Executive Director of the Village Nest Cooperative

We are the Village Nest Cooperative, a forest-based pre-school, and K-2 school based out of the John F Hall Grange Hall in Eliot, ME. We run our part and full-time programs outside; teaching without the four walls of a classroom.  Our philosophy is that “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!” At the Village Nest Cooperative, we believe that it takes a village to raise well-rounded young naturalists and inspire future confidence in learning environments.

More on the Director Position:

Founded by Jessica Labbe in 2022, Village Nest Cooperative is transitioning to a non-profit organization with the hopes of growing the school and expanding its mission to reach a broader, more diverse group of students.  The Village Nest is seeking an experienced leader, passionate about nature-based education and emergent curriculums, to serve as our new Executive Director in this next stage of our development. 

Director Duties & Responsibilities include:

Oversee and manage behind the scenes operation of a successful nature preschool and microschool meeting our Village Nest Cooperative standards for early education goals and objectives for nature education with an emphasis on emergent curriculum, inclusiveness and kindness for all beings.

Steward a sense of cooperative community, inclusive belonging, and nature connection in both the preschool and microschool.
Create and maintain a positive work environment at the Village Nest Cooperative that encourages Mentors to dream big, grow and utilize nature as a principal to shape learning around.

Ensure that the indoor Grange Hall space, outdoor classroom, and Douglas Memorial Woods are safe, welcoming and enriching environments for childhood learning and development. Work together with Lead Mentors when planning changes with the outdoor classroom and getting families involved when building out spaces is needed.  Work with our landlords, the Grange Hall and Great Works Land Trust, to oversee and manage potential changes and/or manage potential risks.

Ensure compliance with all licensed childcare regulations and guidelines including preparing licensing paperwork, visits, and secured maintenance of all Mentor and student files.
Work collaboratively with the Great Works Regional Land Trust and other nature centers through the Natural Star Alliance to ensure that the operations of the preschool and microschool are in full alignment with ongoing operations for nature preserved land.
Manage budget, payroll, taxes and other expenditures. Conduct regular meetings with budget leads to ensure spending is tracking to forecasts and goals.
In collaboration with the soon to be formed Board of Directors, Parent Advisory Council and Marketing/Advancement Director, develop and lead fundraising efforts that support the growth of the school.

Management/Supervision:

Develop the school’s performance management process and recognition opportunities. Ensure all mentors receive performance reviews, set goals and have milestone check-ins. 
Support preschool and microshool lead mentors in posting open positions and screening candidates. Ensure lead mentors or resourced to train and successfully support their staff.  

Create and maintain connections and collaborations with programs and professionals to provide ongoing professional development for all Mentors (30 hours needed for the state of Maine).  Plan and offer professional development seminars for the Mentors, arrange days to visit other nature-based schools.

Maintain regular communication with Mentors through Brightwheel, email and a weekly standup to ensure the team is well supported and operating with clear and consistent communication.
Oversee the Lead Preschool and microschool’s documentation of the children’s progress in the areas of social, emotional, physical, creative and cognitive skills both through Brightweel and portfolios. Help to aid in communicating with families about their children’s goals especially if they are not being met.
Conduct Bi-Monthly mentor observations as well as weekly check-ins with Lead Mentors on the status of their classroom, needs and budget support.
Maintain the master schedule for the school, ensuring it is up to date and that all Mentors have access to it.
Support Lead microschool and Preschool teachers in ensuring that all of the “classrooms” have suitable mentor coverage and the resources to have safe, fun days outdoors.

Family Engagment:

Oversee family communication with our Lead microschool teacher and Lead Preschool teacher regarding children’s development and daily learning as well as overseeing yearly parent/teacher conferences.
Engage with parents/caregivers in conversations about behavioral needs and collaborate with all Mentors when needing possible early interventions or outside consultants for children’s needs.
Develop and oversee family events such as clean up days, field trips, winter and summer solstice, etc.
Liaise with the Parent Advisory Council to provide school updates, gather feedback, and solicit parent/community support for Village Nest initiatives.

Communications:

Oversee our Marketing/Advancement Director to ensure the Village Nest mission, updates and content is fresh, accurate and consistent between our website, public Instagram and Facebook pages
Manage outreach and email communications between families, community partners and state agencies as the lead voice for the school
Oversee and edit weekly “Updates from the Nest” emails to all current families and summer camp families
Provide regular updates to the Board of Directors; elevate all matters that fall within their purview

Aiding the Transition from LLC to Non-profit:

Village Nest Cooperative is currently a LLC transitioning to a non-profit by Fall 2023 and will be working with a lawyer to make that transition, the Director must be able to assist with the paperwork, meetings and board creation work needed during this transition.  Experience working in a non-profits or building a non-profit is desired.

Qualifications

At the Village Nest Cooperative we are a mighty and ever growing community serving over forty kids ages 2.5-8 during the school year, and up to eighty families during the summer. Our highest priority is finding the best candidate to step into the role for Director to help us expand. We encourage you to apply if you have a passion for nature education, a background in early elementary or outdoor education, and at least five years of experience teaching children or running an early childhood program. Additional qualifications include:

Exceptional understanding of early childhood and early elementary education practices, and in the ever changing social and emotional needs of preschool-aged children.
Experience managing early childhood and early elementary education operations (an understanding of using the Brightwheel is a bonus!)
Excellent writing and verbal communication skills and the ability to work both cooperatively and independently as well as set your own schedule and workday pace.
Teaching background in the outdoor/forest/nature realm as well as a belief that (almost) anything taught indoors can be done outside.
Fluency in nature-based emergent play-based curriculum and anti-biased education principles
A passion for the natural world and deep commitment to developing early childhood and early elementary education learning experience in the Maine woods.
Demonstrated ability to respect diversity of ethical, cultural, linguistic background both physically and mentally.
A strong ability to relate to and communicate with families who might be new to the forest school concept
Previous management experience that includes staff recruitment, hiring and firing, supervision, performance management and professional development.
A strong desire to get muddy, catch frogs, climb trees and splash in puddles

Compensation & Benefits

We offer a competitive salary and the opportunity to work remote for the majority of the time.

Additional Information

The Executive Director is at the school Mondays-Fridays from 8:00am-4:00pm.  Other times and dates outside of regular hours will be required for trainings, meetings, open houses, clean up days and more.

How to apply:

Village Nest Cooperative is an equal opportunity employer We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees, families and applicants. Village Nest prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type especially with regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veterans’ status, sexual orientation, gender identity, expression or any other characteristic protected by federal or state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, replacement, promotion, termination, layoff, leave of absence, compensation, and training.

Please send letter of interest and resume to: Betsy Blaisdell, betsyblaisdell@gmail.com