Early Head Start/Head Start Associate Teacher

About the role

Project Eagle is an early childhood program focused on preparing children, engaging families, and promoting excellence for children and families in Kansas City, Kansas. Project Eagle provides home-based and center-based services to pregnant women and/or children ages birth to five through a variety of programs, the largest being Early Head Start. Project Eagle is also a member of the Educare Learning Network, part of a national initiative that serves as a platform for broader change, inspiring high-quality programs in communities, improving public policies within each state, and demonstrating a comprehensive approach to the first five years of life and learning.

Responsibilities

• Ensure children safety by maintaining a clean, healthy, and safe classroom environment, by conducting authorized emergency and safety procedures, and actively supervising children at all times.
• Plan and implement developmentally appropriate classroom activities and environment that intentionally support the developmental and educational goals of children’s individual education plans utilizing the High Scope Curriculum in conjunction with the co-teacher 1 and teacher aide.
• Support children to develop positive social relationships, provide opportunities for children to develop positive self-images and experience success, and help children develop conflict resolution skills utilizing Conscious Discipline.
• Utilize the continuity of care model to support children and families to develop safe, secure attachments.
• Partner with families to build mutually respectful goal-oriented relationships that support strong parent-child relationships, family well-being, and ongoing learning and development for both parents and children.
• Interact with families through regular classroom contact and contribute to and participate in interdisciplinary meetings, child and family reviews, family conferences and home visits to develop individual child goals, share progress towards school readiness, and respond to their identified interests and/or needs.
• Provide monthly classroom family engagement activities based on the interests of the children and families.
• Ensure the timely completion of necessary paperwork including developmental assessments, lesson plans, parent information, incident/accident report, attendance, USDA meal counts, etc.)
• Observe, assess, and document each child’s skills, behavior, growth and development. Assess student needs and develop individualized learning opportunities for each child.
• Understand the referral process to Part B and Part C and alert interdisciplinary team when student screenings or assessments show areas of concern.
• Utilize classroom and school data to improve teaching practice, provide a high-quality early learning experience for children, and ensure school readiness.
• Ensure that all child files and portfolios are complete, accurate, and confidentially maintained.
• Collaborate with coworkers during team planning sessions and support of implementation of best practices in the classroom.
• Participate in ongoing professional development, coaching and reflective supervision activities and support the implementation of changes in classroom practice to promote high quality instruction.
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team to provide support for families with unique backgrounds and various needs.

Qualifications

• Education: Meet one of the following educational requirements: Associate degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, or closely related fieldDegree in an unrelated field with at least 9 early childhood credits and willingness to complete further education to complete a total of 30 Early Childhood education credits within 3 years.CDA or Early childhood certificate and 12 early childhood credits and 2 years experience and willingness to complete further education to complete an Associate degree within 3 years.
• Work Experience: 1 year experience in early childhood education

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, or closely related field
• Work Experience: Experience working in an Early Head Start Center-based program.Experience working as a part of a multidisciplinary team to provide high quality, developmentally appropriate care and education for young children.Experience working with early intervention and children with special needs. Experience implementing curriculum.Experience using assessment data for instructional purposes and using assessment tools to measure children’s development.Experience with research partnerships.Knowledge of Head Start Performance Standards as demonstrated by application materials.

Skills

• Interpersonal skills.
• Communication skills.
• Computer skills.

Benefits

A comprehensive benefits package is offered, including coverage begins on day one for health, dental, and vision insurance and includes health expense accounts with generous employer contributions if the employee participates in a qualifying health plan. Employer-paid life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and various additional voluntary insurance plans are available. Paid time off, including vacation and sick, begins accruing upon hire, plus ten paid holidays. One paid discretionary day is available after six months of employment, and paid time off for bereavement, jury duty, military service, and parental leave is available after 12 months of employment. A retirement program with a generous employer contribution and additional voluntary retirement programs (457 or 403b) are available.