GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: Responsible for providing support to a Lead Teacher and assisting the Site Supervisor.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Supports the Lead Teacher in providing quality educational and family services to children and their families.
• Provides instructional assistance such as but not limited to: facilitating learning centers; individual and small group instruction; facilitating and modeling play; and model good nutrition practices during meal/snack times.
• Helps provide developmentally appropriate environments for children.
• Demonstrate high-quality language models in all their languages and strongly support continued home language development.
• Provides basic care to children including assistance with toothbrushing, toileting, diapering, assisting physically ill children, assisting with the detection of head lice and communicable diseases.
• Ensures supervision of children at all times; must be able to hear and see children at all times.
• Report suspected child abuse or neglect to the immediate supervisor.
• Supports the Lead Teacher with the caseload of families.
• Completes assigned home visits and parent/teacher conferences.
• Assists with parent education and support program for all assigned families.
• Promotes parent involvement.
• Provide guidance and support to substitutes/sub floats when classroom lead teacher is absent.
• Provides site office, clerical, and staffing support.
• Provides coverage for other classrooms when possible, including Part-day.
• Attend staffing, meetings, and training when required or requested.
• Assists with cleaning and disinfecting of classroom equipment and materials.
• Completes and maintains all required records, child/family files, reports, and Agency paperwork, timely and accurately.
• Responsible for maximizing and documentation of in-kind contributions.
• Participates in professional development and opportunities for growth.
• Demonstrates on-going professionalism.
• Recruit for enrollment.
• Support and assist volunteers serving in the classroom.
• Assists Site Supervisor as needed.
• Responds to two-way radio calls for assistance.

SPECIFIC JOB SKILLS

• Ability to read, write, and understand English essential.
• Ability to actively participate in team development and team-oriented processes.
• Good organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to accept direction and supervision.
• Good interpersonal skills essential.
• Sensitive to the needs of young children; willing and able to relate to children and adults from all ethnic, national origins , religious, or economic backgrounds.
• Ability to drive, including travel to multiple sites, home visits, trainings, etc.

All communications are potentially sensitive and are subject to Head Start's policy on confidentiality.

JOB CONDITIONS

• Physical effort as a part of the regular work routine. This includes: seeing, hearing, writing, frequent driving, standing, walking, bending, stooping, and kneeling, prolonged periods of sitting, occasional lifting up to 50 pounds, which may include infrequent lifting of children, and carrying of lightweight materials.
• Required mental functions: reading, calculating simple math, and withstanding moderate to high levels of stress.

WORK HABITS

Required work habits include regular attendance, teamwork, initiative, dependability, and promptness.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• High school diploma or G.E.D.; and
• A Child Development Associate (CDA), or a state awarded certificate that meets or exceeds the requirement for CDA credential, or one year of experience in a preschool classroom and enrolled in a program to complete a CDA within 2 years of hire, or;
• Enrolled in an Associate or Bachelor’s degree program with one year experience in a preschool classroom.
• Meet the STARS requirement and be listed in the State training and registry system (STARS).