Early Head Start Teacher

Job Summary:

This position serves as a Teacher for an Early Head Start classroom with a direct focus on children 2 years of age. The teacher will work collaboratively with Assistant Teacher, Family Engagement Specialist and classroom aid to ensure the successful operation of a classroom with a total of 8 children. The teacher will work collaboratively with their team to achieve meaningful progress of each child along his/her own unique developmental path and towards

Fort George’s school readiness goals.

Responsibilities:

The 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 our program employees. The teacher will demonstrate competency to perform functions that include:

1. Toddler Growth & Development: Uses knowledge of the principles of child growth and development to work with children, collaborate with related service areas, and communicate with internal and external stakeholders.

• Implements a child-centered curriculum and learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active 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 toddlers as well as age-appropriate expectations of pro-social behaviors. Creates a nurturing, responsive environment that promotes positive self-concept and development of social and emotional competencies.
• Uses observations of children and anecdotal notes to document children’s progress and individualize curriculum.
• Create partnerships with families to establish positive interaction patterns in program, school, and home.

General Professional Competencies:

• Technology
• Program Planning & Evaluation
• Professional Development
• Performance Management
• Communication
• Leadership

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

The teacher’s classroom responsibilities chiefly fall within the following core functions, although s/he may perform other tasks as needed:

A) Planning

B) Program Implementation

C) Family Engagement

D) Communication and Service Coordination

E) Record Keeping and Reporting

F) On-going Monitoring and Self-assessment

G) Supervision

H) Planning and implementing 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.

I) Establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy learning environment.

J) Supporting the social and emotional development of children.

K) Encouraging the engagement of the families of the children in our Early Head Start program and supporting

the development of relationships between children and their families.

A) PLANNING

1. Ensure the written curriculum includes:

• 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

2. Responsible for the preparation of daily lesson plans which are due two weeks in advance for supervisor’s approval. Post the lesson plans for parents, volunteers and visitors in the classroom.

3. Develop an individual plan for each child including goal setting based on identified needs and prescriptions for

objectives and activities to meet established child outcomes.

B) PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

4. Follow program curriculum providing developmentally and linguistically appropriate experiences appropriate to age, language and culture of children served.

5. Implement experiential learning activities advancing the intellectual and emotional competence of toddlers.

6. Establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment.

7. Provide a print rich environment in which children develop literacy, numeracy and social skills using increasingly complex language and problem-solving abilities.

8. Provide positive guidance and discipline supporting children as they acquire readiness skills for kindergarten and beyond.

9. Provide children with a consistent classroom routine that is responsive to individual toddler’s needs.

10. 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.

11. Integrate Individual Education Plans (IFSPs) for children with disabilities.

12. Provide children with a consistent classroom routine.

13. Provide supervision and ensure the safety and security of children at all times in accordance with Head Start and

day care licensing requirements

14. Supervise and eat nutritionally prepared meals with the children as a curriculum activity, to model good nutrition and proper social skills for preschool children. Supervise all classroom field trips and outdoor activities

15. Understand regulations associated with prevention of occupational disease and injury, including the exercise of universal precautions and the prevention of contamination

C) FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

16. Support parent engagement in the development of the program's curriculum and approach to child development and education.

17. Provide opportunities for parents to increase their child observation skills and to share assessments with staff that help plan the learning experiences.

18. Encourage parent participation in staff-parent conferences and home visits discussing their child’s development and education.

19. Establish positive and productive relationships with families focusing on a relationship of trust and rapport.

20. Work with Assistant Teacher to schedule and complete two home visits per year and at least two parent-teacher conferences per year.

21. Participate in parent orientation and ongoing parent trainings and events.

D) COMMUNICATION AND SERVICE COORDINATION

22. Share pertinent information with Family Engagement Specialist (FES) ensuring coordinated services to meet the needs of individual children and families. Participate in case conferences as appropriate.

23. Maintain regular contact with parents and complete appropriate documentation.

24. Direct development concerns to appropriate specialist.

25. Writes and speaks clearly and grammatically correct.

E) RECORD KEEPING AND RECORDING

26. Request supplies as needed and participate in classroom/program inventory as requested.

27. Gather and maintain individual, family and classroom data for documentation, on-going assessment, evaluation and recording keeping for successful individual and program planning.

F) ON GOING MONITORING AND SELF-ASSESSMENT

28. Conduct daily health checks.

29. Assess children on an on-going basis utilizing the checklists in the HELP assessment.

30. Analyze child outcomes on classroom basis three times a year, consult with Education Director and make adjustments to curriculum planning and implementation as needed.

G) SUPERVISION AND HUMAN RESOURCES

31. Make daily job assignments within the classroom; provide instruction in performing job duties and model appropriate classroom practice.

General Responsibilities

32. Participate in staff meetings, conferences, training sessions and workshops as assigned.

33. Maintain confidentiality in regard to staff and information.

34. Fulfill role as mandated reporter as stated and family information.

35. Perform any other work-related duties as requested by your supervisor.

36. Be present at work to provide consistency of services.

37. Be a contributory team member in a positive/productive manner.

38. Demonstrate commitment to mission, value, and policies in the performance of daily duties.

39. Any other duties assigned.

Requirements:

• Must meet the requirements of the New York City Health Code Article 47.13.
• Must have at a minimum 90 credits in early childhood or a related field, be in school on the road to permanent certification in B-2 with a Masters in early childhood.
• Able to lift a child weighing 40 pounds, 20 times a day if needed.
• Basic computer literacy in email, word processing and internet navigation.

We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse and healthy workplace.

Pay: $54,000.00 - $62,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person