SUMMARY OF PRIMARY FUNCTION:

The Teacher is responsible for classroom operation including planning, carrying out activities, maintaining the classroom environment, supervising children, establishing and holding parent/teacher conferences/home visits. The Teacher provides leadership and direction to other staff within the classroom and cooperates with other staff in providing services for the children and their parents. This position is responsible for data entry and record keeping responsibility for the children within their classroom as well as overall planning for children served in their classroom. This position is responsible for creating and facilitating a safe, healthy environment that provides intentional developmentally appropriate learning opportunities for the young children served. Helps recruit potential parents by providing information to them about the various program services and benefits offered to enrolled children and families.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Classroom Operations

1. Plans a daily schedule and weekly lesson plan creating a varied and wide-range of opportunities for children to promote school readiness.
2. Plans and implements learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical development of children.
3. Improves the readiness of children for school by developing their literacy, phonemic and print awareness, their understanding and use of language, their understanding and use of increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books, their understanding of early math and early science, their problem-solving abilities and their approaches to learning.
4. Promotes social and emotional development of children.
5. Assumes overall classroom responsibility and data entry for all children served in their classroom.
6. Completes required education screenings within the specified timelines.

Safety & Sanitation

1. Maintains a safe, clean, care-giving environment, practices good personal hygiene and hand washing, and assures the well-being and safety of all of the children in that environment.
2. Utilizes disciplinary measures appropriately as outlined in the Behavior Guidance Policies and Procedures.
3. Protects all children from physical punishment or verbal abuse by anyone in any program activity, and immediately reports any such incident to the person in charge.
4. Provides for the physical safety of each child from arrival time until departure time.
5. Posts and complies with safety, sanitation and other guidelines for serving enrolled children (i.e., Child Care Licensing Standards, Head Start Performance Standards, Tri-Valley policy).
6. Assures that safety and sanitation policies and procedures are followed appropriately.
7. Assures that children are dressed appropriately for the weather and type of play in which they are engaged.
8. Assures that children are supervised at all times.
9. Administers First Aid and/or CPR when necessary.

Physical Arrangement

1. Plans and arranges an environment and room arrangement for children which is supportive and appropriate to meet their needs according to NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practices and the Creative Curriculum guidelines.
2. Creates developmentally appropriate and well-defined activity areas in the classroom.
3. Assures sufficient and appropriate materials are displayed in orderly and accessible fashion.
4. Assures indoor/outdoor areas are safe, secure, and provides a variety of opportunities for children to explore.
5. Assures physical environment is child-sized.

Schedule, Routines and Transitions

1. Plans, posts, and complies with appropriate child lesson plans.
2. Ensures required items are posted.
3. Plans and implements transition activities to assist children with changes in the environment.
4. Provides predictable routines to help children gain a sense of security.
5. Creates intentional teaching opportunities in preparation for school readiness.
6. Tends to children's personal hygiene needs, remaining especially attentive to them during routines such as diaper changing, cleaning, feeding, and changing soiled or wet clothes.

Individualizing

1. Determines the needs of children and plans and expedites services accordingly.
2. Observes children, documents and refers those requiring additional services, i.e. mental health, nutrition, disabilities and other consultation as appropriate.
3. Assists in the planning and conducts activities with the child that creates a developmentally appropriate and varied range of opportunities to explore and experience which meet the individual needs of the child (i.e. developing social and communication skills, self-esteem, creativity, self-reliance, etc.).
4. Shares family-style meal; models manners and good nutrition.

Recordkeeping and Reporting/Data Entry

1. Conducts developmental screenings and ongoing assessments.
2. Completes timely, neat, accurate documentation as required.
3. Maintains and documents communication with families.
4. Collects and charts data and other assessment to determine the developmental level of individual children.

Parent Contact and Involvement

1. Conducts parent conferences and home visits.
2. Prepares and distributes take home activities for parents.
3. Provides ongoing contact with families via telephone calls, notes or visits, documenting activity on contact sheets.
4. Attends Parent Meetings and shares information regarding the children you serve as requested.
5. Encourages the involvement of families and supports the development of relationships between children and their families.
6. Helps arrange parent volunteers, welcome them and utilizes their skills in the classroom.
7. Provide Family Services support and goal setting as determined by program needs.
8. Invites parents/guardians to participate in the program.

Communication

1. Maintains an open, friendly, and cooperative relationship with each child and family.
2. Greets children and their parents warmly and with enthusiasm.
3. Maintains a cooperative attitude of working together with other staff, parents and volunteers in planning and implementing activities for the program/classroom.
4. Maintains a positive, calm attitude and a pleasant, soothing voice, and models this attitude and voice for parents and others working or volunteering in the program.

*Specific daily teacher responsibilities are dependent on staffing patterns and classroom need.