Early Head Start Teacher

Description

Job Overview

The Early Head Start Teacher is responsible for a classroom of children 0-3 years of age. The Teacher will work collaboratively with his/her partner Teacher to ensure the successful operation of a classroom with a total of 6-8 children. The Teacher, along with families and colleagues, works to achieve meaningful progress of each child along his/her own unique developmental path and toward AVANCE’s school readiness goals.

Job Responsibilities

Child Growth and Development

• Uses knowledge of the principles of child growth and development to work with children and communicate with families, internal and external stakeholders.
• Implements child-centered daily routine, curriculum and learning environment that encourages the development of age-appropriate positive social interactions, active exploration/engagement in learning, and self-motivation (curiosity) to promote development in all domains for children of all abilities.
• Understands the development of self-regulation in infants and toddlers as well as age-appropriate expectations for prosocial behaviors. Creates a nurturing, responsive environment that promotes positive and development of social and emotional competencies. Observes closely and with understanding to determine possible causes of challenging behavior, implementing preventive measures, teaching children new social and communication skills in partnership with families.
• Uses observations of children and anecdotal notes to document children’s progress and individualize curriculum and support.
• Ensure use of the written curriculum to identify the following: goals for children’s development and learning; the experiences through which children will achieve these goals; what staff and parents can do to help children achieve these goals; the materials needed to support the implementation of the curriculum towards achieving the stated goals; Support for the social and emotional development of children.
• Will assist in the development of individual plans for each child including goal setting based on identified needs and prescriptions for objectives and activities to meet established child outcomes.
• Planning and implementing learning experiences that advance the cognitive and physical development of children, including progress toward school readiness goals by developing their language (understanding and increasingly complex use, expanding vocabulary) emergent literacy, print and numeracy awareness, their appreciation of books and their problem-solving abilities.
• Follow the program curriculum providing ample opportunities for natural play and hands-on experiences that reflect the learning styles of individual children in the group.
• Implement developmentally and linguistically appropriate experiences appropriate to age, language and culture of children served.
• Implement experiential learning activities advancing the intellectual and emotional competence of infants and toddlers.
• Provide positive guidance and discipline supporting children as they acquire readiness skills for kindergarten and beyond.
• Implement daily lesson plans in response to children’s needs and interests incorporating observations, anecdotal record keeping, knowledge of early childhood development and the key experiences.
• Implement Individual Family Services Plans (IFSPs) for children with disabilities.
• Provide children with a consistent classroom routine that is responsive to individual infants and toddlers’ needs
• Feed all infants on demand.
• Hold all non-mobile infants during feeding.

Communication and Service Coordination

• Creates partnerships with families to establish positive interaction patterns in program, school, and home.
• Invite parent involvement in the development of the program options and approach to child development and education.
• 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.
• Provide opportunities for parents to increase their child observation skills and to share assessments with staff that help plan the learning experiences.
• Encourage parent participation in staff-parent conferences and home visits discussing their child’s development and education.
• Establish positive and productive relationships with families focusing on building trust and rapport.
• Work with a partner Teacher to schedule and complete two home visits per year and at least two parent-teacher conferences per year.
• Participate in parent orientation and AVANCE’s Parent-Child Education Program as required.
• Identify and refer parents wanting to volunteer in the classroom, work as substitutes or in other volunteer activities to their Family Advocate. Support parent volunteers in the classroom as needed.
• 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).
• Forward classroom updates to the Early Learning Lead/Assistant Education Lead to be included in the monthly newsletter.
• Direct developmental concerns to the Early Learning and Inclusion Lead.

Record Keeping and Reporting

• Uses observations of children and anecdotal notes to document children’s progress and individualize curriculum and support.
• Gather and maintain individual, family and classroom data for documentation, on-going assessment, evaluation and recording keeping for successful individual and program planning.
• Assess children on an on-going basis. Gather and organize anecdotal notes into the key goals and objectives and documents in GOLD.

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.
• Participate actively in bi-weekly Team Meetings to reflect on performance, generate solutions and ensure high-quality classroom operations.
• Participate actively in bi-weekly Teacher Meetings.

Planning and Implementation

• Responsible for collaborating with a partner Teacher in the preparation of daily lesson plans. Post them for parents, volunteers and visitors in the classroom.
• Establish and maintain a safe, healthy, and positive learning environment.
• Supervise all classroom field trips and outdoor activities.
• Request supplies as needed and participate in classroom/program inventory as requested.
• 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.
• Maintain the plan to meet changing or emergent program requirements within available resources and with minimum sacrifice to quantity or quality of work.

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

• Establish and maintain a safe, healthy, and positive learning environment.
• Provide supervision and ensure the safety and security of children at all times in accordance with Early Head Start and childcare licensing requirements.
• Supervise and eat nutritionally prepared meals and/or snacks with the children as a curriculum activity (toddlers and 2’s) to model good nutrition and proper social skills for infants and toddlers.
• Understand regulations associated with prevention of disease and injury, including proper diapering procedures, and the exercise of universal precautions, and the prevention of contamination.
• Conduct daily health checks.

Support the social and emotional development of children.

• Support the social and emotional development of children.

Other Duties

• Performs any and 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:

• Infant/Toddler CDA OR AA/BA in Early Childhood Education or related field with at least 120 training hours in Infant/Toddler content plus at least 480 hours of experience working with infant and toddlers

Work Experience

Required

• 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

• Ability to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated computer literacy skills, using MS Office applications and other basic data systems including internet navigation.
• Ability to collaborate with multiple stakeholders to successfully implement program plans 
• Strong analytical skills to quickly assess situations, identify trends, develop solutions and apply critical assessments to the larger context
• 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 10-30 pounds.?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.