaborative leadership team
  • Effective learning experiences in the classroom
  • Aligned curriculum and practices
  • Parent involvement and engagement
  • Professional development support for staff
  • Continuity and stability

Typical tasks for the HT may include:

  • Observe and coach teachers in best practices and CPC P-3 professional development content.
  • Convene weekly meetings of the Collaborative Leadership Team.
  • Lead the annual development of the Curriculum Alignment Plan with the Curriculum Alignment Liaison and
    the principal.
  • Work with other leadership team members to create community partnerships to benefit the center’s families and children.
  • Regularly report to the principal on the progress of children in the center.
  • Ensure implementation fidelity and completion of fidelity-related data by teachers and school staff members.
“I meet weekly with our PRT and SCR to discuss the special needs of our families. The SCR does a home visit to follow up, especially if needs arise, such as chronic absenteeism or behavior issues. The SCR and the parents work on the school-home agreement, and the team monitors it to make sure it’s working.

We have our own roles — the SCR also pursues partnerships in the community and works on recruiting, the PRT keeps in contact with parents to pursue their stated interests from their parent survey and arranges parent workshops, and I oversee the results of these efforts to provide support and guidance.”

– Leah Lossin, Head Teacher
Chicago Public Schools

Requirements

  • A certified/licensed teacher, specialized in early childhood education
  • Several years of experience in teaching preferred
  • Advanced knowledge of the CPC P-3 program, preschool to 3rd grade
  • Leadership experience in managing comprehensive human service programs
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Ability to collaborate with school staff to ensure program quality
  • Dedication to the overall success of the CPC P-3 program

We Can Do This Role?

Various school districts have different titles for similar roles. Below are examples of personnel that may fulfill the Head Teacher role.

  • Content coach
  • Literacy coach
  • Reading specialist
  • Executive director of a child care center
  • Former assistant principal
“When I coach in the classrooms after we’ve shared a PD with the teachers, we’ll use a gradual release. For instance, I’ll model a read-aloud with the students with intentional questions to ask at increasingly higher levels.

If we’re reading Caps for Sale, the first question might be ‘How many caps?’ but toward the end of the story, it might be ‘What would happen if…’ to get the students to go deeper in their thinking and questioning.

Then, I do a planning with the teacher about the next read-aloud, have them do the read-aloud themselves with me there to support them, then reflect on the lesson afterward.”

– Lisa Levy, Former Head Teacher
Evanston/Skokie School District 65