Wildflower Schools; Albuquerque, NM; Founding Teacher Leader (PK-3rd Grade)
Wildflower Schools Founding Teacher Leader,
Albuquerque or the Permian Basin, New Mexico
(PK-3rd Grade)
About Wildflower Schools
The mission of Wildflower Schools is to provide families with child-centered, authentic Montessori education that bridges academic outcomes and social-emotional development through intimate learning communities deeply rooted in place, access, and belonging. Founded in 2014, Wildflower Schools has launched over 70 Montessori schools in the US and Puerto Rico. Wildflower offers startup support, proven strategies, and a community of like-minded peers to educators that are passionate about bringing the Montessori model to more families.
For more information about our organization and ways of working, please visit wildflowerschools.org.
About The Role
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 charterschool, 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.
Pg. 2Minimum 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 Preferred Attitudes, Knowledge, and Skills
● Deep commitment to authentic Montessori - You are an experienced educator who loves the classroom and brings a teaching philosophy deeply rooted in child-led approaches, social emotional learning, fostering independence, and intentionally teaching kindness and courtesy.
● Belief in all children - You believe that every child should have access to a high quality education and are eager to bring a high-fidelity Montessori education to more families. You work to understand the students and families you serve and reflect on how your own experiences impact your practice as an educator.
● Entrepreneurial leadership - You are flexible, open-minded, see opportunity in obstacles, and are energized by using creativity and resourcefulness to anticipate challenges and create solutions to problems.
● Growth mindset and a love of learning - You are comfortable with a culture of direct feedback and eager to develop new skills and expertise. You enjoy challenging yourself and exploring your purpose and potential more deeply.
● Generosity of spirit - You are able to build authentic relationships in a variety of different settings, practice gratitude, and lead with love. You seek advice openly and are comfortable working in a non-hierarchical organization.
● Strong sense of accountability - You thrive in high-autonomy, high-accountability contexts and feel a deep sense of responsibility to the kids, families, colleagues and broader community of your school. You are comfortable being in a decision-making leadership role and accepting ownership of the tradeoffs, implications, and results of your actions.
● Willingness to work hard - You have the aptitude, stamina, time, and appetite to raise yourself to the challenge of starting and leading your own school. You will not be alone, but you will be busy. 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.
Pg. 3To Learn More
Please fill out this brief Get Involved form (hyperlink: shorturl.at/2n9JK) to learn more about us and explore a fit. If you meet our minimum qualifications, Rachel Kelley-Cohn, New Mexico’s Regional Growth Lead, will reach out to you to connect and discuss next steps along your path to bringing a Montessori microschool to your community. We look forward to hearing from you!
Wildflower Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, sex or gender, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, status with regard to public assistance, or in any other way based on personal identity markers that do not relate to the capacity of an individual person to carry out the responsibilities of a role.