Associate Teacher
Position Title: Associate Teacher
Position Status: Regular Full Time – Full Day (non-exempt)
Reports to: Lead Teacher/ Master Teacher
Position Purpose:
To supervise teaching staff to ensure the children’s educational needs are met; to provide a successful, safe and supervised educational setting for children while they are in the Head Start environment (classroom, outdoor play area, and field trips). Promoting social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of Head Start Children. Encourage parent involvement in all aspects of the program. To develop individual goals for children, provide an ongoing assessment on progress, and facilitate transition into kindergarten.
Minimum Qualifications and Experience:
- Must be 18 years of age
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Current State Driver License
- DOJ, FBI, and Child Index background check
- Current Car Insurance
- Completed at 50 days of work experience in a childcare program within two years.
- Possession of a current California Child Development Teacher Permit and two years of teaching experience in preschool or Infant and Toddler program.
- Completed 15-semester units of coursework in early childhood education or child development and 12 General Education courses; courses must be one of the following:
- Introduction to ECE.
- Child development and behavior.
- Techniques and Methods of Child Observation
- Teaching Young Children
- Child, Family, and Community
- Curriculum Foundations for the Young Child
- Completed at 50 days of work experience in a childcare program within two years.
- *Three-semester units of Infant and Toddler Care & Development are required for Teacher in an Infant and Toddler Program.
Specific Responsibilities:
- Work under the direct supervision of the Site Supervisor or Head Teacher
- Work indirectly under the supervision of the Education Manager and Management
- Set up and maintain the appropriate orderly physical environment conducive to optimal growth and development of preschool children (physical, social, emotional, and intellectual)
- Ensure availability of materials to carry out the daily program (for example, class supplies, first aid supplies, and nutrition supplies)
- Prepare and post the daily lesson plans. Plans are completed 1 to 2 weeks before implementation and turned into the site supervisor. The schedule is given out
- Fire and earthquake drills are conducted according to the Action Plans and completion of reports per Action Plan
- Responsible for getting substitutes when needed for staff classroom
- Plan and coordinate field trips in cooperation with parents and staff
- Work with parents of children in group for planning activities for growth and development that can be completed at home and the center
- Participate in the preparation, set up, and coordination of center activities and program activities with staff and parents
- Orientate parents and volunteers to classroom program and procedures
- Make home visits and confer with parents on the progress of children and discuss parental concerns about children (one at the beginning of the year and one additional during the mid-year)
- Integration of all component services in the classroom program daily to assure compliance with Head Start Performance Standards
- Serve meals/snacks in a family style and eat with the children
- Daily supervision of staff and volunteers
Maintenance and preparation with accuracy:
- Daily attendance and meal count
- Assessments and individual education plans
- Accident reports
- Parent contact reports
- Sign in/out sheets daily
- Emergency Information
- Documentation of volunteers and in-kind
- Inventory
- Maintain confidentiality regarding parent, child, and staff in terms of written and oral communication and recordkeeping.
- Maintain Child Assessment.
- Staff are subject to be move to different sites or locations every three year.
- Responsible for the daily health and safety of children, staff, and volunteers in class, playgrounds, and field trips.
- Report Child Abuse in accordance with current state requirements.
- Report accidents in accordance with Head Start Policy.
- Attend Case Conferences (three times per year), outside conferences and training sessions, teacher and staff meetings, and workshops as required.
- Participate in the transitional plan for all children entering and exiting head start.
- Comply with the continuing education requirements per Head Start Policy.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
Necessary Skills:
- Knowledge of preschool education, curriculum, planning, stages of growth and development, and ways to implement various program activities.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality as required.
- Knowledge of appropriate disciplinary procedures that will help guide young children toward self-control.
- Demonstrate knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of different cultures, values, and family/community lifestyles (African American, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander are the current predominate cultures in our community).
- Familiar with a variety of techniques and procedures for observing and recording children’s behavior and knowledgeable of ways to use observation data to meet the individual needs of the children.
- Receptive to parents involved in the program and able to incorporate their skills and ideas into the daily program to further strengthen parent’s awareness of individual needs of the children.
Other Requirements:
- Possession of a valid CA Driver’s License, car and automobile insurance.
- Must be eligible to be employed in the United States.
- Continuing Education required.
- Completion of an initial physical examination and follow-up examinations every two years.
- Current First Aid and CPR Certification.
- Fingerprint clearance, tuberculosis clearance, and child abuse clearance must be on file and submitted according to policy, MMR, DTaP, and flu shot.
- Bilingual where applicable.
- Willing to be trained on EMSA.
Reasoning Ability
Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- The noise level in the work environment is moderate.
- Work environment involves minimal exposure to physical risks, such as operating dangerous equipment or working with chemicals.
- Work involves minimal exposure to unusual elements, such as extreme temperatures, dirt, dust, fumes, smoke, unpleasant odors, and loud noises.
- Chemicals are known to the State of California to cause cancer, or birth defects or other reproductive harm may be present in the work environment.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of the job, the employee is required to:
- Regularly talk or hear up to 8 hours a day;
- Regularly sit, write, type, and use a mouse up to 8 hours a day;
- Regularly sit and stand from a chair up to 30 times a day;
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
- Occasionally stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms;
- Regularly bend, stoop and squat;
- Occasionally drive in dry and wet weather, usually during daylight hours, but occasionally during evening hours;
- Regularly get in and out of the car up to 8 times per day;
- Occasionally climb stairs and take the elevator; and
- Occasionally lift and move up to twenty-five (35) pounds.