How to hire an early childhood teacher

How to hire an early childhood teacher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step early childhood teacher hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an early childhood teacher job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new early childhood teacher
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an early childhood teacher do?

Post an early childhood teacher job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an early childhood teacher, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An early childhood teacher's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, early childhood teachers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents early childhood teacher salaries for various positions.

   Type of Early Childhood Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   Early Childhood Teacher	Preschool teachers educate and care for children younger than age 5 who have not yet entered kindergarten. They teach reading, writing, science, and other subjects in a way that young children can understand.	$10-23
   Teacher Aide	Teacher aides help lead teachers in managing the classroom. They assist teachers in conducting classroom sessions by setting up the classroom in advance, sourcing materials needed for class activities, helping in presentations, and guiding students during class activities... Show more	$11-17
   Teacher	Being a teacher is one of the most passionate professions, among others. Teachers educate, motivate, and guide every generation of learners to prepare them for the real world... Show more	$15-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CPR
   • Child Development
   • Professional Development
   • Classroom Environment
   • Classroom Management
   • ECE
   • Math
   • Kids
   • Pre-K
   • Emotional Development
   • English Language
   • Public Schools
   • Work Ethic
   • Parent-Teacher Conferences

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Design and apply activities to help children in achieving their goals and objectives in accordance with IFSP 's
   • Co-developed activities and art projects for development -ensure developmental milestones and on-track development for infants moving into the toddler room
   • Receive proficient training to become CPR certify.
   • Evaluate children's progress in meeting UPK standards.
   • Screen topics, compose PowerPoint presentations, and prepare teaching materials.
   • Implement the Montessori and UPK curriculum in children's daily activities.

   More early childhood teacher duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your early childhood teacher job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An early childhood teacher salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an early childhood teacher in Florida may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level early childhood teacher usually earns less than a senior-level early childhood teacher. Additionally, an early childhood teacher with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average early childhood teacher salary

   $15.96hourly

   $33,205 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level early childhood teacher salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average early childhood teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$50,989	$25
   2	New York	$47,211	$23
   3	Massachusetts	$45,507	$22
   4	California	$44,907	$22
   5	Maryland	$44,828	$22
   6	Minnesota	$37,118	$18
   7	Washington	$36,886	$18
   8	Texas	$36,371	$17
   9	Pennsylvania	$35,659	$17
   10	Illinois	$35,304	$17
   11	Oregon	$35,102	$17
   12	Virginia	$34,108	$16
   13	Wisconsin	$33,996	$16
   14	Colorado	$33,030	$16
   15	Nebraska	$32,973	$16
   16	Kansas	$32,115	$15
   17	Missouri	$31,175	$15
   18	Georgia	$30,476	$15
   19	Nevada	$30,458	$15
   20	North Carolina	$29,972	$14

   Average early childhood teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Governors State University	$76,838	$36.94	3
   2	DC Prep	$59,982	$28.84	4
   3	Boston Public Schools	$58,509	$28.13	19
   4	Health Alliance	$58,185	$27.97	1
   5	UMass Lowell	$57,162	$27.48	1
   6	Naperville School District 203	$56,426	$27.13	5
   7	Del Mar Union School District	$55,909	$26.88	1
   8	Angela Hospice	$55,632	$26.75
   9	St. Paul's Episcopal School	$55,201	$26.54
   10	The Center for Early Education	$54,796	$26.34
   11	Baltimore City Public Schools	$54,720	$26.31	5
   12	Topeka Public Schools	$54,552	$26.23	10
   13	Prince George's County Memorial Library System	$51,974	$24.99
   14	East Aurora School District 131	$51,918	$24.96
   15	Trinity School	$51,874	$24.94	4
   16	Cerner	$51,776	$24.89
   17	New York City School Construction Authority	$51,672	$24.84
   18	Skidmore College	$51,617	$24.82	2
   19	Andover Public Schools	$50,866	$24.45	2
   20	University of California-Berkeley	$50,762	$24.40	8

4. Writing an early childhood teacher job description

   A good early childhood teacher job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an early childhood teacher job description:

   Early childhood teacher job description example

   Here at The Goddard School Manchester we are committed to working as a team. We believe in collaboration between teachers and supervisors. Our teacher’s creativity shines throughout the building. Each classroom truly reflects the personality of the teacher as they are able to make it their own and create a “homey” environment. Our teachers are given the freedom to create their own lesson plans that align with our developmental milestones and guidelines. We work hard to make our school a safe place where both our students and teachers enjoy spending their time. We have an open-door policy and we work hard to make sure every teacher is heard and valued. We have recently been announced as the Business of the Year 2019 in Manchester, MO. Come and see what makes us so great!

   Overview

   · We are looking for fun loving teachers who are passionate about education! Each teacher is a valued member of our staff and their creativity is welcomed throughout the classrooms. Come join our team today!

   · Full time employees are eligible for paid time off and health benefits, and all employees are eligible for annual reviews, wage increases, and promotional opportunities.

   Responsibilities

   · Writing and carrying out lesson plans that teach to a set of developmental goals

   · Provide individualized instruction to each student by promoting learning through play

   · Assess and record students’ progress and provide feedback to parents

   · Maintain a tidy and orderly classroom

   · Plan and execute educational in-class and outdoor activities and events

   · Develop and enrich professional skills and knowledge by attending staff meetings and professional development days

   Requirements

   · Experience in early childhood education

   · Knowledge of teaching best practices and legal educational guidelines partnered with a willingness to follow the school’s policies and procedures

   · Excellent communicability and interpersonal skills

   · Well-organized and committed

   · Creative and energetic

   · Strong moral values and discipline

   · Knowledge of CPR

   · Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or related field (Lead Teacher)

   · College coursework in early childhood education or related field (Assistant Teacher)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right early childhood teacher for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with early childhood teachers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit early childhood teachers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your early childhood teacher job on Zippia to find and recruit early childhood teacher candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit early childhood teachers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new early childhood teacher

   Once you've selected the best early childhood teacher candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an early childhood teacher?