Early Childhood Teaching Fellow | PreK–1st Grade

Santa Fe South Charter Schools | Future Founding Teacher, Elementary #7
Oklahoma City, OK | 190 Day Contract

Learn alongside an exceptional teacher. Build your practice. Help found a school.

Santa Fe South Charter Schools (SFS) is a free public charter school district serving the south side of Oklahoma City for nearly 25 years. Our mission is grounded in high expectations, strong relationships, and a deep belief that all students- regardless of background- deserve an excellent, joyful education that prepares them for long-term success.

About Our New Elementary School

Santa Fe South is preparing to open its seventh elementary school, and we are beginning to build the founding team now. While the school’s name is still to come, its purpose is clear: create a school where strong instruction, meaningful relationships, and high expectations give students an exceptional start.

Founding teachers will help establish the routines, traditions, family partnerships, and collaborative culture that shape a school from its first day. This fellowship offers the opportunity to prepare for that work while learning within an established SFS classroom.

Position Summary

The Early Childhood Teaching Fellowship is a paid pathway into teaching and school founding for aspiring and early-career educators who want to make a lasting difference in the lives of young students.

Fellows will spend the remainder of the current school year supporting, learning from, and co-teaching with a highly effective SFS early childhood teacher. Through daily classroom experience, intentional mentorship, instructional coaching, and professional development, Fellows will build the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to lead a classroom.

In the following school year, Fellows will transition into founding teaching roles serving PreK–1st grade at Santa Fe South’s seventh elementary school, with continued coaching and support.

Fellows receive compensation on the SFS teacher salary scale beginning during the fellowship. This opportunity welcomes candidates with bachelor’s degrees in any field who bring a strong commitment to students, a willingness to learn, and the drive to become excellent teachers.

Key Responsibilities

Instruction & Student Learning

• Support and co-teach developmentally appropriate, standards-aligned lessons alongside a highly effective mentor teacher.
• Gradually assume greater responsibility for planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom routines based on readiness, feedback, and student needs.
• Build foundational teaching skills in early literacy, language development, numeracy, and social-emotional learning.
• Learn to balance explicit instruction with purposeful play, hands-on exploration, and engaging learning centers appropriate to the assigned grade.
• Prepare and internalize lessons, organize materials, anticipate student needs, and rehearse instructional strategies.
• Lead small groups and provide targeted support using observations, assessments, and student work to guide instruction.

Classroom Culture & Student Support

• Help create a safe, structured, and joyful classroom where students feel known, supported, and challenged.
• Learn and implement routines that develop independence, positive behavior, perseverance, and readiness to learn.
• Build strong relationships with students while maintaining clear, developmentally appropriate expectations.
• Collaborate with the mentor teacher and support staff to respond to students’ academic, language, and developmental needs.
• Support student supervision and school routines, including arrival, dismissal, lunch, and recess; provide classroom coverage as assigned.

Coaching & Professional Growth

• Observe effective teaching closely, ask thoughtful questions, and apply new learning in daily practice.
• Actively participate in coaching, observations, feedback conversations, grade-level meetings, and school and district professional development.
• Seek and implement feedback, reflect honestly on progress, and take ownership of professional growth.
• Strengthen content knowledge and instructional skills through independent study, practice, and collaboration.
• Develop familiarity with SFS curriculum, instructional expectations, systems, and community.

Family Partnership & Collaboration

• Learn to communicate clearly and respectfully with families about student learning, growth, and classroom expectations.
• Build trusting relationships with colleagues, families, and the broader school community.
• Contribute positively to the host campus and share responsibility for student success.

Founding School Preparation & Transition

• Collaborate with the founding school leader and teammates to prepare for the new campus’s opening.
• Help develop classroom routines, organize instructional materials, and establish shared expectations for teaching and school culture.
• Bring initiative, flexibility, and a problem-solving mindset to the work of opening a new school.
• Transition into responsibility for an assigned classroom, including planning, instruction, assessment, classroom culture, and family communication.
• Continue participating in coaching and professional learning as a founding teacher.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution by the start of employment; all majors accepted.
• Strong alignment with Santa Fe South’s mission and commitment to serving south Oklahoma City students and families.
• A genuine interest in teaching young children and developing expertise in early childhood education.
• Willingness to participate fully in mentorship, coaching, professional development, and ongoing practice.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate professionally, stay organized, and follow through on responsibilities.
• Commitment to preparing for and transitioning into a founding teaching role at SFS’s new elementary school.

Preferred

• Experience working with young children through teaching, tutoring, childcare, paraprofessional work, youth programs, or related experiences.
• Familiarity with early literacy, language development, early numeracy, or child development.
• Experience supporting multilingual students and families.
• Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish.
• Oklahoma teaching certification, or willingness and eligibility to pursue certification, in Early Childhood or Elementary Education.

Prior classroom teaching experience is not required.

Who Thrives in This Fellowship?

We are looking for educators who demonstrate:

• Commitment to students: Believe in every student’s potential and pair high expectations with meaningful support.
• Continuous learning: Welcome feedback, reflect on their practice, and turn new learning into action.
• Collaboration: Build respectful relationships and contribute to the success of the whole team.
• Flexibility: Adapt to changing needs and approach new situations with curiosity and sound judgment.
• Perseverance: Stay focused through challenges and model the persistence they want students to develop.
• Initiative and organization: Prepare thoughtfully, solve problems, and follow through.

Why Join Santa Fe South?

• Earn while you learn: Receive compensation on the SFS teacher salary scale during the fellowship.
• Learn through daily practice: Work alongside a highly effective teacher with opportunities to observe, practice, co-teach, and receive feedback.
• Help build something lasting: Join the founding team of a new elementary school and help shape its culture from the beginning.
• Grow with support: Continue receiving instructional coaching, collaboration, and professional development as you move into your own classroom.
• Make an early impact: Help young students develop the academic foundations, confidence, and curiosity that support a lifetime of learning.
• Join a connected community: Become part of an established district with deep roots in south Oklahoma City and a shared commitment to student success.