Founding Teacher Leader

As a Founding Teacher Leader at Wildflower Schools, you will design, lead, and teach at a new primary/lower elementary charter school site in Albuquerque or the Permian Basin, New Mexico (Hobbs, Carlsbad, Roswell, or Artesia), in partnership with other Teacher Leaders and in collaboration with the Administrative Partner and other charter-wide support roles. Teacher Leaders report to the charter school’s Board of Directors. Each site will launch with three co-founders - two primary Teacher Leaders (for a classroom of 3-6 year olds) and one lower elementary Teacher Leader serving 1st-3rd grade - who collectively design, launch, and operate a Montessori microcharter school with support from the broader Wildflower Schools network.

Over the course of a 2-year School Startup Journey, which includes the development and approval of a new Wildflower charter application, proposed school founders will engage in a phased process that will ultimately prepare them to design, launch, and operate a new Wildflower public school, the first of its kind in New Mexico. Responsibilities of founding Teacher Leaders will include:

Discovery and Model Design

• Get to know Wildflower through self-reflection and conversations with Wildflower Partners and community members.
• Identify and engage a professional network of like-minded advocates, experts, and community collaborators who will eventually serve as your Steering Committee during the charter application and authorization process. 
• This committee may include 1-2 Emerging Teacher Leaders/potential co-founders, future board members, parents who share your vision and may have an interest in sending their children to the school, non-profit leaders and/or community partners. 
• Cultivate authentic, enduring relationships with families from the district you intend to serve to inform ongoing school design and evolution and to deepen your conviction to bring a Wildflower school to that community. 
• Engage in Wildflower’s Charter Entrepreneurs Cohort to design and solicit feedback on a charter school model rooted in high fidelity Montessori practices, microeconomics and the Wildflower principles as well as the unique needs and assets of the proposed community.
• If needed, research and select a Montessori Training Center partner and timeline for securing Montessori certification in the age band you plan to serve.

Paid Fellowship for the Development and Authorization of Your Charter School

• Engage in in-depth learning experiences to equip you to design and launch a successful charter school, including learning from other high-performing schools and education organizations in-state and out-of-state.
• With support from Wildflower Schools, Excellent Schools New Mexico and your Steering Committee, translate your school vision and operational plan into a comprehensive charter application, to include detailed plans for curriculum and instruction, board development, family and community engagement, staffing, finance, and facilities.
• Achieve charter approval and move into Planning and School Startup.

School Planning and Start-up

• Work closely with Wildflower Schools and Excellent Schools New Mexico to ensure all foundational elements are in place for a successful school launch.
• Set up strong systems for operations, governance, finance, legal, and compliance functions.
• Recruit and onboard your school’s Founding Board of Directors and work with the Board to hire a charter-wide Administrative Partner. 
• Secure, renovate, and license a physical space for your school.
• Prepare a Montessori learning environment in alignment with your vision, the community’s needs, and the regulations set forth by your charter authorizer and the state department of education.
• Enroll students and families in the school in alignment with year one metrics.
• Co-host community engagement activities.
• Hire and train site-based staff such as assistants and paraprofessionals.
• Affiliate your microsite with the Wildflower Network and become an employee of the charter entity. 

Launching and Co-Leading Your School

• Co-lead and co-teach a mixed age group Montessori classroom.
• Attend authorizer and state compliance trainings to ensure the school stays in charter compliance.
• Attend charter-wide professional learning events.
• Collaborate with your founding charter team and board to best anticipate and serve all students’ needs. 
• Ensure accurate and complete records, collaborating with the Administrative Partner and your charter authorizer to always stay in compliance with regulations. 
• Maintain a healthy, well-functioning facility that meets the needs of students and licensing requirements.

Minimum Qualifications 

• Completion of an AMI, AMS or other MACTE accredited primary or elementary Montessori training program
• While preference will be given to candidates with Montessori certification, training scholarships are available for emerging Teacher Leaders who are not already Montessori trained.
• Bachelor's degree required 
• A New Mexico state teaching license will be required to be hired by the board of directors, but is not required to begin the startup journey with Wildflower

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation will begin in August 2026 with the charter application submission expected in May 2027. One co-founder per team will dedicate themselves full-time to model design, charter development and the authorization process and will earn an annual stipend of $110,000 (benefits not included). Other co-founders may choose to engage in the development and authorization work part-time and earn a partial annual stipend. Once the school is approved and operational, co-founders who share in the teaching and administrative responsibilities of the microsite will determine starting salaries in alignment with the school’s overall budget. Year one salaries are estimated to be in the $70,000-80,000 range, plus benefits coverage. Exact salaries are dependent on enrollment, facilities, and staffing structure, and salaries typically grow with enrollment growth year over year.

To Learn More

Please fill out this brief Get Involved form (hyperlink: shorturl.at/2n9JK) to learn more about us and explore a fit.