The Head Start Teacher is responsible for a Head Start classroom of 3- to 5-year-old children. S/he works collaboratively with an assistant teacher, family members, and other staff to achieve positive outcomes for children of all abilities.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
CLASS teacher-child interactions:
- Provide emotional support through establishing a positive climate, being aware of and responsive to children, and encouraging child expression and autonomy.
- Use strategies for behavior management, such as clear behavior expectations, being proactive and redirecting misbehavior.
- Foster classroom productivity and maximize learning time, while engaging children with a variety of modalities and materials.
- Provide instructional support through concept development, fostering children’s analysis and reasoning, engaging in feedback loops, and modeling and supporting high-quality language.
Learning environment:
- Ensure classroom arrangement, materials and displays are organized and conducive to children’s learning.
Curriculum:
- Implement GRECS’s chosen curriculum with fidelity, being aware of the big ideas while also following all assigned guidance and resources.
- Prepare or modify weekly lesson plans and prepare to implement small-group activities, read-alouds, circle time, and other curriculum components.
- Provide children with a consistent classroom routine and facilitate all parts of the routine to support child learning.
- Interact with children intentionally throughout the day to provide differentiated support.
Child assessment:
- Collect documentation of children through ongoing observation, embedded and direct assessment activities.
- Complete quarterly assessment checkpoints, reliably, for each child.
- Analyze child assessment data and use it to plan and individualize.
Meeting all children’s needs:
- Complete developmental and social-emotional screenings on all children within prescribed time frames.
- Complete theme-based Individualized Learning Plans to identify specific goals and implement developmentally appropriate strategies for each child in class.
- Integrate Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or referral action plans for children with diagnosed or suspected special needs.
Working with families:
- Establish positive and productive relationships with families through building rapport and trust.
- Schedule and complete two home visits and two parent-teacher conferences each year.
- Encourage and engage family members to serve as classroom volunteers.
- Collaborate with family services staff to support families in implementing family life practices, extending learning into the home, and meeting expectations for attendance
- Follow all guidance and expectations to support of Shine On, Families initiative
Professional growth and collaboration:
- Participate in ongoing reflective coaching and self-assessment.
- Collaborate with assistant teacher and other staff in the center.
- Share pertinent information with family services, disabilities/mental health or health/nutrition staff, as needed, to meet the needs of individual children and families. Participate in case conferences as appropriate.
In addition, the teacher will:
- Know and understand GRECS’s School Readiness Goals and strive to help all children achieve them.
- Provide classroom experiences that are developmentally, linguistically, culturally and age-appropriate for the children served.
- Establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment, including full supervision of children at all times, in accordance with Head Start and childcare licensing requirements.
- Conduct daily health/safety monitoring of the indoor and (as requested) outdoor environment.
- Follow all health and hygiene practices, including hand-washing, sanitizing, and universal precautions.
- Supervise mealtimes and “family style dining” with children.
- Supervise all classroom field trips and outdoor activities.
- Maintain required documentation of activities, including child and family information, assessment data, volunteer logs, etc.
- Participates in assigned meetings, events and training as required.
Non-Essential Duties:
- Performs any and all other duties as assigned.
Job Specifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to carry out each essential duty in a satisfactory manner. The job specifications listed below are representative of the education and experience as well as the knowledge, skill and/or ability (KSAs) required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Requirements:
- AA/AS in Early Childhood Education OR BA/BS in Early Childhood Education –OR- state awarded preschool teacher certification with experience teaching preschool-aged children–OR- BA/BS in related field with at least 30 hours in Early Childhood Education plus experience teaching children. BA Highly preferred.
- Bilingual (Spanish) preferred
- Physical exam and background checks are required for this position.
- Travel required locally or long-distance up to occasionally for work-related meetings and functions.
- Must have reliable transportation.
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:
- 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.
- Must be honest, dependable and able to meet deadlines.
- Self-motivated and able to work independently.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to sit most of the time with some bending and reaching.
- Ability to stand, walk, and bend periodically.
- Ability to engage in repetitive movement of wrists, hands, and fingers – typing and/or writing.
- Ability to work frequently at close visual range (i.e. preparing and analyzing data and figures, accounting, transcription, computer terminal, extensive reading).
- Ability to receive and respond to oral communication.
- Ability to exert up to 10 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects.
We are an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and healthy workplace.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From $47,600.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
