Position Summary

The Center Support Staff's primary function is to work with Early Childhood and Head Start programs to introduce children to learning and to the basic skills necessary for later education and for life. They perform duties that are instructional in nature and deliver direct services to students or parents.
The Center support staff also functions to assist in other areas of the center by supporting administrative-related duties.

Duties & Responsibilities

Interact With Children

• Utilize appropriate language, interactions, and positive discipline.
• Model positive behavior.
• Under the guidance of Lead Teacher assist with instructing and supervising children in classroom activities.
• Implement age-appropriate activities that support the Head Start standards, the NAEYC standards, and the Creative Curriculum.
• Implement and model family-style eating during meal times.
• Continuously monitor children to ensure safety at all times and report child abuse and neglect.

Assess Children:

• Assess children on a regular basis.
• Take pictures and maintain anecdotal notes, written observations, and other approved forms of documentation for each child when instructed to do so by the Lead Teacher.

Curriculum Preparation:

• Utilize research library, research, plan, and develop age-appropriate activities for lesson plans in conjunction with the Lead Teacher and Assistant Teacher.
• Assist the Lead Teacher and Assistant Teacher in preparing activities that support lesson plans.

Communicate With Parents:

• Maintain open communication with parents by scheduling and conducting parent/teacher conferences and home visits.
• As a parent advocate, help resolve issues or concerns that are raised.
• Inform parents about daily classroom routines, expectations, policies, field trips, and volunteer opportunities.
• Communicate with parents about incidents that have been observed and/or recorded on-site.
• Obtain all required classroom parental signatures, such as on all incident reports and field trip permission slips.

Documentation:

• Assist in designing and completing documentation panels for the classrooms and hallways.
• Complete all necessary paperwork for classroom and office activities, including meal count sheets, attendance, screenings, parent/teacher conferences, and home visits in a timely manner.
• Maintain up-to-date and accurate education folders.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date for classrooms and office.
• Maintain classroom and office supply lists and inventory.
• Complete all necessary

Administration:

• Work closely with Site Director, classroom teaching team, administrative team and other content area specialists.
• Actively participate in meetings, which may include management, teaching team, center, committee, parent, parent policy, family reviews, city/state, agency, and board meetings.
• Participate in team meetings. Communicate and share ideas and concerns with the Lead Teacher, Assistant Teacher, Site Director, Education Coordinator, and other management and office team members.
• As staff, parent, and child advocate participate in agency committee meetings i.e. health advisory, advocacy, etc.
• Participate in staff In-Services.
• Engage in continuing education and professional development activities such as training, workshops, and classes to meet required qualifications.
• Assist in completing required documentation.

Classroom and Office Maintenance:

• Help to maintain a clean and organized learning environment.
• Sanitize all surfaces, equipment, and classroom toys daily and weekly.
• Maintain a quality classroom and office arrangement in compliance with curriculum standards.
• Assist with routinely checking office classroom equipment and materials to ensure they are in good repair.

Other Duties As Assigned

Education and/or Experience

• High School Diploma or General Education Degree (GED).
• A minimum of 6 credit hours in Child Development from an accredited college or university working toward earning 15 credit hours in Child development.
• Experience with children preferred

Qualifications:

• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Cooperates successfully as a member of a team.
• Communicates effectively with others, including giving and receiving feedback on the quality of services.
• Meet any specific content area requirements.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated capability to interface and maintain effective relationships with staff, consultants, and regulatory/funding representatives in a team-oriented environment.
• Capacity to assume responsibility for own professional development.
• Detail-oriented, logical, and methodological approach to problem-solving.
• Flexible, with the ability to work in a highly demanding, stressful environment.
• Proficiency using word-processing systems.

Language Skills

• Ability to read and speak English proficiently.
• Bilingual-Spanish preferred.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and see.
• The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, sit; use hands to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds.
• Specific vision requirements include the ability to see at close range.
• Fine hand manipulation (keyboarding).
• Transportation time spent commuting between sites and attending meetings, training, in-services, and home visits.
• The employee may be required to work at multiple agency locations if necessary.

Work Environment

• Internal office space and classroom.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high.

COVID-19 Note: In the spirit of caring for one another and our community, please note that upon accepting an offer of employment from Mary Crane, you will be required to share proof of a COVID-19 vaccination upon eligibility. You may apply for a Medical or Religious Exemption in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Mary Crane does daily temperature checks as well.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities