Head Start Assistant Teacher

Description

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with diverse individuals, including children, families, co-workers, and staff in related agencies and the general public.
• Demonstrate an entry-level knowledge of child development, developmentally appropriate activities, and some skills in child behavior management.
• Assist in maintaining a clean, safe, and positive classroom environment that facilitates respect, active learning, group management, self-expression, cultural responsibility, child-initiated learning; assist in providing an atmosphere that promotes and reinforces parental involvement.
• In collaboration with Teacher and parents, assist in planning and preparing for developmentally appropriate learning activities for children, in accordance with the program curriculum.
• Assist in following a consistent schedule and providing planned activities which make possible children’s interactions with materials, with other children and with adults.
• Assist in preparing classroom materials prior to the children’s arrival to support lesson plans; assist in adapting and changing learning centers and rotation materials, to address and meet individual and group needs.
• Under the supervision of the Teacher, assist in preparing and conducting parent conferences and home visits, utilizing child’s progress information to implement and individual plan for education (IPE) for each child that includes educational goals with strategies for school and for home aiding parent understanding in how to work with their child.
• Assist the teacher in assessing development and learning readiness of children using assigned tools; join the teacher in collaborating with parents, other program staff, and community agencies to plan and carry out an individual plan for a child, as needed, to meet child’s special needs at school and at home.
• Under the guidance of the teacher, assist in preparing and maintaining required paperwork: lesson plans, daily observations of children (anecdotal records), children’s education records, attendance reports, medication log, meal counts, health checks, contact sheets, and other documents and records.
• Assist the teacher in combining health, nutrition, social services, and parent involvement component goals into the planning activities for children and families.
• Assist the teacher in finding community resources to enhance the program operation for children and families; assist in promoting the benefit for Head Start and early education to community organizations, including school districts and business leaders.
• Assist in carrying out regular health observations to insure children are well and have no contagious diseases and to check for signs of abuse or neglect, with the assistance of the teacher, report suspicious of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse or neglect.
• Serve as a role model and mentor for parent and community volunteers by performing job duties in accordance with program curriculum, Head Start Performance Standards, and agency policy and procedures.
• Actively participate in developing and carrying out an individualized continuing education plan to learn and grow professionally in the field of early childhood and child development; pursue learning opportunities offered inside the agency and in the community; attend required trainings offered by Head Start and Community Progress Council including cross-training in order to perform a number of processes within the program.