Position Summary
Responsible for providing a safe, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate environment that promotes each child’s cognitive, social, emotional, health and physical development. Develop individualized educational goals for each child and assess each child’s outcomes to monitor evolving progress, and the use of various teaching strategies with an emphasis on language and literacy skills to meet the needs of each individual child. Maintaining a high quality environment with attention to safety and health prevention measures for infants, toddlers, and twos at all times. Job Function
1. Be familiar with and adhere to the Head Start Program Performance Standards, State of Texas Child Care Licensing requirements and NAEYC regulations.
2. Maintain a 1 Teacher to 4 Child ratios at all times with no more than 8 infants and or toddlers in a classroom.
3. Ensures all policies and procedures are followed when changing diapers for infants and toddlers.
4. Maintain an open, friendly, professional relationship with all staff and families, to include respect for culture, diversity and ethnicity.
5. Plan and implement developmentally appropriate activities that promote children’s learning in literacy, language, cognitive, social / emotional, physical / health development on a weekly basis and follow classroom daily schedule.
6. Implement “best practices” approaches and learning materials.
7. Establish positive, caring and nurturing relationships with children.
8. Use a variety of strategies to flexibly group children for the purposes of instruction, promoting children’s development, supporting collaboration among children, and building a caring community of active enthusiastic learners.
9. Use different teaching strategies to ensure every child is successful in the classroom, by providing a balance of large group, small group, and teacher directed, child initiated activities that promote exploration, inquiry, creativity, and independence.
10. Conduct daily child observations and quarterly developmental assessments to collect information on individual children’s learning and progress.
11. Plan individualized approaches to promote each child’s learning and development.
12. Communicate with parents regarding children’s progress on a regular basis, both informally and formally thru parent/ teacher conferences and home visits.
13. Encourage parents to be involved in the curriculum through weekly family activities, classroom volunteering and attending monthly parent meetings, where they will be able learn more about the curriculum and give staff feedback and suggestions on center and classroom activities.
14. Conduct family-style meals, serves to promote good nutrition and food safety practices.
15. Attend IFSP meetings, which result in incorporating IFSP’s in the lesson plans.
16. Report suspected neglect, abuse, medical conditions / illnesses to immediate supervisor.
17. Report to work on time and work a flexible schedule when necessary, ensuring the needs of the children are met.
18. Encourage and maintain hygiene in children.
19. Ensure classroom is organized and classroom equipment and materials are clean for the children to use.
20. Attend workshops and trainings as scheduled by supervisor.
21. Give directions to classroom volunteers.
22. Supervise children at all times.
23. May transport equipment, supplies and materials in own vehicle.
24. Conduct 45-day screenings, quarterly GOLD on-going assessments, bi-annual Parent-Teacher Conference, bi-annual Home Visit.
25. Attend and participate in staff meetings as scheduled and reports accordingly.
26. Able to travel for business related activities.
27. Perform any other tasks as assigned.
EDUCATION:
Required: High School Diploma or GED from an accredited program with an Education Agreement to complete the CDA within one year
EXPERIENCE:
Preferred: Six (6) months experience working in an infant and toddler setting.