Location
Description
The City of Menlo Park is a great place to work! We are now accepting applications for Child Care Teacher I-II. This is an exciting opportunity to join our dedicated and passionate team of early childhood educators. Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply now.
Child Care Teachers are hands-on leaders responsible for designing, planning, and implementing high-quality child care programs at our city-operated child care centers. This position requires strong skills in curriculum development, classroom leadership, and program evaluation, as well as the ability to support and respect children and families from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, economic, political, social, and religious backgrounds.
The City of Menlo Park operates two licensed child care centers:
- Menlo Children’s Center (serving children ages 18 months to 5 years)
- Belle Haven Child Development Center (state-subsidized, serving children ages 3 to 5)
We currently have full-time vacancies at both locations and are seeking passionate educators to join our team. These positions offer meaningful and rewarding work, a competitive benefits package, and advancement opportunities for skilled professionals who are committed to continuous improvement and educational excellence.
In addition to the currently available opportunities, this recruitment will be used to establish an eligibility list for Child Care Teacher I-II to fill potential future openings in our child care programs. Teachers may be assigned to various age groups and program sites based on operational needs. Interested candidates should apply now to be considered for current and future openings in this classification.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will possess a strong work-ethic and a desire to work with preschool and school-age children on class activities and projects; plans age-appropriate curriculum, learning experiences and activities to develop, physical, language, and social skills; designs activities to enhance the child’s self-esteem and independence.
Essential job Functions
The job functions of a Child Care Teacher include: planning activities for children; supervising, instructing, and interacting with specific age groups; working within a teaching team to create a play-based environment for children; maintaining safety and cleanliness throughout the facility. Must possess the ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects, including children, up to 30 pounds.
Minimum Qualifications
Education and Experience
Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:
CHILD CARE TEACHER I
- Equivalent to high school graduation or GED, plus a minimum of twelve (12) units of course work in Early Childhood Education, recreation, physical education, elementary education, or closely related field. Twenty-four (24) units preferred
- An A.A. Degree in early childhood education preferred
- Equivalent of six (6) months’ experience in licensed group child care program or comparable setting or possession of a Children’s Center Permit issued by the California Commission on Teacher Preparation and Licensing, or equivalent experience to provide the required knowledge and abilities
CHILD CARE TEACHER II
- Sixteen (16) semester units in general education
- Twenty-four (24) units of Early Childhood Education coursework
- An additional two (2) units of adult supervision coursework
- One (1) year of instructional work in a child care and development program
Licenses and Certifications
CHILD CARE TEACHER I
- Possession of a valid California driver's license; and a satisfactory driving record, if assigned to the after school program (children in kindergarten – fifth grade)
- Ability to obtain American Red Cross First Aid Certificate and CPR Certificate. Must maintain and renew certification per the American Red Cross guidelines
CHILD CARE TEACHER II
- Certification as Master Teacher or above
- Possession of valid Class C California Driver’s License and a satisfactory driving record
- Ability to obtain American Red Cross First Aid Certificate and CPR Certificate. Must maintain and renew certification per the American Red Cross guidelines
Benefits
Salary Information:
Child Care Teacher I: $68,613- $83,399 annually
Child Care Teacher II: $75,473 - $91,739 annually
The City offers an excellent benefit package consisting of:
- Health Insurance: City contribution up to $2,893 per month towards a Cafeteria Plan which can be used to purchase medical insurance and participate in a flexible spending account for health care and/or child care reimbursement
- Dental: City-paid coverage for employee and dependents
- Vision: City-paid coverage for employee and dependents
- Vacation: 88 - 176 hours of vacation leave accrual each year, depending on length of service
- Sick Leave: 96 hours of sick leave accrued each year
- Holidays: 11 official holidays; 34 hours of floating holiday time per year; 8 “Day of Reflection” hours per year in recognition of holidays of individual and community importance
- Retirement: CalPERS: For classic members 2.0% @ 60 formula. For all others, 2.0% @ 62 formula
- Deferred Compensation: Voluntary participation in City Plans.
- Life Insurance: City-paid policy equal to 1.5 times regular annual wage
- Long Term Disability: City-paid coverage
- Educational leave and tuition reimbursement
- A City-paid Caltrain GoPass. The Menlo Park campus is centrally located within walking distance from Caltrain and downtown Menlo Park.
- A City-paid BayPass. This pilot program offers employees unlimited travel for both work and personal trips on 25 Bay Area transit agencies that use the Clipper card.
- A transportation allowance program provides employees with $1.50 per day when they walk, bicycle or carpool to work at least once per week.
- Employees are provided with access to an on-site gym at no cost
For additional benefit information, visit www.menlopark.gov and review the City of Menlo Park and SEIU Memorandum of Understanding.
Special Instructions
IMPORTANT: Please be sure to fill out the application completely, including all relevant work experience. Applications with “See Resume” as a substitution for the work experience description and/or unclear past employment information will not be considered.
Child Care Teacher I candidates must attach a copy of their unofficial college transcripts.
Child Care Teacher II candidates must attach a copy of their unofficial college transcripts and Master Teacher Permit.
Note: Your attachment may be multiple pages, but must be uploaded as one document no more than 2MB in size.
Applications will be screened according to the qualifications outlined in this announcement. Not all applications which may meet the minimum requirements will proceed to the next phase of the recruitment process. If 25 or fewer applications are received, the eligibility list will be established based on application review. If more than 26 applications are received, the most qualified candidates will be invited to participate in an Oral Board Panel examination. All applicants will be notified by email as to whether or not they are invited to participate further in the selection process.
Tentative Oral/Department Panel Examinations are scheduled for the week of November 17, 2025.
An Eligible List will be established as a result of this examination process and will be valid for a period of six (6) months. The list may be extended up to a maximum of two (2) years. The hiring department will review the Eligible List to determine which candidates will be invited to the department selection process.
The City of Menlo Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of the City of Menlo Park not to discriminate against all qualified applicants or employees. We will make reasonable efforts in the selection process to accommodate persons with disabilities. Please contact Human Resources at jobs@menlopark.gov prior to the closing date for accommodation requests.
Before receiving an offer of employment, the candidate will be required to successfully complete a criminal conviction history questionnaire, DOJ fingerprinting, Occuscreen background check, and DOJ/FBI fingerprinting.
Applicants must be successful in all phases of the selection process to be considered for this position.
In accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, all potential employees are required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or authorization to work in the United States. The City will not sponsor applicants for work visas.