Non-Exempt

Revised 06/22/2020

Reports to: Center Operations Coordinator

ARVAC, Incorporated

Infant/Toddler (EHS) Teacher

Introduction

This position serves as an Infant-Toddler Teacher for a classroom of children 0-3 years of age. The Teacher will work collaboratively with his/her partner Teacher to ensure the successful operation of a classroom with a total of 6-8 children. The Teacher, along with families and colleagues, work to achieve meaningful progress of each child along his/her own unique developmental path and toward ARVAC’s school readiness goals.

Essential Functions and Duties:

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 ARVAC employees.

Infant-toddler Growth & Development: Uses knowledge of the principles of child growth and development to work with children and communicate with families, internal and external stakeholders.

• Implements child-centered daily routine, curriculum and learning environment that encourages the development of age-appropriate positive social interactions, active exploration/ 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 infants-toddlers as well as age appropriate expectations for pro-social behaviors. Creates a nurturing, responsive environment that promotes positive self-concept and development of social and emotional competencies. Observes closely and with understanding to determine possible causes of challenging behavior, implementing preventive measures, teaching children new social and communication skills in partnership with families.
• Uses observations of children and anecdotal notes to document children’s progress and individualize curriculum
• Creates partnerships with families to establish positive interaction patterns in program, school, and home.

Requirements:

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

• Planning
• Program Implementation
• Family Partnerships
• Communication and Service Coordination
• Record Keeping and Reporting
• Ongoing Monitoring and Self-Assessment

PLANNING

• Will assist in ensuring that 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;
• Support the social and emotional development of children.
• Responsible for collaborating with a partner Teacher in the preparation of daily lesson plans. Post them for parents, volunteers and visitors in the classroom
• Will assist in the development of individual plans for each child including goal-setting based on identified needs and prescriptions for objectives and activities to meet established child outcomes.
• Planning and implementing learning experiences that advance the cognitive and physical development of children, including progress toward school readiness goals by developing their language (understanding and increasingly complex use, expanding vocabulary) emergent literacy, print and numeracy awareness, their appreciation of books and their problem solving abilities.

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

• Follow program curriculum providing ample opportunities for natural play and hands on experiences that reflect the learning styles of individual children in the group.
• Implement developmentally and linguistically appropriate experiences appropriate to age, language and culture of children served.
• Establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment.
• Implement experiential learning activities advancing the intellectual and emotional competence of infants and toddlers.
• Provide positive guidance and discipline supporting children as they acquire readiness skills for kindergarten and beyond.
• 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.
• Implement Individual Family Services Plans (IFSPs) for children with disabilities.
• Provide children with a consistent classroom routine that is responsive to individual infants and toddlers’ needs
• Provide supervision and ensure the safety and security of children at all times in accordance with Early Head Start and day care licensing requirements.
• Supervise and eat nutritionally prepared meals and/or snacks with the children as a curriculum activity to model good nutrition and proper social skills for infants and toddlers.
• Feed all infants on demand
• Hold all non-mobile infants during feeding
• Supervise all classroom and outdoor activities.
• Understand regulations associated with prevention of disease and injury, including proper diapering procedures, and the exercise of universal precautions, and the prevention of contamination.

FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS

• Invite parent involvement in the development of the program’s curriculum and approach to child development and education.
• Encourage the involvement of the families of the children in a Early/ Head Start program and supporting the development of relationships between children and their families.
• Provide opportunities for parents to increase their child observation skills and to share assessments with staff that help plan the learning experiences.
• Encourage parent participation in staff-parent conferences and home visits discussing their child’s development and education.
• Establish positive and productive relationships with families focusing on building trust and rapport.
• Work with a partner Teacher to schedule and complete two home visits per year and at least two parent-teacher conferences per year.
• Participate in parent orientation and ongoing parent trainings as required.
• Identify and refer parents wanting to volunteer in the classroom, work as substitutes or in other volunteer activities to their COC. Support parent volunteers in classroom as needed.

COMMUNICATION AND SERVICE COORDINATION

• Share pertinent information with Family Advocate ensuring coordinated services to meet the needs of individual children and families. Participate in case conferences as appropriate.
• Maintain regular contact with parents and complete appropriate documentation (e.g. daily reporting on infant sleep, eating and elimination).
• Forward classroom updates to the COC to be included in monthly newsletter.
• Direct developmental concerns to the COC and Director of Monitoring and Compliance.

RECORD KEEPING AND RECORDING

• Request supplies as needed and participate in classroom/program inventory as requested.
• Gather and maintain individual, family and classroom data for documentation, on-going assessment, evaluation and recording keeping for successful individual and program planning.

ONGOING MONITORING AND SELF-ASSESSMENT

• Conduct daily health checks.
• Assess children on an ongoing basis. Gather and organize anecdotal notes into the key goals and objectives and document in GOLD
• Work with teaching team to analyze child outcomes on a classroom basis twice yearly, consult with education leadership and make adjustments to curriculum planning and implementation as needed.

Qualifications:

All team members are expected to be technically competent and committed to continuous development of their skills. The following skills, knowledge, education, or certifications are specifically required for this position:

Education: Infant/Toddler CDA –OR- AA/BA in Early Childhood Education or related field with at least 120 training hours in Infant/Toddler content plus at least 480 hours of experience working with infant and toddlers

Other Requirements: Must hold a valid driver’s license and have reliable transportation to commute to and from work and to other agencies within the area. Must be able to provide letters of recommendations, at least five professional references, and submit to a background and financial background inspection. Maintain certification in CPR and First Aid. Able to lift a child weighing 40 pounds, 20 times a day if needed. Basic computer literacy in email usage, word processing and internet navigation. Pass physical examination and all Head Start/licensing required background checks. Maintain current Physical/TB screen requirements.

ADA Requirements (Essential Functions)

Physical Requirements*

Sitting 6-10 hours/day

Standing 0-1 hours/day

Driving 6-8 hours/day

Walking 0-1 hours/day

Use of telephone 0-1 hours/day

Working under pressure 6-8 hours/day

Working rapidly for long periods 6-8 hours/day

Use of keyboard, computer, printer, fax, copier 1-3 hours/day

Position requires close work; finger dexterity; good vision, hearing, oral communication and critical thinking on a regular basis. May occasionally work longer than 8 hours/day.

Cognitive or Mental Requirements

The following cognitive or mental requirements are necessary on a daily basis: Critical thinking; Reading; Writing; Mathematics; Accounting Practices, Drawing conclusions from written or computer generated materials; Analyzing data or report information; Creating methodologies for accomplishing a goal; Conducting research; Implementing recommendations by coordinating persons and/or other resources; Developing plans, procedures, goals, strategies, or processes; Directing activities of others to accomplish a goal; Clear verbal articulation.

Working Environment

Indoors for majority of the day.

Additional Notes

This job description is only a summary and is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required by the employer. This document is subject to change at any time.

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Staff Signature Date

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Supervisor Signature Date

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $13.99 - $17.50 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Ability to Relocate:

• Paris, AR 72855: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person