HS Teacher Assistant

Job title

Head Start Teacher Assistant

Program

Head Start and Early Head Start

Reports to

Center Director

General Description

It is the responsibility of the teacher assistant to plan, organize and direct the operation of programs for a specific group of children providing a high-quality environment in which each child achieves the highest level of social, emotional, physical, and intellectual competence. Ensure classroom environment is age appropriate and meets all HS and licensing (Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS) standards. Maintain a clean classroom environment, and is responsible for sweeping- throughout the day, wiping up spills as needed and removing trash and vacuuming classroom rugs as needed.

A Head Start teacher assistant should demonstrate competency to perform the following functions:

• Planning and implementing learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical development of children, including improving 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.
• Establishing and maintaining a safe, clean, healthy learning environment.
• Supporting the social and emotional development of children.
• Encouraging the involvement of the families of the children in a Head Start program and supporting the development of relationships between children and their families.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

A.Curriculum

• Assist in organizing and using space, materials, and routines to construct an interesting, secure, and enjoyable environment that encourages play, exploration, and learning.
• Assist in developing and implementing an integrated program of activities, experiences and opportunities which contribute to the growth and development of each child and are appropriate to the developmental levels of the children being served.
• Use available community resources and age-appropriate activities to enrich the children's experience in the classroom.
• Ensure that the classroom respects and reflects the diverse backgrounds and learning styles of each child.
• Assist in creating and maintaining an environment appropriate for children in adherence to HSPS, CLASS, NCPK, NAEYC and Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS)
• Perform any other job-related tasks as assigned.
• Bus monitoring duties as assigned. The bus monitor is responsible for providing support to the students during the transport, loading, and unloading of the school bus to ensure the safety of all passengers.
• Participate in after-hours family engagement and enrichment activities.

B.Teacher-Child Interaction

• Maintain effective communication with children that fosters physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development.
• Use questioning, probing and problem solving as interactions which promote learning.
• Interact with children at their eye level using a voice which is pleasant and encouraging.
• Assist in providing opportunities for children to understand, acquire and use verbal and non-verbal means of communicating thoughts and feelings.
• Assist in providing opportunities for children in small and large groups and individually.
• Use conflict resolution techniques which are appropriate for the developmental level of the child.
• Provide for smooth transition from one activity to another activity without requiring the children to wait.
• Assist children with self-help activities.

C. Adult-Adult Interaction

• Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with co-workers through open communication, sharing resources and supporting professional development.
• Develop supportive relationships with parents by respecting their child-rearing values and by sharing information about the ages and stages of children's development to improve their understanding of their own children.
• Maintain a cooperative atmosphere in the workplace by exhibiting a pleasant and cooperative attitude.

D.Assessment

• Assist in observing and assessing each child in each developmental area, utilizing an assessment instrument selected by the Education Committee.
• Participate in IEP staffing.
• Participate in cross-component team meetings to develop strategies for promoting optimal development in each child.

E.Parent Involvement

• Communicate the activities of the program to parents on a regular basis, for example the newsletter and activity calendars.
• Assist in conducting and documenting parent conferences and/or home visits as needed or required.
• Orient parents to classroom and attend parent group functions.
• Communicate with parents the expectation of and opportunities for their positive involvement in the program.
• Maintain a professional relationship with parents.

F. Program Management

• Maintain a clean and organized learning environment.
• Use all available resources to ensure an effective operation of the classroom.
• Immediately report all cases of suspected child abuse or neglect to the Center Director.
• Write and submit appropriate reports accurately and on time.
• Request supplies and equipment when needed and according to procedure.
• Assist in maintaining an orderly classroom.
• Report all accidents immediately to the supervisor.
• Assist in completing written lesson plans.
• Recruit volunteers and in-kind contributions.
• Participate in program wide recruitment.
• Attending all required meetings and training opportunities.
• Supervise and evaluate assigned volunteers.

G.Professionalism

• When implementing strategies for meeting the goals of the program, make decisions based on knowledge of child development theories and appropriate practices, including ECERS, CLASS, NAEYC and NCPK.
• Abide by the NAEYC Code of Ethics.
• Continuously assess skills and knowledge and in conjunction with the Center Director, plan strategies for improvement and growth.
• Actively pursue appropriate professional development opportunities which increase knowledge and skills by actively participating in in-service staff development programs, by successfully completing early childhood education courses when appropriate and by attending local, state, regional and national conferences.

Essential Qualifications

• Minimum: CDA or NCECC or EDU 119 and 6 semester hours in ECE/CD and one-year early childhood work experience.
• AA in field or out of field with 18 semester hours in ECE/CD and 2 years early childhood work experience. Bilingual (Spanish) skills are a plus.

NCPK Teachers - BS/BA degree in ECE/CD with BK preferred, BS/BA degree and actively pursuing a BK-Licensure with completion within three years.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with supervisors, children, parents, and volunteers.
• Demonstrated ability to perform effectively the duties required for the job including verbal ability to communicate, auditory capacity to respond to children and adults, visual ability to complete written assignments and physical ability to complete assignments given accommodations as required by law.
• Demonstrated willingness to actively pursue appropriate professional development opportunities.

Physical, Mental and/or Visual Demands

• Must be able to sit and stand for extended periods of time throughout the day.
• Must be able to lift up to 35 lbs.
• Must be able to bend and stoop.
• Must be able to walk extended periods throughout the day monitoring.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
• Specific vision abilities required by the job include close, distance, color, peripheral depth and the ability to adjust focus.

GenerationEd is committed to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals, including those with disabilities in accordance with ADA.

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