assistant teacher

Head Start Program

Do not expect to have the time to do the work you were hired on to do. Because Head Start agencies are grossly underfunded, teachers and staff are underpaid. This has created a revolving door. This results in the staff maintaining several different positions at once with no additional compensation. I often had to work 10 hour days no lunch, doing work that was not mine. I originally had a 2 minute drive to work and they required me to temporarily transfer to a center that was 20 minutes away. When I expressed I could not afford the gas, they compensated me for mileage as well as drive time, which was helpful, but I still struggled affording transportation. This went on for a few months and as the school year was coming to a close, they sat me in a meeting and told me they were changing my hours, making the new site permanent until further notice, no drive time, no mileage, and they were scheduling me to work in the classroom on certain days (I was a social worker). They sent me a contract that they wanted me to sign agreeing to the changes, and I realized that I was miserable in the job and they were taking advantage of my flexibility. I LOVED my job, but I never was able to do my job duties because I was made to do everyone else's. I would not recommend employment at this agency until they can find a way to fix the compensation issue. The work culture is unhealthy, and you are given the cold shoulder if you aren't a 'team player'. Meaning being willing to drive an hour to cover other sites, working overtime all the time, sacrificing your breaks, etc... It is unhealthy.

I was let go at my 90 day review. I was told "You don't fit." It is not about how well you do your job, it is about how well you fit with the gossip. I did great at one center, but that is not the center I was reviewed on. I was reviewed on the second center I worked at. This center thrived on gossip, did not enjoy suggestions for sprucing up the center and by all means, my opinion, though different, was unwelcomed. I was unwelcomed. When I expressed concerns, my Supervisor pretended to listen, but not only did nothing, but used things I said about my family or physical issues against me on the review. They also kept all of my things in both offices, not allowing me to pick up items that were my personals from home. I placed trust in a Supervisor who used another co-worker against me to write a false review about my person. She did not review my work at the other center, where I thrived and had great co-workers. When I asked for her help, she herself, left me to eat alone one day when it was supposed to be a lunch for all to get to know one another and catch up. She went into my co-worker's office next to mine with another and the three ate together, no invitation for me to join.This organization does not value their employees, they don't encourage, or want them to succeed-unless they deem you "fit in". 

A typical work day for me is Starting my work at 7:am by checking my emails.. A waiting the arrivals of my students so we can get our day started. For the rest of the work day I working closely with my students teaching them the necessaries to be ready for kindergarten and keeping them safe. AT the beginning of school I assess my student with the brigance to to see where they might be emotionally, and academically. I use a ongoing assessment called teaching Strategies gold this is to make sure my children are moving in the right direction.It is my duty to take sure the are advancing form one level to the next. I use the creative curriculum to discuss my studies for the month and to get my lesson plans from. On a daily basis I individualize each child this is because know two children learn the same, I ALSO WORK IN SMALL GROUP WITH MY STUDENTS. I enjoy working with children with early childhood and will like to continue to work in this fields, A typical day is fun for me because I make it that way. Once I walk through that door I am at work not at home. I like working with my families I have a diverse class. I am take a bilingual class at UAB right now to understand my families that are DLL

It is a hectic job with a lot of paperwork.  .Every day is different, but the job is never boring.  Some children are very difficult to work with, but seeing the children grow and learn is very rewarding.
    When you arrive at work, you have to make sure everything is prepared for the day.  You greet the children as they arrive and make sure they follow the morning routine: put their stuff away, go to bathroom and wash their hands.  You have to supervise them at all times until they leave the building. You have to have activities planned for every minute of the day.  If they have any down time, that's when they get into trouble.
  You have to evaluate and do assessments on them four times a year.  Then you explain the results to the parents and give them Ideas on how to help their children in the areas where they are challenged.
      The most enjoyable part of the job is working with the children and experiencing their excitement when they accomplish their task.
You have to be good with people, because you deal with a lot of different personalities.

A typical day is go, go, go. You may have many administrative tasks to perform online as far as record keeping and assessment of children in addition to maintaining safety and a positive classroom environment for 16-20 preschoolers.  The children can have some very difficult behaviors,  and as with public school, correction is not easy. You must be very nurturing,  but firm,  and resilient.  But the schedule is great, M-F, usually done by 3. Pay is very low compared to teaching in local.public schools.  You do not get much down time free of children to think or de stress, so if there are challenging behaviors,  it can make for very long days. But mostly it is a very creative,  fun,  and life-changing job. The center I'm in uses theme teaching, so once you teach using your themes and become familiar with them, it should become easier to teach each year. This way a new teacher will be able to focus less on the stress of lesson plans and such, and really dive in and enjoy centers and group with the students.

My schedule of work is stay at the office two days a week, and three days at the Head Start centers. When I go to the centers,one of my job is to check out the attendance of the children. Those children with absences problems, give a call to the parents or visit their homes. To a 100 families I served, I make a family partnership agreement which include their strengths, weeks and goals. That data must be put in our data system. To every goals, I need to give support and planning the objectives to make it complete. The workplace culture is one full of challenges, there are many tasking, reports, paperwork. I need to be organized in order to get the job done. The hardest part of the job is when you find out a child is been abuse, I have follow the laws and procedures of the agency to ensure the safety of the child. Sometimes the child don't get the justice that deserved. The most enjoyable part of the job is when I go to a Head Start center and you see the kids learning, playing, singing. Makes me realize that we really have the hope of the world in our classrooms.

The team environment you can have with your co-workers is great and makes work fun. The kids are awesome and the parents try their best to work with you. One of the big things that keeps this company from being great are the admin outside of the centers. There’s too many people in the chain of command and everybody thinks they’re the boss. They aren’t always on the same page when they’re relaying information to teachers and that leaves everyone confused. They say they care about teachers and want to support us but I wasn’t able to see that “support” in my time there. What I was able to see is if you have a problem no matter the severity it will not be addressed and  you will be dismissed and seen as difficult. 
I saw these problems grow exponentially in my time there due to the director of head start leading by bad example.

If these problems were addressed instead of dismissed, I don’t think the turn over rate would be as high and employees would be happier. 

On a typical day routine coming in doing the same thing each and every day  the same and not getting any praise for a job well done, however learning that in life that you have to put yourself first and just coming in doing my job is what i did to say focus on the job at hand in working with children to have them lean and strive to push to that next level. management level was very low on the terms of instead of manage working with us it seems as if the person was working against us and putting the staff down every chance they had. the hardest part of this job was keeping my closure to the point of standing up for myself and speaking the truth but this cost me where i am now. the most enjoyable part of the job was just seeing the children smile and learn while having fun at the same time as well as while having fun not knowing that they are not aware of themselves solving problems, (math) and having fun.

children receive in the morning, have breakfast with them, working in areas of interest and outdoor patio, lunch, rest, read stories, sing songs, talk about what they did during the day and goodbye
in my years of experience I have learned to manage different behaviors, learning through play, to interact with special needs children and provide the first school experience for each child
now my coworkers are very special to me ... each of them are a helpmate in my teaching process and the day to day
I think the hardest part of my job is dealing with so many needs of both children who are sometimes at home situations affecting difficult behaviors in the classroom
the fun part of my job is the excellent communication I have with my assistant and who every day see the happy faces of my children fills me with much happiness, in addition to offering school skills, skills of love and coexistence surface in my room class

What is the best part of working at the company?
I love teaching and working with children,as well as toddlers to help shape their life for success.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not enough communication from & between coworkers.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fun,energetic, good wages,paid holidays off.I really love my children I had,and the curriculum.I also think they are good about having sensory toys,& activities for children on the spectrum as well.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Greeting parents,ask how the children that have been out sick how their child is feeling.Eating breakfast with them .Excercise time with fun songs on the big screen.individual lessons,age appropriate for 3-5 yr olds.Helping them rest at quiet time.Getting them ready for parents such as getting wibter gear on& getting their papers& backpacks ready.

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