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How to Become a Kindergarten Teacher

By Martina Mascali, Monster Contributor
kindergarten teacher in classroom

If you are thinking about a career in education, let us tell you all about how to become a kindergarten teacher and welcome young children into elementary school. The majority of American children aged five or six attend kindergarten, even though only 19 states, plus Washington, D.C., lawfully require them to do so. Many parents agree with education experts in recognizing the value of kindergarten learning for all children.

The country’s largest teachers’ union, The National Education Association, reports that we are facing a national crisis. There are over 300,000 teachers and school staff vacancies across the country, including jobs for kindergarten teachers. In this article, we show you how to become a kindergarten teacher and find employment in an industry full of opportunities.

What Is a Kindergarten Teacher and What Does a Kindergarten Teacher Do?

A kindergarten teacher is a talented, passionate, and trained early childhood educator, who teaches important academic and social skills to children of aged five and six. The curriculum in a kindergarten class mainly includes learning through play to encourage children’s curiosity to help them learn in a fun way.

If you’re curious about how to become a kindergarten teacher, check out some of the most common duties you’ll find in a typical job listing:

  • Use curriculum standards to teach students above and below grade-level through a differentiated approach.
  • Attend weekly professional development and meetings with grade level team/professional learning communities.
  • Communicate with parents and leading parent-student-teacher meetings to facilitate progress inside and outside of the classroom.
  • Coordinate with administrators and other staff members to create an environment focused on meeting students' academic and behavioral needs.
  • Use measurable data, track student performance and enrich their progress with visible results.
  • Contribute to the improvement of practices and procedures that will build upon our success.
  • Use preventative intervention strategies to guide student progress in developing social and emotional skills that will help them navigate a path to higher learning.

How to Become a Kindergarten Teacher

We hope that what you’ve read up to this point has got you excited to learn more about how to become a kindergarten teacher and possibly make this your future career. So, let’s see what the most common job requirements are and answer more related questions, including “how long does it take to become a kindergarten teacher?”.

Kindergarten Teacher Education Requirements

The educational requirements to work as a kindergarten teacher are not always the same across each state and type of institution. However, in most settings, the ideal candidate for a kindergarten teacher job needs to have at least a bachelor's degree in early education or elementary education.

If you don’t yet have an appropriate degree to work as a kindergarten teacher you can still become a kindergarten teacher.. You can pursue opportunities as a teacher’s aide or in private or parochial schools, which are allowed to have less strict requirements for their educators.

Kindergarten Teacher Certification and Licensing Requirements

Before starting your kindergarten teacher career, you’ll most likely need to obtain a teaching certificate or license for the state you’d like to work in. Each state has its own requirements to satisfy, and they can often change. For this reason, we recommend always double checking your state government’s official website (ending with .gov). In most cases, to get a kindergarten teacher license, you’ll have to complete a teacher education program, one or more skills tests, submit your fingerprints and pass a background check.

Skills Needed to Be a Kindergarten Teacher

When learning how to become a kindergarten teacher, don’t forget there are also certain important skills you should have and will often be requirements in kindergarten teacher job listings. These include:

  • strong written and oral communication skills
  • the ability to protect the confidentiality rights of parents and children
  • commitment to continuing to develop your teaching skills
  • punctuality and consistent attendance
  • knowledge about supporting child safety and self-esteem
  • being reflective and receptive to professional feedback and coaching

Careers Similar to Kindergarten Teacher

Also check out the following articles to learn more about other interesting teaching careers:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Kindergarten Teacher?

While this isn’t a question for which one answer fits all. Most people take from four to seven years after graduating from high school to become a kindergarten teacher. This can include a four-year bachelor's degree, a master’s degree, time spent to get licensed and gaining appropriate experience working in early childhood education.

How Much Is a Kindergarten Teacher Salary?

Finding out the average kindergarten and elementary teacher salary in your area is fast and easy with Monster’s Salary Tool. Even though your exact pay will be influenced by more than just your location, you can get a pretty good idea of your salary range and determine what you are worth.

Here are a few examples of elementary and kindergarten teacher salaries in locations where the pay is above the national average:

How to Find Kindergarten Teacher Jobs

We want to dedicate the last part of this article on how to become a kindergarten teacher to the tools you’ll need to find a kindergarten teacher job and the locations with the most opportunities. The first thing you need to do is write a resume to give potential employers an overview of your educational background, experiences, and skills. Then, create a customized cover letter where you explain what excites you about the opportunity and what makes you the best candidate for the job.

If you aren’t sure where to start, download our teacher resume sample and read our teacher cover letter example for inspiration.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the top five states with the highest concentration of kindergarten teacher jobs are:

The top five U.S. metropolitan areas with most kindergarten teacher jobs are:

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