HISPANIC HUMAN RESOURCES COUNCIL, INC.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

TEACHER

FLSA CLASSIFICATION – NON-EXEMPT

POSITION PURPOSE

The Teacher’s role is to provide developmentally appropriate educational services to children and ensure safe and actively supervised indoor and outdoor high quality learning environments at all times. The Teacher serves as the lead teaching staff in the classroom and must ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations governing child care, Head Start, Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) and School Readiness funded programs and abide by all accreditation standards and agency policies and procedures.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Supervision / Safe and Healthy Environments

• Implement Active Supervision strategies to ensure children are safe and always supervised.
• Ensure that no child is ever left alone or unsupervised.
• Conduct and document daily health checks on children for health concerns, including ringworm, head lice, and other communicable health conditions and report findings to the Center Director.
• Respond appropriately to crisis or emergency situations that may occur.
• Release children only to individuals authorized on the child release authorization form that have provided photo identification and have appropriately signed the child out.
• Maintain an accurate count of children in care and track the current attendance throughout the day on an attendance log following agency policies and procedures.
• Establish a positive classroom climate.
• Implement effective and appropriate classroom management techniques and strategies that promotes social-emotional development, classroom productivity and manages behavior.
• Closely supervise high risk activities such as meal and snack times, diapering and toileting, art, and outdoor play activities to ensure children are safe and to prevent injuries to children.
• Maintain a clean, safe, and healthy learning environment.
• Monitor indoor and outdoor learning environments to ensure facilities are free from safety hazards and safe for children.
• Report suspected child abuse and neglect to the designated state reporting agency (Florida Abuse Hotline) and document the report on the Child Abuse Report Form following agency policy and procedures.
• Report and document all child incidents, accidents and unusual incidents following agency policy and procedures.
• Perform First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as needed.
• Maintain confidentially regarding children and families enrolled.

School Readiness, Curriculum and Assessment

• Provide high-quality positive teacher-child interactions.
• Follow a consistent schedule of effective routines, transition, and learning activities that align with the approved curriculum and is in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations and standards.
• Implement an evidence based approved curriculum using effective teaching strategies.
• Plan, develop and implement lesson plans that align with the approved curriculum, the program school readiness goals and federal and state early learning and developmental standards and are inclusive of all developmental domains.
• Set up learning environments that support the curriculum to provide developmentally appropriate learning centers and interest areas that promote school readiness across all developmental domains.
• Provide instruction using appropriate teaching practices and instructional learning formats that promote concept development, quality of feedback, language modeling and positive child outcomes.
• Promote the English Language Acquisition of children who are Dual Language Learners.
• Screen and assess children to determine developmental and educational needs, provide individualized activities and instruction to meet each child’s need and track children’s development and progress in accordance with all federal, state, and local standards and regulations.
• Conduct and document child and group observations following agency policy and procedures to appropriately assess children’s development using required and approved assessment tools (i.e., Teaching Strategies GOLD, VPK FAST Star Early Literacy, etc.)
• Assess individual and group needs, attending to specific interests, strengths and concerns.
• Use assessment data to plan individualized and group instruction.
• Conduct at least two (2) home visits and two (2) parent teacher conferences to discuss school readiness goals, review the curriculum, lesson plans and other classroom activities, review child screening and assessment results, review children’s progress, encourage and solicit parent observations, discuss any teacher and/or parent concerns, and collaborate with families on setting appropriate educational goals for children.
• Participate in child staffing and other integrated service meetings and collaborate with content area experts (Disability Coordinator, Comprehensive Services Manager, Therapists, etc.) to plan for and deliver collaborative services to ensure children’s individual needs are met.
• Analyze educational and child outcomes data to individualize instruction to meet the needs of children and improve teacher practice.

Family Engagement and Community Partnerships

• Provide an atmosphere that promotes and reinforces family and volunteer engagement.
• Support the role of families as lifelong educators.
• Build collaborative relationships and maintain regular communication with families to best meet the needs of each child and engage families in their child’s learning.
• Coordinate with the Comprehensive Services Manager, the Disability Coordinator, the Education Coordinator and the Family and Community Engagement Specialists (FACES) as needed to support the delivery of family and educational services.
• Communicate with parents regarding classroom activities, upcoming events and any relevant child information.

Performance and Quality Improvement

• Adhere to agency policies and procedures and those of licensing, accrediting, and funding agencies (National Association for the Education of Young Children, Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach, Head Start, Early Learning Coalition, Florida Voluntary Pre-K, etc.)
• Collaborate with and implement instructional support and other quality improvement strategies provided by internal and external content area experts. (Education, Behavioral and Mental Health, Disabilities, etc.)

Documentation

• Report and document suspected child abuse and neglect.
• Report and document all child incidents, accidents, and unusual incidents.
• Monitor and document classroom attendance.
• Complete and document child daily health checks.
• Complete and maintain classroom inventory to include equipment, material, toys and supplies (Food service and supplies for adequate inventory).
• Complete and/or assist with the completion of child developmental screening.
• Complete group and individualized lesson plans.
• Complete home visit and parent teacher conference documentation.
• Utilize approved tools for ongoing child assessments and documentation.
• Ensure all federal, local, state and/or agency documentation is completed accurately and on time.

Professional Development

• Complete and maintain annual Inservice Training Requirements.
• Attend and participate in trainings and appropriate professional development activities.
• Attend and participate in agency and/or Center meetings.
• Accept instructional support and feedback from coaches, technical assistance specialists and other content area experts to improve teaching practices.
• Engage in ongoing self-assessment about job performance.

ADDITIONAL JOB RESPONSIBLITIES

• Assist with breaks and food service.
• Assist with ensuring the safe transition of children with special needs on and off the bus that transports them to and from therapy services.
• Work with other staff to ensure general maintenance and security of facility.
• Assist with inventory of equipment and supplies.
• Perform other duties as requested.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Ability to establish and maintain supportive relationships with children and families.
• Ability to work with diverse groups.
• Ability to project a positive attitude and patient demeanor.
• Ability to handle sensitive family situations in a non-threatening and professional manner
• Ability to set and maintain professional boundaries with families.
• Ability to work cooperatively with staff, partners, children and families.
• Ability to problem solve and make frequent significant decisions.
• Ability to respond appropriately to an emergency or a crisis situation.
• Ability to be flexible regarding work assignments, changing demands and priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills.
• Intermediate to advanced computer skills, word processing, internet, and e-mail.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to actively supervise and monitor children at all times to ensure children’s safety and prevent injury. This includes the physical ability to move quickly in order to respond to children who are very active and may need redirection in order to ensure their safety or the safety of others.
• Ability to kneel, bend, stand, and sit on the floor to interact with children and attend to children’s needs.
• Ability to occasional lift up to 50 pounds in order to carry a child in an emergency situation or to attend to a child’s diapering or toileting needs.
• Ability to manage time effectively.
• Must be able to work independently without intensive supervision.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• An associate degree in Early Childhood Education; or an Associate’s degree with coursework equivalent to a major relating to Early Childhood Education from an accredited college or university. Transcripts are required to validate educational requirements.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Early Childhood Education; or a bachelor’s or advanced degree in a related field with coursework equivalent to a major relating to Early Childhood Education from an accredited college or university preferred.
• Completion of Part I and Part II of the DCF Introductory Child Care Training Requirements, the 5 Hour Early Literacy Training Requirement, 10 Hours Special Needs Appropriate Practices, and all state mandated Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten courses as documented on the DCF Training Transcript.
• A minimum of one (1) year work experience teaching in a preschool, Head Start or Kindergarten classroom.
• Previous Head Start/Early Head Start experience preferred.
• Certification in Pediatric First Aid/CPR within 90 days from the date of hire.
• Bilingual preferred: English and Spanish or English and other languages present in the local area.
• Successful completion of a Level II Background Screening.

NOTE: Employee must successfully complete a Level II background screening prior to hiring.

CULTURAL SENSITIVITY STATEMENT

Work with multi-cultural individuals and groups in achieving the Hispanic Human Resources Council’s mission and objectives and be sensitive to each individual and group cultural and socioeconomic characteristics.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP

The Teacher reports to the Center Director.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $14.00 - $20.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Work Location: In person