Assistant Teacher

Description

Job Overview

The Floater Assistant Teacher will work collaboratively with the Teacher to ensure the successful operation of a classroom of children. The Floater Assistant Teacher also works with a team of other classroom Assistant Teachers and family members to implement the curriculum to achieve outcomes for children of all abilities. The Floater Assistant Teacher will ultimately be evaluated on a combination of skills, dispositions, and behaviors, some of which are related to the specific service area of this position and others that represent general expectations of all AVANCE employees.

Job Responsibilities

Child Growth and Development

• Uses knowledge of the principles of child growth and development to work with children and communicate with internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintains a child-centered curriculum and learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation to promote development in all domains for children of all abilities.
• Addresses challenging behaviors by observing to determine possible causes of the behavior, implementing preventive measures, teaching the child new social and communication skills and partnering with families to support the child at home.
• Uses observations of children and anecdotal notes to document children’s progress and individualize curriculum.

Communication and Service Coordination

• Share pertinent information with Family Advocate ensuring coordinated services to meet the needs of individual children and families. Participate in case conferences as appropriate.
• Maintain regular contact with parents and complete appropriate documentation (e.g. daily reporting on infant sleep, eating and elimination)

Record Keeping and Reporting

• Share records and notes on children and families with the Early Learning Lead/Assistant Education Lead.

Ongoing Monitoring/Self-assessment

• Work with the teaching team to analyze child outcomes on a classroom basis twice yearly, consult with education leadership and make adjustments to curriculum planning and implementation as needed.

Planning and Implementation

• Support learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical development of children, including improving the readiness of children for school by developing their literacy and phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness, their understanding and use of language, their understanding and use of increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books, and their problem-solving abilities.

Establish and maintain a safe, healthy, and positive learning environment

• Model appropriate classroom practices.
• Work with the Early Learning Lead/Assistant Education Lead and partner Teacher to develop and support the individual development plan for assigned volunteers.
• Support the social and emotional development of children.
• Encourage the involvement of the families of the children in an Early/Head Start program and support the development of relationships between children and their families.
• Participates in assigned meetings, events and training as required

Support the social and emotional development of children.

• No related duties listed.  

Other Duties

• Performs all other duties as assigned

AVANCE Core Competencies

• Execution & Accountability 
• Problem Solving & Decision-Making 
• Communication & Influence 
• Collaboration & Teamwork 
• Stakeholder Focus 
• Adaptability & Continuous Learning

Requirements

Education

Required:

• CDA or enrolled to complete within 2 years; or have a degree in any field or be enrolled in a program leading to such degree.

Work Experience

Required:

• Prior experience with children ages 0-5 years.      
• Physical exam and background checks are required for this position.
• Travel required locally or long-distance up to 10% of the time for work-related meetings and functions.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

Additional Skills

• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment; demonstrated flexibility to handle multiple priorities.  
• Ability to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Must be honest, dependable and able to meet deadlines.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently.

Travel

• Ability to travel to various sites: Dependable transportation is required daily with a valid driver’s license, a clean driving record (subject to annual MVR (Motor Vehicle Report) check and policy), current auto liability insurance and be bondable by AVANCE, Inc.
• Travel required up to 10% of the time for work-related site visits, meetings, and functions.

Equipment

• Standard office equipment generally used includes:
• Telephone
• Personal Computer (monitor, keyboard, and mouse) or Tablet
• Printer/Photocopy Machine
• Calculator
• Fax Machine

Working Conditions

• Work is generally performed in an office environment. 
• Noise level in the work environment is moderate to occasionally loud (examples: business office with computers and printers, light to moderate traffic, human voices). 
• May be required to operate a motor vehicle during the course of duties. 

Mental and Physical Demands

Maintain emotional control under stress; work with interruptions and deadlines; walking, standing, stooping, bending, pulling and pushing, use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; occasional: lifting/carrying, pulling/pushing 40 pounds, 20 times a day if needed.?Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Environmental Factors

Occasional exposure to: biological hazards (communicable diseases, bacteria, insects, mold, fungi, etc.). Occasional expose to weather related conditions when working in outside environment /neighborhoods and events.

ADA/ADAAA Statement

AVANCE is committed to equal opportunity in employment for persons with disabilities and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, and any other applicable state and federal laws. Accordingly, AVANCE does not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in regard to application, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, training or other terms, conditions and privileges of employment. Moreover, it is AVANCE’s policy to provide reasonable accommodations in employment to qualified individuals with disabilities so that they can perform the essential functions of the job, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of AVANCE’s business or would change the essential functions of the position. Retaliation against an individual with a disability for utilizing this policy or seeking a reasonable accommodation is prohibited. Individuals with any questions or requests for accommodation should contact the Human Resources Department.