Preschool Teacher - Head Start

About the role

Working at MWVCAA means becoming part of a mission-driven community dedicated to equity, dignity, and opportunity for all. As a Preschool Teacher, you will work in partnership with Teacher Assistants and Classroom Aides to promote the growth of preschool children in social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development. This role involves engaging families in every aspect of their child's education and facilitating parent involvement. The team offers growth opportunities and professional development through hands-on experience and education. This is a benefitted full-time position with a hiring incentive of $1,500.00.

Responsibilities

• Classroom
  • Ensures safety in the classroom at all times with active supervision of children, utilizing transition and counting procedures.
  • Ensures children are released only to parents/guardians or authorized adults.
  • Records children’s daily attendance and works with the site team to determine the cause of absences.
  • Provides for the development of children’s cognitive, physical, social-emotional, and language skills through curriculum implementation, lesson planning, and individualization.
  • Conducts developmental and social-emotional screenings for each child, with input from parents, and provides follow-up resources or referrals for identified needs.
• Office/Paperwork
  • Uses ChildPlus and applicable databases to enter or obtain information.
  • Completes regular child assessments using observations and shares information with program administration and parents.
  • Conducts a minimum of two home visits and two education conferences per year.
• Staff Development/Meetings
  • Attends classes, workshops, seminars, pre-service training, and other Head Start Teacher trainings to stay current on early childhood education and developmentally appropriate practices.
  • Participates in meetings including individual reflection, region, site team, debriefing after observations, IFSP, Skill-Building Plan, and other necessary meetings.
• Parent Involvement
  • Provides regular opportunities for parent participation by training parents who volunteer in the classroom.
  • Participates in planning and implementing monthly parent meetings.
  • Participates in classroom orientations at the beginning of the school year.

This job description is not all-inclusive. Employees will also perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned by their supervisor or management.

Requirements

• Education and/or Experience
  • Associate Teacher: High School Diploma or GED; Pre-School Certificate or CDA, and enrollment in an Early Childhood Degree program.
  • Teacher I: Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or a related degree with a minimum of 18 credit hours of Early Learning coursework.
  • Teacher II: Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or a related degree with a minimum of 18 credit hours of Early Learning coursework. Two years of experience in early childhood programs.
• Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
  • Successful registration with the Central Background Registry of the Child Care Division.
  • Must pass a pre-employment physical examination, renewable every two years.
  • Must pass pre-employment and random drug/alcohol screenings.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
  • Demonstrates tact, diplomacy, and empathy when communicating with clients, staff, and community partners.
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office, videoconferencing platforms, and web tools.

Physical and Mental Demands

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties.
• Requires close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• Occasionally lifts up to 10 pounds.
• Manual dexterity for handling office equipment.
• Able to remain calm during situations where staff or clients may be escalated.
• Able to mitigate stress associated with a busy office and regular deadlines.

Work Environment

• Mostly indoor classroom environment.
• Frequent indoor and outdoor supervision of children, including high-needs children who exhibit difficult behaviors.
• Frequent outdoor supervision of children and monitoring of pick-up/drop-off.

Benefits

MWVCAA offers competitive pay, a rich company culture that values diversity, and an array of benefits. The organization is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes all people to join in achieving its mission.