School Garden Teacher/Environmental Educator for Multi-age Montessori Setting (Renton)

Compensation: $15 – 17 per hour (DOE), 16 hours per week
Cedar River Montessori School is looking for a part time (16 hrs/week) gardening teacher/environmental educator for students age 3 – 14. We have three formal gardens and 12 acres of wooded campus. Our gardens include a large vegetable garden, a pollinator garden and a meditation garden. The grounds include riparian forest, wetlands, and a pasture with animals that is currently being renovated to meet best management practices.

Our classrooms are multi-age with Early Childhood (ages 3-6), Lower Elementary (grades 1-3), Upper Elementary (grades 4-6), and Middle School (grades 7-8).

This educator will be in the garden from 9:00 – 3:00 one day per week with classrooms and students rotating in and out of the garden. The rest of the hours would be up to the teacher to care for and maintain the gardens, and prep for lessons. The teaching focus would be on the vegetable garden but could include all gardens and the pasture, and may eventually include general forest ecology restoration work and environmental science curricula.This educator will be in the garden from 9:00 – 3:00 one day per week with classrooms and students rotating in and out of the garden. The rest of the hours would be up to the teacher to care for and maintain the gardens, and prep for lessons. The teaching focus would be on the vegetable garden but could include all gardens and the pasture, and may eventually include general forest ecology restoration work and environmental science curricula.

The ideal candidate will have teaching experience with a variety of ages, beautiful classroom/student management skills, ability to work with children from three year-olds to adolescents, comfort with professional collaboration, and desire to both develop and thoroughly document a strong, cohesive organic gardening program. Knowledge of the following are required: organic gardening practices west of the Cascades, including composting, mulching, tilth building, native and invasive plant identification, plant cultivar selection and care of vegetables, herbs, and perennials. Montessori experience is a huge plus.

To apply, send a cover letter and a resume to jobs@cedarrivermontessori.org. We are located in Renton, just off the Maple Valley Highway about three miles east of I-405. Please visit our website at and find us on Facebook to learn more about us.