Certified Teacher

Description:

Provide learning experiences consistent with developmentally appropriate early childhood practices and Head Start philosophies, requirements and performance standards.  Involve parents in the education process at the Head Start Center.  Plan classroom activities and supervise classroom volunteers.  Maintain children’s progress records and work closely with the Early Childhood Education Specialist.

Responsibilities:

Provision of Instruction: Implements the Head Start curriculum to provide appropriate and comprehensive activities to ensure the social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of the child. Conducts developmental screenings for each new child to determine their level of development as concerns language, social, cognitive, perceptual, and emotional skills. Coordinates on-going developmental assessments and monitors progress in the acquisition of skills and identifies the need for more specialized assessment for each child.

Develops and implements daily lesson plans for the provision of the curriculum as developmentally appropriate to the needs of each child. Coordinates and supervises all classroom activities.

 Classroom Culture/ Climate: Maintains a safe and healthy learning environment. Promotes feelings of security and trust through the provision of services that exemplify warm, supportive, comforting and caring relationships. Provides children with experiences that allow them to develop curiosity, initiative, problem-solving skills, creativity and a positive sense of self and belonging to a group.

Parent Involvement: Encourages parents to participate in the classroom experience, welcoming them into the classroom and providing opportunities for their participation.

Confers with parents, reports child’s progress, and holds regular parent-teacher conferences.

Encourages participation in Parent Committees and advises parent education committees.

Home Visits: Makes regular home visits to establish a professional and supportive relationship with parents and encourage parents to participate in their child’s learning experience, the Parent Committee, and other Program activities. Provides them with home activities that reinforce the learning experiences of their child. Assists parents to understand the developmental needs of their child.

Special Developmental and Educational Needs: Serves as the mandated Committee on Pre-School Education (CPSE) member and participates in school district CPSE meetings. Works with inter-disciplinary team of staff, parents and collateral service providers to develop and implement an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for preschoolers diagnosed with a disability. Advocates for appropriate services for Head Start children. Assists parents to develop individualized strategies to address special needs and to understand the special education system in order to best advocate for services for their children.

 Transition: Engages in transition activities that include maintaining ongoing communication and cooperation with kindergarten staff; preparing children for the transition; and involving parents in the transition. Some examples of specific transition activities are on-site visits between the Head Start and kindergarten staff, open-house events for staff, parents and children, as well as follow-up discussions in the fall to assess the success of the transition process and to identify strategies to improve the process.

Supervision:  Coordinates and supervises the Teacher Assistant, Teacher Aide and volunteers.

Health and Safety: Monitors health needs of children, making appropriate referrals when health concerns arise. Immediately reports child abuse and neglect situations to Child Protective Services (CPS). Reports all accidents, emergencies, neglect, abuse immediately to Center Manager, with follow-up written documentation. Supervises or ensures qualified adult supervision of children at all times.

Professional Competence:  Engages parents, staff, and community individuals and groups with sensitivity and with familiarity with the ethnic background and heritage of families in the Program. Participates in trainings and other opportunities to enhance professionally competent practice.

Customer Relations: Provides courteous, accurate and timely responses to requests for information, maintaining pleasant and helpful interactions with parents, volunteers, staff and community contacts.

Reports, Confidentiality, and Internal Communication: Prepares and submits all reports for submission to Center Manager and Central Administration in a timely and efficient manner. Maintains confidentiality of records, documents and information. Maintains records and required forms for each child.

 Quality Assurance: Maintains records and complete required child assessment entries and forms for each child on a daily basis. Assures that all job responsibilities are conducted with adherence to policies, Performance Standards and regulations, and are carried out in a timely and efficient manner.

Supplies and Equipment: Performs inventory and requests equipment and supplies and maintains equipment and supplies in safe and sanitary condition.

External Relations: Promotes community awareness, trust and recognition of the exemplary quality of services provided by the Head Start Program. Establishes positive collaborations with public schools and community agencies and groups to enhance the experiences of the Head Start families and children. Participates in multi-disciplinary teams as contributing member.

Other Duties as assigned: Maintain a safe, healthy and clean environment. Other duties as assigned by the Center Manager.

Qualifications: