Full-Time | Starting Summer 2026
The best thing you can do for a 9-year-old who is starting to think they're not a "math person" is refuse to agree with them — and do it in a way that makes them want to prove you right. If that instinct comes naturally to you, keep reading.
Wilderland Academy is a nature-based K–8 microschool on Harmony Ranch in the Ogden Valley, blending Montessori philosophy, the Alpha School 2-hour learning model, and AI-assisted personalized learning. Our full-time students grow academically at nearly 3x the national average. We got there by knowing each child deeply, designing learning around who they actually are, and building a school that students genuinely love attending.
We are entering our fourth year and expanding to a second campus. This is one of the most important roles we are hiring for — the 3rd through 5th grade years are where children's relationship with learning either deepens or quietly starts to close. We are looking for someone who understands that, and who brings the skill and warmth to make it deepen.
This is a full-time Lead Guide position for grades 3–5 at our Harmony Ranch upper campus. You will be the primary relational anchor for a cohort of approximately 15–20 students across three grade levels — the adult who holds the full picture of each child's life at Wilderland and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.
You will work in close daily partnership with our Academic Guide, who manages the academic learning programs, tracks data, and coaches students through their personalized learning plans. Your role is to hold the whole child — their character development, their sense of belonging, their emotional wellbeing, their growth as a self-directed human being — and to ensure that what the Academic Guide knows about academic performance connects to what you know about everything else.
The 3–5 years sit at a fascinating developmental moment. These students are old enough to begin owning their learning in real ways, to pursue passion projects with genuine depth, and to start developing the character skills that will define who they become. They are young enough to still find adults genuinely cool when those adults are paying real attention. This is a privilege of a job if you understand what that window means.
Holding the full pulse of every student in your cohort. You know each child — not just their academic level, but who they are. What lights them up. What shuts them down. What's happening at home that affects how they show up on Tuesday. You carry this knowledge into every interaction, every workshop, every outdoor experience, and every conversation with the Academic Guide and with families.
Running circles, community culture, and daily rhythm. You open the day. You set the tone. Through morning circles, town halls, shoutouts, and the daily rituals that make a school feel like a community, you build a group identity that students want to belong to. Culture at this age is built in the small moments, and you are present for all of them.
Mentoring students through goals and character development. You run 1:1 and small group mentoring conversations built around challenge charts, personal goals, and the character skills at the heart of Wilderland's graduate profile: Sovereignty, Tenacity, Fellowship, Ingenuity, Adaptability, Stewardship, Storytelling, and Naturalism. You help students name where they are, where they want to go, and what's in the way. You do this with high expectations and genuine warmth, always at the same time — because one without the other isn't actually care.
Designing and leading afternoon workshops and passion projects. You plan and facilitate workshops that build real-world skills, creative thinking, and collaborative problem-solving. You coach students through self-directed passion projects — helping them find what genuinely interests them, set meaningful goals, and stay accountable without losing the joy of it. You are a resource and connector, helping students access tools, mentors, and experiences that expand what they think is possible.
Leading outdoor and nature experiences. The Ogden Valley is your classroom as much as any building. You design outdoor learning experiences that are intentional, not just recreational — expeditions, land-based projects, fitness, and time in nature that connects to the academic and character work happening indoors. You are genuinely comfortable outside in all seasons, and that comfort is contagious.