Lead Teacher EHS (Westlake)

About the role

MAAC STORY
Since 1965, MAAC has been maximizing self-sufficiency with families and individuals through high-quality programs and advocacy in our communities.

Department/Program Description
Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) are comprehensive federally funded school-readiness programs for low-income and special needs children that promote parents as the primary educator of the child.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a primary care giver to assigned infants/toddlers to provide respectful individualized care for infants and toddlers including feeding, diapering and holding.
• Assists with assigning children to primary care group and planning of individualized transitions into care.
• Partners with parents in order to provide consistent and culturally sensitive care through daily communication, as well as scheduled home visits and parent conferences.
• Responsible for planning and implementing age appropriate individual and small group activities including both daily indoor and outdoor activities.
• Responsible for the set-up, tear down and clean-up of indoor and outdoor play spaces. Maintains clean and sanitized eating, diapering, and napping areas and equipment.
• Responsible for assuring preparation and serving of meals and snacks according to individual feeding plans.
• Responsible for accurately documenting care and developmental activities on individual daily records and on record keeping documents for each child.
• Responsible for accurate attendance and meal counts.
• Lifts, carries, and holds children weighing 25 – 50 lbs.
• Responsible for scheduling and completing home visits at times convenient to parents; developing Individual Child Plans and Family Development Plans for each child and family at Phase In, and updating the plans at least 3 times during the school year.
• Affords assistance with personalized services for special needs children (specialized training and equipment provided as needed).
• Attends mandated trainings, programs, conferences, and meetings.

Qualifications and Skills

• Knowledge of: Knowledge of early childhood education, child development, anti-bias education
• Knowledge of local educational and community resources and their ability to be used in the classroom
• Knowledge of bilingual language acquisition
• Knowledge of Head Start policies and procedures desirable
• Bilingual (English / Spanish) speaking, reading, and writing preferred

Education/Experience/Certification

• Lead Teacher: High School Diploma or GED, Twelve (12) units in Early Childhood Education (ECE), including core units required, and three (3) units in infant/toddler course work. One (1) year experience with children 0-3 years old in a child care setting.
• Lead Teacher I: AA Degree with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education or Child Development with a minimum of twenty-four (24) units in Early Childhood Education (ECE), including core units required, and three (3) units in infant/toddler course work. One (1) year experience with children 0-3 years old in a child care setting.
• Lead Teacher II: BA Degree with emphasis in Early Childhood Education or Child Development that would require a minimum of 24 units in Early Childhood Education or Child Development including core units required, and three (3) units in infant/toddler course work. One (1) year experience with children 0-3 years old in a child care setting. Completion of supervised student teaching OR experience teaching preschool age children.

Value-based Behaviors

• Listens attentively to others. Asks clarifying questions to gain a better understanding of the other person’s views and underlying assumptions
• Works effectively in a team environment and actively participates in joint problem solving; willingly cooperates with co-workers
• Identifies and takes advantage of opportunities for personal and professional development
• Attends work consistently and punctually. Arrives to meetings prepared and on time; honors work commitments; follows through on what was agreed upon; meets deadlines
• Honors the private and confidential matters of co-workers. Protects the proprietary information of MAAC systems
• Fulfills all rules, regulations, and policies; positively contributes to implementing changes
• Focuses on resolving the issue while not criticizing the person

Physical and Mental Demands

• While performing the duties of this class, an employee is regularly required to stand, walk and sit, talk or hear both in person and by telephone, uses hands to finger, handle or feel objects or controls, reach with hands and arms. An employee also is regularly required to stoop, kneel, bend, crouch or crawl, climb or balance and lift up to 50 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, color vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• Mental demands while performing the duties of this class, the employee is regularly required to use written and oral communication skills; read and interpret information; analyze and solve problems; observe and interpret people and situations; use basic math; learn and apply new information or skills; work under intensive deadlines and interact with MAAC management, administrators, staff, teachers, parents, family members, children and others encountered in the course of work.

Background Clearance

All positions are subject to a background/education check, DMV check, NSOR, exclusion and debarment checks prior to hire and periodically throughout employment as required by various funding sources.

Transportation

Must have and maintain a valid California Driver’s License, daily use of a personal, insured vehicle, and have and maintain a motor vehicle driving record acceptable to MAAC’s insurance carrier. Incumbents will be enrolled in the California DMV Pull Program.