Full Time Teaching Assistants

POSITION SUMMARY

Assistant teachers for Imagination Childcare Academy, Inc. assist co-teachers in planning and implementing learning experiences that advance the intellectual, emotional, social and physical development of children within a safe, healthy learning environment.  They encourage the involvement of the families of the children of the program and support the development of relationships between children and their families.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Interact With Children

Use appropriate language, interactions, and positive discipline
Treat every child with respect
Model appropriate behavior using “what to do” language
Assist in instructing and supervising children in classroom activities
Implement age appropriate activities that support the classroom Curriculum and the NAEYC standards
Continuously monitor children to ensure safety at all times, and report child abuse and neglect when necessary.
While children are engaged in “work time” teachers and assistants should be interacting with the children, asking questions to promote further engagement and high level thinking.
Ability to accommodate children with varying needs mentally, physically, socially, academically and/or emotionally.
Assist classroom teacher with modeling classroom expectations and
Assist classroom teacher with implementation of any individualized behavior support plans

Assess Children

Assess children on a regular basis using written, verbal and visual observations
Assist the teacher with using the benchmark assessment tools, the Brigance, and the Work Sampling System to assess children three times per year
Take pictures and maintain anecdotal notes, written observations, and other approved forms of documentation for each child.
Assist classroom teacher in creating a portfolio for each child

Curriculum Preparation:

Assist the teacher with researching, planning and developing age appropriate activities for lesson plans
Assist the teacher in incorporating required activities into lesson plans that support children’s development
Help teacher prepare activities that support lesson plans.
Help teacher organize and create materials for lesson plans

Communicate with Parents:

Maintain open communication with parents using daily sheet
As a parent advocate, help resolve issues or concerns that are raised in collaboration with the classroom teacher.
Inform parents about daily classroom routines, expectations, policies, field trips and volunteer opportunities.
Communicate with parents about incidents that have been observed and/or recorded on site.
Obtain all required classroom parental signatures on all incident reports and field trip permission slips.

Documentation:

Design and complete documentation panels for the classroom and hallways (Bulletin Boards)
Complete all necessary paperwork for classroom activities, including: attendance, health checks, academic screenings, and parent teacher conferences in a timely manner
Maintain accurate and up to date portfolios
Maintain classroom supply lists and inventory

Supervision:

All children must be within your visual sight at ALL times.
Ratios must be maintained at all times.  Seek help from administration if needed.
Administration:

Work with teacher and management to establish professional goals and meet at least annually to evaluate performance
Actively participate in meetings which may include management, the teaching team, and/or parents
Participate in team meetings.  Communicate and share ideas and concerns with the teacher and/or director.
Participate in at least 30 hours of professional development every two years, with the first 15 hours being completed prior to your first day of employment.
All employees are required to complete 18 hours of Pyramid Model Training prior to his/her first day of employment.

Classroom Maintenance:

Help to maintain a clean and organized learning environment using the classroom cleaning checklist
Sanitize all surfaces, equipment, and classroom toys
Maintain a quality room arrangement in compliance with curriculum standards
Routinely check classroom equipment and materials to ensure they are in good repair.  This includes playground equipment as well.
Assist children with toileting needs
Monitor that all children’s faces are clean and free from food and/or dirt
Other Duties as Assigned

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education:     High School Diploma and/or Equivalent

Experience:    At least two years working with preschool age children (Minimum Required)

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Ability to maintain confidentiality
Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
Demonstrated capability to interact and maintain effective relationships with administration, staff, consultants, regulators and founders in a team environment
Capacity to assume responsibility for own professional development
Detail oriented, logical, and methodological approach to problem solving
Flexible, with the ability to work in a highly demanding, stressful environment
Ability to cooperate successfully as a member of a team
Ability to communicate effectively with others, including giving and receiving feedback on the quality of services

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.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear and see
The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, sit at children’s level; use hands to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds.
Specific vision requirements include the ability to see at close range.
At times, this position may require more than 40 hours per week to perform essential duties
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high.
·       The employee will be required to supervise children outside on the playground twice a day, unless there is inclement weather (>90 degrees or < 20degrees).