POSITION SUMMARY:
Date application must be received for priority consideration by: July 5, 2024
Anticipated Appointment Begin Date: August 25, 2024
Closing Date or if blank, Open Until Filled:
Job Family Group: Support Staff
Support Staff Classification Title: Early Childhood Associate Teacher
Division/Department: Academic Affairs/Education
Compensation Range (commensuration with experience): $17.80-$19.29/hourly or $3,085-$3,344 mothly @ 1.0 FTE
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Appointment Basis: 10-month
Time Type: Full-time
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Renewable/Non-renewable/Grants/Limited Duration: Renewable
This position must possess and maintain a current, valid Driver License: No
This position is designated as a critical, security-sensitive or safety-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a Criminal Background Check: Yes
Remote Work Type: On-campus
Work Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 am to 3:30 pm
Worker Status: Must be able to legally work in the United States without visa sponsorship
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANT:

• Each applicant is required to provide (as attachments to the online application) the following supplemental documents: (1) a letter providing some detail of the applicant's qualifications and interest in the position; and (2) current resume/CV
• For inquiries and additional information, please contact Human Resource Services via email at hrs@sou.edu or by phone at (541)552-8553.
• To view SOU's very generous benefits and pension programs available to eligible positions, please visit https://inside.sou.edu/assets/hrs/Benefits/Benefit_Flyer/2024_Prospective_Candidate_Benefit_Overview_012024.pdf
• Our benefits package is an important complement to the offered salary and our Total Compensation Calculator, https://inside.sou.edu/hrs/comp-calc.html, demonstrates our value and commitment to our employees.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:
Teach preschool and provide assistance to families in understanding and accessing community resources available to support children and families.
Minimum Requirements

• Associate's degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development from a recognized program; OR
• a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential; OR
• a minimum of twenty semester hours (thirty quarter hours) of college courses in Early Childhood Education or Child Development; AND one year of experience in a certified day care center or comparable group care program; OR
• two years of experience, including at least one year as a teacher, in a certified day care center or comparable group child care program.

Preferred Requirements

• Additional 20 semester hours (thirty quarter hours) of coursework in Early Childhood Education AND
• Three years of experience in a certified early care and education program or comparable group early care program.

Understand and utilize:

• Piaget's Schema theory
• Theory of Loose Parts
• Fredrich Froebel
• Rhoda Kellogg's classification system of children's graphic expressions, and
• Others whose work recognizes the inner life of children.

Essential Functions
Duties - The following examples are typical work activities that are meant to illustrate the general range of work functions and are not meant to be all-inclusive or restrictive:
(55%) Duties Include

• Facilitate children's learning as a teacher in the preschool classroom. This includes helping oversee all daily activities in the classroom; observing and interacting with children individually as well as in large and small groups; connecting with parents and caregivers; assisting with supervising any students and/or volunteers who are working in the classroom; and making sure that each child is safe, comfortable and secure while under our care

(70%) CLASSROOM AND PROGRAM DUTIES (Regular & Summer Programs)

• Develop innovative, developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive curriculum that aligns with the program's mission, values, and goals.
• Coordinate with teaching philosophies and practices of the SOU Teacher
• Education Program. [Program mission is the priority.]
• Facilitate children's explorations and play in a holistic manner in the preschool classroom.

(20%) CLERICAL DUTIES (Regular & Summer Programs)

• Assist the Director in developing innovative, developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive curriculum in alignment with the teaching philosophies and practices of the SOU Teacher Education Program.
• Assist in maintaining Facebook account as designated by Director.
• Assist in practicum oversight. Delegate cleaning and supervision duties.
• Keep child records updated, as well as maintain daily rolls and schedules.
• Keep emergency information and notebook updated.
• Assist with the beginning of school year enrollment.

(5%) STUDENT SUPPORT (Regular & Summer Programs)

• To provide time outside of the preschool classroom to meet with and give feedback to University students participating in the program

(5%) Other Duties as Assigned
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Excellent communication skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner, both verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated customer service experience requiring a very high level of diplomacy and professionalism to effectively handle a broad range of sensitive interpersonal situations.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and consistently apply a wide variety of complex policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist.
• Expressed ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures, under pressure of deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and research skills; demonstrated ability to gather, evaluate, and to develop well-reasoned conclusions and recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems.
• Great ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information. Must be able to exercise sound judgment and discretion, tact, and diplomacy.
• Takes initiative in independently planning, organizing, and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters
• Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the demonstrated ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and time-sensitive deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
• Willingness to and work effectively in a heavily bureaucratic environment which requires regular interaction with a number of levels within the organization and multiple outside agencies.
• Working knowledge or ability to quickly learn, university infrastructure, policies, and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to provide training and direction to student assistants.
• Demonstrated skills in an institutional/educational environment utilizing a customer-oriented and service-centered attitude.

Physical Demands

• Classroom activities that would include standing, sitting, bending, and stooping.
• Must be able to sit on the floor for periods of time.
• Must be able to get up off the floor with ease.
• Must be able to sit in child-size chairs.
• Must be able to see and hear children at all times.
• Must be able to run after children.

Special Conditions

• Must be willing to travel and attend training programs off-site for occasional professional development.
• Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis.
• Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check.
• This position classification has been defined as non-exempt and is subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• The person holding this position is considered a mandatory reporter under the Oregon Revised Statutes and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

SOU is an equal access AA/EOE committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Southern Oregon University will provide, if requested, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of accommodation in order to provide access to the application, interviewing, and selection process. You are not required to note the presence of a disability on this application. If, however, you require a reasonable accommodation in the application and/or interview process due to disability, requests must be made in a timely manner to Human Resources.
Diversity Statement:
Southern Oregon University is a welcoming community committed to inclusive excellence and the celebration of diversity. Without diversity, our educational process is diminished. Working together in support of our commitment to diversity, we strengthen and enrich our role as learners, educators and members of a tightly connected global community. We encourage those who share in our commitment to diversity, to join our community and we expect all our employees to demonstrate an ability and desire to create an inclusive campus community.
SOU Land Acknowledgement
We want to take this moment to acknowledge that Southern Oregon University is located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid Euro-American colonization, the Gold Rush, and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s, discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of Euro-Americans to their lands, leading to warfare, epidemics, starvation, and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed, confederating these Tribes and others together - who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States, and in return they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (https://www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (https://www.ctsi.nsn.us/) are living descendants of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples of this area. We [you may say I or the name of a program/department] encourage YOU to learn about the land you reside on, and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.
Notice to Prospective Employees
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act, and The Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (now referred to as the "Clery Act"), require that prospective employees be notified of the availability of SOU's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report provides the annual statistics and campus policies for the reporting of and responding to campus crimes and fires; access to campus facilities; conduct code and campus policies on the use, possession, and sale of drugs/alcohol; and educational/information programs to inform the campus community about campus security procedures and crime prevention.
An electronic copy of the Annual Security Report (ASR)can be accessed at the following link:
https://inside.sou.edu/security/statistics.html . A physical copy of the ASR is available at no charge upon request. To request a copy please visit the Campus Public Safety Office at 382 Wightman Street, Ashland OR 97520. For more information call 541-552-6258, or email clerycoordinator@sou.edu .