How to hire a kindergarten teacher

How to hire a kindergarten teacher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step kindergarten teacher hiring guide:

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

What does a kindergarten teacher do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a kindergarten 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

   A kindergarten teacher's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, kindergarten 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.

   Here's a comparison of kindergarten teacher salaries for various roles:

   Type of Kindergarten Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   Kindergarten Teacher	Kindergarten and elementary school teachers prepare younger students for future schooling by teaching them basic subjects such as math and reading.	$17-29
   Teacher-In-Training	A teacher-in-training is a teaching professional who offers technical teaching assistance to teachers in developing effective behavior management and instructional strategies to support student learning. The teacher must collaborate with principals while employing diverse techniques to increase the effectiveness of student learning... Show more	$11-26
   ESL Teacher	An ESL teacher specializes in teaching the English language to non-native speakers of all ages, usually in a virtual setting. Their responsibilities revolve around devising lesson plans, organizing learning materials, evaluating progress, and coming up with strategies to make learners feel comfortable... Show more	$19-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Classroom Management
   • Math
   • Professional Development
   • Language Arts
   • Social Studies
   • Classroom Environment
   • Student Learning
   • Pre-Kindergarten
   • Pre-K
   • Parent-Teacher Conferences
   • Instructional Materials
   • Student Performance
   • Learning Styles
   • State Standards

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Utilize PLC time to meet the needs of struggling and achieving students
   • Target at risk and high achieving students using levele readers and DRA strategies.
   • Present history and math PowerPoint lessons.
   • Serve on data teams to coordinate with ELA, math and RTI specialists to ensure student growth and success.
   • Develop daily literacy and math base learning centers to promote cooperative learning and independent practice.
   • Plan and teach an 1st and 2nd grade ELA unit.

   More kindergarten teacher duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your kindergarten teacher job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A kindergarten teacher can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, kindergarten teachers' average salary in maine is 17% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level kindergarten teachers 40% less than senior-level kindergarten teachers.
   • Certifications. A kindergarten teacher with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a kindergarten teacher's salary.

   Average kindergarten teacher salary

   $48,029yearly

   $23.09 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level kindergarten teacher salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average kindergarten teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$50,111	$24
   2	Maryland	$50,025	$24
   3	District of Columbia	$49,835	$24
   4	New York	$49,674	$24
   5	New Jersey	$49,659	$24
   6	Michigan	$48,284	$23
   7	Nevada	$47,903	$23
   8	Arizona	$47,283	$23
   9	Wisconsin	$46,754	$22
   10	Illinois	$46,443	$22
   11	Oregon	$46,307	$22
   12	Texas	$45,842	$22
   13	Washington	$45,430	$22
   14	Louisiana	$45,230	$22
   15	Florida	$45,119	$22
   16	Colorado	$45,109	$22
   17	Georgia	$44,923	$22

   Average kindergarten teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Brooklyn Waldorf School	$70,528	$33.91
   2	Rowland Hall-st. Mark's School	$69,450	$33.39	2
   3	Turtle Rock Studios	$65,043	$31.27	2
   4	Boston Public Schools	$61,693	$29.66	58
   5	Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles	$60,558	$29.11
   6	Lycée Français de Chicago	$59,690	$28.70
   7	West Contra Costa Unified School District	$58,266	$28.01	68
   8	DC Prep	$57,212	$27.51	6
   9	Stevens Cooperative School	$56,708	$27.26
   10	Springs Charter Schools	$56,702	$27.26
   11	Silicon Valley International School	$56,310	$27.07	5
   12	Eagle Academy Public Charter School	$55,741	$26.80
   13	Baltimore City Public Schools	$55,650	$26.75	15
   14	Community Academy Public Charter School	$55,441	$26.65	12
   15	Littleton Public Schools	$54,785	$26.34	8
   16	Eagle County School District	$54,642	$26.27	9
   17	High Point Christian Academy	$54,583	$26.24	1
   18	Houston Gateway Academy	$54,501	$26.20
   19	Rochambeau	$53,994	$25.96	2
   20	KIPP Northern California Public Schools	$53,983	$25.95	69

4. Writing a kindergarten teacher job description

   A job description for a kindergarten teacher role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a kindergarten teacher job description:

   Kindergarten teacher job description example

   Interim Substitute Teachers maintain our students' academic progress by facilitating lesson plans during a teacher's short-term leave of absence. The interim substitute teacher assumes all of the responsibilities of the classroom teacher for the duration of the assignment. Interim Substitute Teachers must maintain a consistent volume of high quality instruction with accuracy and professionalism.
   Qualifications:
   
   Must be approved as a substitute teacher with Broward County Public Schools.
   
   Florida Educator Certification in the subject area of the vacancy is preferred.
   
   Hourly Rate: Bachelor's or higher = $32.31; 60 credit hours = $20.00
   
   Application Procedure:
   
   Complete the online application and upload all documents. If you submitted an online application through our current online process then you must sign into your application and choose "Edit" to select the "Interim Substitute" vacancy.
   
   Prior to submitting your application, you will be required to attach the documents listed below. Therefore, you will need to have the documents scanned and available for you to upload and attach them to your on-line application.
   
   * Transcript from an accredited college showing at least 60 semester hours of completed course work, and
   * Required letters of references, minimum of two. References must be signed and dated. One reference must be from the candidate's last employer or cooperating teacher (for education graduates). Each reference should be scanned separately and individually upload
   
   Substitute Teacher Training On-Boarding Course.
   
   * Upload Sub Diploma certificate for the STEDI SubSkills Online Training Course
   * The STEDI SubSkills Online Training Course - Option This course will provide you with valuable knowledge, skills, and materials that will empower you to be successful in the classroom. (ONLY exempt candidates: 2021-2022 cleared Broward Public Schools Substitute or a Transition Kelly Substitute.)
   * There is a cost associated with this training of $39.95 and will be the responsibility of the applicant. This cost will not be reimbursed by Broward County Public Schools.
   * This training will cover: Classroom management; teaching strategies; special education and other information you'll need to know to become a stellar substitute teacher, from legal aspects of the job to how to handle confrontational behavior from students.
   
   Application Procedure:
   
   * Transcript from an accredited college showing at least 60 semester hours of completed course work

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find kindergarten teachers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your kindergarten teacher job on Zippia to find and attract quality kindergarten teacher candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting kindergarten teachers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 kindergarten teacher

   Once you've decided on a perfect kindergarten teacher candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new kindergarten teacher. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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.)

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How much does it cost to hire a kindergarten teacher?