Website Children's Art Classes of Cary
Where a kid can be an artist
Part-time · Cary, NC · $25–28/hour · You set your weekly windows
In brief
We’re hiring two substitute art teachers. Our lessons are already planned, our materials are good, and we pay for setup and cleanup as well as teaching — so a 75-minute class is 2.25 paid hours. If you can draw, paint, or work in clay and you’re good with children, we’d like to meet you.
We also have one regular weekly class open for the full 2026–2027 session, if you’d rather have something steady on your calendar.
What the job actually is
Our regular teachers occasionally need coverage — a sick day, a vacation, a family thing. When that happens we need someone wonderful to step in, usually with a week’s notice, sometimes with a day’s. You tell us the weekly windows you can hold, and we only ever call you inside them. What varies is how often: some weeks not at all, some weeks several times.
One of our teachers is out September 8 through October 15, so there’s a block of steady, predictable work right at the start.
We’re hiring two people because one substitute isn’t really a plan. Two people with different windows means you won’t be the only option — you can turn down a request when life gets in the way without leaving a class uncovered. We’d much rather you say no honestly than yes reluctantly. So please tell us your real availability: we’re looking for two schedules that fit together, not two people who can each cover everything.
What makes this different from other teaching work
Most part-time teaching jobs ask you to plan on your own time and pay you only for contact hours. We don’t. Our curriculum is written, you’re trained on it before you teach, the studio is stocked when you arrive, and you’re paid for prep at the same rate as teaching — a minimum of 30 minutes before each class and 30 minutes after.
No grades, no conferences, no testing, no politics. Just a small group, good materials, and a lesson worth teaching.
What you’ll do
- Cover classes when our regular teachers are out. This is the core of the job — step into a pre-planned lesson for mixed age groups (ages 3+, up to 10 students) and run it well.
- Take ownership of a regular weekly class when one comes open and you want it
- Teach or assist at weekend workshops, birthday parties, and summer camps
- Represent the studio at community events (e.g., Fenton Art Festival, partner school events)
- Reset work areas, organize supplies, and leave the studio ready for the next teacher
- Report directly to the Studio Owner, Krysta
What the schedule really looks like
Classes run weekday afternoons and early evenings, plus Friday and Saturday mornings. Parties are usually weekend afternoons; camps run weekdays in summer.
September 8 – October 15
A defined set of classes to cover. Every class includes at least 30 minutes of paid setup before and 30 minutes of paid cleanup after, so the paid block is always longer than the class itself:
- Mondays, 5:00–6:00pm — on the clock 4:30–6:30pm (2 paid hours)
- Tuesdays, 5:15–6:30pm — on the clock 4:45–7:00pm (2.25 paid hours)
- Wednesdays, 5:15–6:30pm — on the clock 4:45–7:00pm (2.25 paid hours)
- Thursdays, 6:00–7:15pm — on the clock 5:30–7:45pm (2.25 paid hours)
- Saturdays, 10:00–11:15am and 11:30am–12:30pm — on the clock 9:30am–1:00pm (3.5 paid hours for both)
Covering the whole block is roughly 12 paid hours a week, plus time making project examples. Depending on your windows, one of you may carry most of it while the other fills in — we’ll sort that out together once we know your availability.
One class is open for the whole year. The Wednesday 5:15–6:30pm class is available for the entire 2026–2027 session, not just through October 15. If you’d like one guaranteed, predictable class on your calendar every week through May, say so in your application — it’s yours to claim.
After October 15
The role shifts to on-call coverage, typically a few times a month each, with more hours during camp season and around events.
More hours are available if you want them: assisting another teacher during a class, making project examples, extra setup and cleanup, packing student art to go home, keeping the studio in good order, and talking with prospective families in person, by phone, or by email.
What we need from you
- Name the weekly windows you can reliably hold open — for example, “Tuesdays and Thursdays 4–7pm, Saturdays 9am–1pm.” We’ll never schedule you outside them.
- Be reachable during those windows and get back to us as soon as you can.
- Say yes when you can, and no when you can’t. Because there are two of you, a no isn’t a crisis — we just need an answer either way, promptly.
What we’re really looking for is someone our families can count on. When a class is covered well, the kids hardly notice their teacher was out. They just have a good afternoon making something they’re proud of.
What we’re looking for
Required
- Consistent availability during your stated windows, and willingness to take short-notice coverage. This is the heart of the role.
- Experience teaching, tutoring, coaching, or leading groups of children
- A working background in visual arts — drawing, painting, or clay/ceramics
- Genuine reliability and punctuality
- Real classroom management skills with young children
- Warmth with kids, and clear, friendly communication with parents at drop-off and pickup
- Ability to pass a background check
Strongly preferred
- A degree (or in-progress degree) in visual arts or art education
- Prior experience in an art studio, camp, or school setting
- Comfort teaching a lesson you did not write, for a group you have not met before
This suits you if you have a stable weekly schedule with predictable open windows — art students, working artists, retired or former classroom teachers, and experienced art camp instructors all tend to do well here. It’s probably not the right fit if your schedule changes week to week or you need a guaranteed number of hours. That’s a completely reasonable thing to need; it’s just a different kind of job than this one, and we’d rather say so now than waste your time.
A demonstrated background in the visual arts and/or art instruction matters more to us here than a background in early childhood education without formal studio art experience.
Compensation
- $25.00 – $28.00 per hour, based on experience and teaching responsibilities
- 401(k) with employer matching
- Paid training on our curriculum before you teach solo
- Paid setup and cleanup at the same rate as instruction — a minimum of 30 minutes before and after every class
- Paid time for making project examples, studio work, and family communication
About us
Children’s Art Classes of Cary teaches structured, award-winning studio art to students ages 3 and up: weekly after-school classes, Friday and Saturday morning sessions, workshops, summer camps, and community events. We teach real technique, and our students’ work shows it. We’re also a genuinely warm place to spend an afternoon: we know our families by name, our teachers like each other, and there is usually something good on the drying rack.
How to apply
Apply here with your resume, a few images of your own artwork or student work you’ve guided, and answers to two questions:
- Which weekly windows could you reliably hold open for us? Please be specific. Give us your real availability rather than stretching to cover everything — we’re fitting two schedules together, and honest windows help us more than generous ones.
- What is your availability between now and October 15?
We read every application and reply to everyone, so please include both answers. They’re what we use to figure out whether we can build a schedule that works for you. We’re moving quickly on these two roles.
What happens next
A short phone or video conversation, then a studio visit and paid session shadowing one of our regular teachers.
Have questions?
Please feel free to reach out to Krysta with any questions, or if you have supplementary materials that can’t be uploaded here. Krysta’s email is krystab@childrensartclasses.com.
Children’s Art Classes of Cary is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Because this role involves working directly with children, employment is contingent on a satisfactory background check.