Lead Preschool Teacher

Position Summary

The Preschool Lead Child Care Teacher is responsible for guiding and instructing children through creative planning and implementation of a developmentally appropriate daily program of activities promoting each child's affective, cognitive, physical, perceptual-motor, communicative and social competence. The position involves the close supervision of the Assistant Teacher enhancing a team teaching approach to ensure the safe and healthful care and management of children in a nurturing environment. Involvement includes maintaining contact and open communication with parents, program staff and community resources.

Demonstrates Appropriate Interactions with Children

• Interacts frequently with children showing affection, interest, and respect.
• Makes self available and is responsive to children.
• Speaks with children in a friendly, courteous manner.
• Talks with individual children, and encourages children of all ages to use language.
• Treats children of all races, religions, family backgrounds, and cultures equally with respect and consideration.
• Provides all children with equal opportunities to take part in all activities.
• Encourages independence in children, as they are ready.
• Uses positive approaches to help children behave constructively.
• Refrains from use of physical punishment or negative discipline methods that hurt, frighten or humiliate children.
• Helps children deal with anger, sadness and frustration by comforting, identifying, reflecting feelings, and helping children use words to solve their problems.
• Encourage prosocial behavior in children such as cooperating, helping taking turns, talking to solve problems.
• Establishes And Maintains a Safe And Healthful Learning Environment

• Maintains an efficient, well-arranged classroom including interest areas that provide direction and a sense of organization.
• Keeps equipment and materials in good repair and stored in a safe, orderly fashion.
• Keeps equipment and materials sanitized and clean.
• Provides materials and activities appropriate for the children's developmental progress and individual learning styles.
• Implements a well-established positive routine adapted to the needs of children.
• Encourages daily health routines with children including tooth brushing and hand washing.
• Provides adequate supervision ensuring the safety of active children.
• Plans emergency procedures, maintains emergency information and initiates emergency action when necessary.

Advances Children's Physical and Intellectual Competence

• Promotes language understanding and use in an appropriate atmosphere (flannel-board, puppets, songs, story records, etc.).
• Provides opportunities for development of cognitive skills and awareness of concepts.
• Promotes physical development of children (large and small muscles).
• Attends to the physical needs of the children by providing a pleasant rest time daily.
• Provides a variety of opportunities for creative expression (dramatic play, movement, art, music, language, etc.).
• Plays a multi-sensory classroom environment (activities for visual, auditory, tactile development, etc.).

Supports Children's Social-Emotional Development and Provides Positive Guidance

• Provides children with opportunities for success through individual, small group and large group activities, including free play.
• Involves children in all phases of self-help training (dressing, toileting, eating, etc.).
• Utilizes appropriate group management techniques.
• Eats with children modeling proper table manners and sharing the same menu.
• Includes multi-cultural and multi-ethnic materials, displays and activities in curri ulum input.
• Provides educational opportunities through individualized hands-on food experiences that integrate curriculum areas into nutrition (reading readiness, science, math, language, etc.).
• Provides guidance in nutritional experiences including family-style meals (self-service, passing, pouring, table setting, table cleaning, etc.).

Establishes Positive and Productive Communication with Families

• Maintains contact with parents through calendars, verbal and written communication, phone calls, posted information, etc.
• Involves parents in the education plan for their children by sharing individualized developmental information (parent-teacher conferences).
• Provides opportunities for parents to participate in program planning and classroom activities (fundraisers, party donations, game loans, etc.).
• Speaks with families in a friendly, courteous, and respectful manner.

Evaluates Each Child and Conducts Formal Observations as Required

• Evaluates each child and conducts formal observations as required.
• Plans developmental goals for each child through the uses of daily curriculum, individualized objectives and long range goals.
• Carry out Individual Education Plans for special needs children, when appropriate.
• Evaluates the success of the plans.
• Maintains accurate, up-to-date records (children's files, time sheets attendance, meal participation forms, inventories, etc.).
• Plans, organizes, reports and participates in educational field trips.
• Makes referrals to appropriate community agencies.