Description

Job Overview

Responsible for providing a safe, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate environment that promotes each child’s cognitive, social, emotional, health, and physical development. Develop individualized educational goals for each child and assess each child’s outcomes to monitor evolving progress, and the use of various teaching strategies with an emphasis on language and literacy skills to meet the needs of each individual child. Maintaining a high-quality environment with attention to safety and health prevention measures for infants, toddlers, and twos at all times. 

Job Responsibilities

• Be familiar with and adhere to the Head Start Program Performance Standards, State of Texas Child Care Licensing requirements, and NAEYC regulations.
• Conduct daily screenings and assessments using Cognitive Toy Box Assessments, ASQs, and the AVANCE PCEP Framework tools, and conduct home visits as needed.                                                                
• Maintain a 1 Teacher to 4 Child ratios at all times with no more than 8 infants and or toddlers in a classroom. 
• Ensures all policies and procedures are followed when changing diapers for infants and toddlers.
• Maintain an open, friendly, professional relationship with all staff and families, to include respect for culture, diversity, and ethnicity.
• Plan and implement developmentally appropriate activities that promote children’s learning in literacy, language, cognitive, social/emotional, and physical/health development on a weekly basis and follow classroom daily schedule.
• Implement “best practices” approaches and learning materials.
• Establish positive, caring and nurturing relationships with children.
• Use a variety of strategies to flexibly group children for the purposes of instruction, promoting children’s development, supporting collaboration among children, and building a caring community of active enthusiastic learners.
• Use different teaching strategies to ensure every child is successful in the classroom, by providing a balance of large group, small group, and teacher-directed, child-initiated activities that promote exploration, inquiry, creativity, and independence.
• Conduct daily child observations and quarterly developmental assessments to collect information on individual children’s learning and progress.
• Plan individualized approaches to promote each child’s learning and development.
• Communicate with parents regarding children’s progress on a regular basis, both informally and formally.
• Encourage parents to be involved in the curriculum through weekly family activities, classroom volunteering and attending monthly parent meetings, where they will be able learn more about the curriculum and give staff feedback and suggestions on center and classroom activities.
• Conduct family-style meals, serves to promote good nutrition and food safety practices.
• Attend IFSP meetings, which result in incorporating IFSPs in the lesson plans.
• Report suspected neglect, abuse, medical conditions/illnesses to immediate supervisor.
• Report to work on time and work a flexible schedule when necessary, ensuring the needs of the children are met.
• Encourage and maintain hygiene in children.
• Ensure the classroom is organized and classroom equipment and materials are clean for the children to use.
• Attend workshops and trainings as scheduled by supervisor.
• Give directions to classroom volunteers.
• Supervise children at all times.
• May transport equipment, supplies, and materials in own vehicle.
• Attend and participate in staff meetings as scheduled and reports accordingly.
• Able to travel for business-related activities.
• Perform any other tasks as assigned.

Education

Required: 

• High School Diploma or GED from an accredited program with an Education Agreement to complete the CDA within 18 months.

Work Experience

Preferred:

• Six (6) months’ experience working in an infant and toddler setting. 

Additional Skills 

• CPR and First Aid Training.
• Must be computer literate, and have proficient working knowledge of assigned databases, software, and systems.
• Must have interpersonal and team-building skills.
• Spanish fluency is helpful, but not required.
• Strong organizational skills that reflect the ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail.
• Strong verbal and written communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Must have dependable transportation daily, a valid driver’s license, a clean driving record, current auto liability insurance, and be bondable by AVANCE, San Antonio, Inc.

Disclaimer(s)

This is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements or working conditions. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. Nothing in this job description forms or is intended to form a contract of employment. Neither shall the content in this job description be interpreted to conflict with, or to eliminate or modify in any way, the “at will” employment status of AVANCE San Antonio employees. Employment remains on an “at-will” basis.

Travel 

0-5% annually on average, mostly local.  

Equipment  

Computer, computer software programs and peripherals, resource materials and equipment, copier, fax, and other equipment applicable to the position.   

Working Conditions  

Mental and Physical Demands  

Maintain emotional control under stress; work with interruptions and deadlines; walking, standing, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing, use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; occasional: lifting/carrying, pulling/pushing 10-30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Environmental Factors  

AVANCE is committed to equal opportunity in employment for persons with disabilities and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, and any other applicable state and federal laws. Accordingly, AVANCE does not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities regarding application, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, training or other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Moreover, it is AVANCE’s policy to provide reasonable accommodations in employment to qualified individuals with disabilities so that they can perform the essential functions of the job, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of AVANCE’s business or would change the essential functions of the position. Retaliation against an individual with a disability for utilizing this policy or seeking a reasonable accommodation is prohibited.  Individuals with any questions or requests for accommodation should contact the Human Resources Department. 

AVANCE values diversity and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law. It is also our goal to employ and advance in employment women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, and to treat qualified individuals without discrimination based on their physical or mental disability or veteran status.

Qualifications