Instructional Support Coach Pre- K

JOB TITLE:   Instructional Support Coach PreK                      

 STATUS:     Full Time

FLSA STATUS: Exempt 

CUSTOMARY HOURS:  Varies 7am to 5:30pm

HOURS/WEEK:  40     

DEPARTMENT:   Early Childhood

DIRECT SUPERVISOR:  Senior Director of Early Learning Programs

Mission

As stewards of the Vincentian spirit, employees of Marillac St. Vincent Family Services are committed to strengthening and empowering those most in need to reach their greatest potential.  We fulfill our mission through quality programs for children, teens, families, seniors and homeless.

Core Values

Our employees commit themselves as individuals to live out the core values of integrity, excellence, creativity, advocacy, respect, and empowerment in our daily work, as we serve the needs of others.

Integrity - Acting with transparency, humility, and honesty.

Excellence - Providing quality care with compassion.

Creativity - Being continuously resourceful and inventive.

Advocacy - Supporting the cause of those who lack resources for a reasonable quality of life

Respect - Recognizing our own value and upholding the dignity and value of all people

             Empowerment - Providing skills and resources to achieve full human development.

Team Behaviors

1. Versatility – Understanding and appreciating different and opposing perspectives on an issue; adapting one’s approach as the requirements of the situation change; an eagerness for positive action; self-control; active listening.
2. A collaborative work model – Cooperatively working and sharing responsibility; contributing to the group effort; realizing a sense of commitment and ownership in the success of the organization’s goals. 
3. Mutual accountability – Holds others accountable with their roles; provides and receives feedback and takes constructive action.
4. Client/customer advocate – Identifies opportunities to improve quality of services; presents one’s self professionally.
5. Protects confidentiality & privacy – Respects and protects information about all staff and clients.

1. Ensure a high-quality program that represents best practices in PreK care & education and meets the standards of Illinois Licensing, NAEYC, DFSS, DCFS, and ExceleRate. 
2. Review lesson plans and provide teachers with feedback and recommendations.
3. Provide coaching to master teachers, teachers, and teacher assistants.
4. Orientated new teachers to classroom practices.  
5. Observe weekly in the classrooms:
   •  assess staff performance and the quality of the curriculum program.
   •  model appropriate behaviors
   •  resolve conflicts, demonstrate reflective problem-solving. 
   • provide hands on assistance, recognition, and feedback.
6. Support peer observation and learning between sites and classrooms.
7. Oversee professional development for staff including conducting a:
   • program meeting once per month, 
   • offering, or scheduling professional development workshops as needed to support each teacher’s annual goals and areas of improvement for classroom practices.
8.  Attend funders education coordinators meetings, professional conferences and workshops as designated by Program Site Director or Senior Director of Early Childhood 
9. Collaborate with diverse Learner coordinator to ensure that the push in model in classroom is a response to challenging behavior.
10. Support classroom teams in coordinating and implementing research-based interventions for academic and behavior success.
11. Act with integrity and aspire to model our Core Values in the delivery of all services.

Duties & Responsibilities

Communication

• Ability to facilitate group discussion on reflective practice.
• Ability to give feedback verbally and written around classroom practice.
• Ability to facilitate individual crucial conversations to impact practice.
• Ability to facilitate data dialogue with classroom team to improve classroom practice and outcome data.

Coaching

• Coach for all classroom teachers in the classroom and create an individual coaching plan.
• Engage education staff in individual and group reflective coaching to all teachers based upon the coaching plan that was created to discuss observations and develop a plan to strengthen challenging areas and build on areas of strength.
• Model developmentally appropriate practice for Master, Teacher and Assistant Teachers
• Coaching responsibility including:
  • Complete and execute collaborative staff goal setting and implementation.
• Goal setting includes:

• Strengthening teacher child interactions, curriculum development, child assessments, observation, and documentation, integrating content through studies and partnering with families.
• Review staff goals quarterly, develop new goals (if applicable), and provide feedback and guidance.
• Meet once a month with classroom team to provide feedback and guidance.

Administration

• Work Collaboratively with site management team to ensure classroom ratio, licensing, funding and educational requirement so teaching staff. 
• Ensure all required program documentation is completed accurately and submitted in a timely manner.
• Monitor and ensure that daily attendance and meal participation reports are completed.
• Ensure all confidential information is protected.
• Work collaboratively with Assistant Director and Director to assess strengths, challenges and develop goals annually for infant toddler teaching staff.   
• Maintain accurate documentation on staff: coaching plans, data dialogues, team meetings and classroom observations.
• Complete monthly classroom observations for PreK  classrooms and provide feedback to individual and classroom teams using CLASS assessment tool.
• Attend each classroom team meeting monthly to observe planning and provide feedback on activity planning based on TSG and CLASS data   

Child Development

• Ensure that all PreK teachers are observing, assessing and documenting each child’s health, skills, behavior, growth and development.
• Ensure that all PreK teachers provide opportunities for the children to develop positive self-images and experience success.
• Ensure that all PreK teachers have developed and incorporated individualized educational activities into the lesson plan for each child.
• Ensure that staff is incorporating new curriculum goals & objectives to fit children's age-appropriate physical, social, educational, and emotional needs by keeping abreast of funders and state-wide curriculum an initiative.

Curriculum

• Ensure that all PreK teachers plan and implement developmentally appropriate classroom activities which will promote the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of each child.
• Ensure that all PreK teachers work collaboratively as a team to develop lesson plans with goals, objectives activities, and outcomes for children that integrate health, nutrition, mental health, diverse learners, and parent involvement into the plans.
• Work collaboratively with PreK teachers and site management team to implement and assess the program’s educational plan.
• Work collaboratively with PreK teachers and support staff to integrate assessment results into curriculum and lesson planning.
• Support and model classroom teams in coordinating and implementing research-based interventions for academic and behavioral success (SAIG)
• Identify resources and materials that will support instructional quality and integrate them into program practice.
  • Order supplies, purchase classroom equipment/materials, and monitor budget usage to support curriculum plan. 
  • Ensure regular rotation of materials within classrooms. 
• Work collaboratively with teaching staff to plan and schedule onsite and offsite fieldtrips for classroom including calendar of events, securing fees and transportation arrangements.

Data & Assessments:

• Ensure that all assessments are completed and submitted in a timely manner!
• Ensure that parents receive assessment results in a timely manner.
• Ensure that all rescreens and refer assessments are followed up on in a timely manner.
• Ensure that weekly classroom data is be enter into system in a timely manner.
• Ensure that classroom team has data dialogue to be able to complete quarterly data analysis with fidelity.
• Administer screening or pre/post testing as needed to inform classroom practice.
• Ensure classroom completes and submits quarterly data analysis in a timely manner. 
• Ensure that staff complete all TSG trainings in a timely manner, entering documentation and checkpoints with fidelity and maintaining child education and disabilities files.
• Ensure that all Infant toddler staff complete ASQ & ASQ-SE screenings and inform parents of results.
• Ensure classroom staff is compiling information for the TSG analysis of data to inform practices. 
• Input classroom data into appropriate information systems.
• Ability to analyze and aggregate data to analyze to provide staff with suggestions on site training and technical support for classroom team to impact practice.

Classroom Environment

• Ensure that classroom team maintain a clean and safe environment by organizing classroom supplies, monitoring the care of equipment, playroom, playgrounds, and buses. Make necessary requisition for repairs and follow up on job completion.
• Ensure that PreK teachers establish and maintain a classroom environment which includes positive guidance techniques that meets state and local licensing regulations, NAEYC performance standards and Marillac St. Vincent’s philosophy and curriculum.
• Ensure that all infant toddler teachers establish and create a secure environment that invites learning through exploration and discovery.  
• Ensure that active supervision of children is always practiced within the classrooms, outside, neighborhood walks and fieldtrips.
• Ensure that all infant toddler teachers care for equipment and materials. 

Parent Involvement

• In coordination with site management team and infant toddler teachers ensure that: 

• Parent and teacher conferences are completed and documented for each child
• Encourage and provide opportunities for parent participation in the program.
• Encourage family engagement, including quarterly Family Engagement Events.
• Work collaboratively with diverse learner coordinator, family support and parents to create home/ school positive behavior plans.
• Ensure proper documentation and coordinate staffings support, and continued adjustment of strategies for children with differing abilities and disabilities in conjunction with Family Support Staff. 

Professional Development

• Attend all teacher required meetings and trainings, including preservice, mentoring and coaching cohorts.
• Regularly participate and make contributions at teacher meetings, trainings, supervision, weekly team meetings; etc.
• Complete a minimal of (20) Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) annually (5- gateway approved) to meet DCFS and quality rating standards.
• Maintain professional development records for DCFS and NAEYC Accreditation standards.   
• Identify professional development opportunities offered by funders, regional professional development providers and others that align to teaching staff goals and needs.

Performs other duties as assigned within the scope of the job description.

• Track the utilization of materials, recommends supplies, equipment and supplies needed for program.
• Provide classroom coverage as needed to ensure teacher, child ratios.
• Provide recommendations in the evaluations and coaching of Teacher Assistants.

• Perform other duties related to the job (including but not limited to interviewing prospective new staff; coordinating special projects; planning strategies for moving children; providing back-up coverage for Assistant Director and Program Site Director)

Job Requirements

Education & Credentials

• Bachelor's degree in early childhood education or child development, or relevant field
• Maintain status as a certified Infant Toddler and PreK CLASS Assessor
• Gateways Early Childhood Education Credential Level 5 and Infant Toddler Credential Level 5 required.

Experience

• Minimum 3-5 years’ experience  children 3 to 5 years of age  in a high quality center; 
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in a role Supervising or Coaching/Mentoring teachers; Proficiency with Creative Curriculum and Teaching Strategies Gold. 
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience working with TS GOLD, analyzing, and aggregating gold data

Qualifications

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills verbal.   
• Ability to foster and work in a team approach.   
• Able to participate in/chaperone all classroom and Child Care program related outings including recreational activities. 
• Requires emotional maturity, respect and patience for children to: model appropriate behavior and contribute to each child's physical, intellectual, social, emotional and developmental needs. 
•  Able to attend to physical need of children. 
•  Capable of providing for physical safety of active (infant/toddler, preschool, school- age) children in her/his care.  Computer skill, software management skills.

Language

Must be able to read and write in English at a level sufficient to successfully perform required duties and understand and carry out both oral and written instructions in an independent manner.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.  
2. Possess the ability to fulfill and any all-office activities normally expected in an office setting, to include, but not limited to: remaining seated for periods of time to perform computer entry, participating in filing activity, lifting and carrying office supplies (paper reams, mail, etc.)
3. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move approximately 30 pounds without assistance. 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Student Classroom
2. Playground outside
3. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud