First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Albuquerque, NM

Teacher Resources

Teacher Resources

Teacher Teams

Teacher teams consist of 3-4 volunteers who handle one class (e.g.,9:30 3rd-4th grade) for 4 months, during the fall and spring semesters. Each member of the team must teach once a month and act as the assistant once a month. There are 13 to 16 classes in any given semester depending on the number of children participating in the program. We use an online application, Sign-Up Genius, that makes it easy for Religious Education (RE) volunteers to choose time slots for teaching and other RE-related tasks.

Teacher Team Organizer is responsible for:

  • Contacting the team members and working out a teaching rotation, and making sure the teacher schedule is complete.
  • Supporting and mentoring new teachers.
  • Being a contact person for parents and the Director of Religious Education (DRE).

Lead Teachers– Every Sunday there is one lead teacher and one assistant teacher. The lead teacher is responsible for:

  • Reviewing and preparing the lesson (expect about 15 minutes of prep time before Sunday).
  • Arriving 15 minutes prior to the start of class and ensuring needed supplies are set up.
  • Sharing the information “Take It Home” on the First UU Families Facebook page.
  • Leading the Circle, chalice lighting, and day’s discussion. Leads and Assistants may divide these tasks as they seem fit.

Communicating via email with the assistant teacher and DRE with an evaluation of the class.

 Assistant Teachers are responsible for:

  • Supporting the lead teacher with whatever needs to be done during class.
  • Dealing with behavior issues while the lead teacher leads the circle, lesson, etc.
  • Helping to clean up at the end of class.
  • Evaluating and giving feedback to lead teacher about the class.

Substitutions:

Sometimes things come up! If you can’t make to your class, please:

  • Call the assistant teacher first to see if they can handle the class as a lead.
  • Call other team members to see if they can switch days with you.
  • If further assistance is needed, call our RE Administrative Assistant as soon as possible! A floater can be arranged if team members are not available.

Floaters

  • Floaters are important volunteers who sign up weekly, independent of a teacher team, to assist our program if for some reason we need an extra teacher in one of the classes. There is a Sign-Up Genius form just for Floaters. Email the RE Assistant (reasst@uuabq.org) for the link.