About The Role

DescriptionLocation: Western Head Start 686 North Western Avenue Nogales, AZ 85621

Level: Experienced

Position Type: 40 hours/week
Travel %: In Town
Job Shift: Day (M-F), approximately 7:30am - 4:30pm, work is in person with occasional evening or weekend work due to special event

Job Categories: Education

Classification: Salary, non-Exempt

Supervisor: Center Manager

Supervises: Toddler Teacher (2)

Job Summary

Child-Parent Centers (CPC) is seeking professionals who share our values and principles for building trusting relationships with children, families, and colleagues. Successful candidates' welcome individual differences and perspectives, respect cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and are sensitive to current circumstances. Candidates display a commitment to teamwork, open communication, and are eager to work in a fast-paced, high-quality preschool environment. This is a great opportunity for organized and dependable early childhood professionals with strong work ethic and a desire to grow. CPC provides opportunities and financial support for lead teachers to grow professionally including continuing education credits in childhood education or child development or through professional memberships in local regional or national early childhood organizations. If you have previous experience working in an early childhood center and are interested in joining our growing team, we encourage you to apply.

Reporting to the site supervisor, leads the classroom team in providing comprehensive high-quality early education and child development services for eight (8) mobile one year old and toddlers up to 36 months of age who are enrolled in the assigned classroom. Daily routines promote children’s cognitive, social, health, and emotional growth for later success in school. The lead teacher serves as the parent’s primary contact for all Early Head Start services. The Toddler Lead Teacher receives regular on-going support from the site supervisor and the education specialist (coach) to implement the agency’s Early Languages of Learning curriculum that includes creating a safe and enriching environment, embedding responsive and effective teacher-child interactions, and fostering partnerships with families by respecting values, strengths, and cultures and welcoming parent's contributions and participation. The Toddler Lead Teacher position is funded for eight hours per day Monday through Friday and leads the classroom team working directly with children who may be in the classroom up to 8 - 10 hours per day, four or five days per week.

When working outside the classroom, the lead teacher guides the classroom team activities such as planning lessons, documenting children's work and outcomes, entering and analyzing child and family data, setting goals, and attending professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Paid Leave - 26 paid holidays, 5 days paid vacation after one year, 13 days each year thereafter, 8 days paid Personal leave first year, 9 days each year thereafter, and up to 5 days paid Sick leave each year.

Insurance benefits - dental, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Health Savings Accounts, PPO medical (3 plans), Vision, and Supplemental Life coverage for self, spouse, and child ($25,000 basic life and Accidental death and disability provided by employer) Supplemental coverages (Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, and Accident Insurance), and pet insurance.

Retirement Plan - Agency contribution after years of services and hours eligibility criteria are met. Employee 401k deferral after eligibility is met.

Minimum Qualifications

Must be 18 years of age

Possess an associate degree from a recognized educational institution in the field of early childhood education or an associate degree in a related field (Child and Family Studies, Consumer Studies, Developmental Psychology, Elementary Education, Home Economics/Family and Consumer Sciences, Human Development, Human Ecology, Human Services, Nursing, Psychology, Public Health, Social Work, Sociology, or Special Education) and a minimum of 18 credits in early childhood education or child development coursework.

One (1) year documented center-based work experience with mobile one-year olds and two-year-olds or two (2) years documented experience working with classroom-based preschool aged children.

One (1) year documented experience as a supervisor.

Possess a valid Arizona driver's license and excellent driving record.

Possess a current AZ Department of Public Safety Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card OR obtain prior to the first day of work

Able to pass a company paid physical exam prior to starting work.

Able to pass a DES Centralized Background Check prior to starting work.

Must read, write, and speak English.

Required Competencies

Leadership

Supervision

Coaching

Accountability and Dependability

Safety Focus

Listening

Creative and Innovative Thinking

Building Relationships

Teamwork

Technology

Self-Management

Adaptability and Flexibility

Development and Continual Learning

Other Requirements (post hire)

Provide proof of immunizations: MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), Tdap (adult Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis), and a Tuberculosis Self-Assessment.
Ability to maintain a valid level fingerprint clearance card and annual DES Centralized Background Check.
Must be able to prove the right to work in the USA by providing appropriate documents to complete the Federal I-9 form.
Must possess or have the ability to possess and keep current certification in First Aid Training/CPR training including Infants and Children.
Must possess or have the ability to possess and keep current a Food Handler’s Certificate issued by the Arizona Department of Health Services

Desired Qualifications

Possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a recognized educational institution in the field of Early Childhood Education or closely related field (listed above).
Four (4) years’ experience working in an infant toddler center-based classroom.
Six (6) years’ work or volunteer experience with groups or individuals from a variety or ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds or with Head Start.

Work Environment

Indoor classroom – temperature controlled
Outdoor playground – exposure to hot and cold
Possible exposure to communicable illness, blood borne pathogens
Exposure to cleaning and sanitizing chemicals

Physical Requirements

Frequently

Ability to see or hear and respond quickly to unsafe situations
Stooping, bending, reaching
Moving quickly around objects (run, jump, jog)
Up and down from carpet/floor and/or 12”-14” chairs
Lift children (1–3 year-old children) {19 – 30 lbs}

Occasionally

Picking up and dropping off supplies
Push and pull furniture 20lbs to 50lbs
Lifting +/- 50 lbs

Qualifications

Job Specific Duties and Responsibilities

Direct Services

Implement the Early Languages of Learning curriculum up to 10 hours per day five days per week. Ensure and support the completion of at least two parent conferences and two home visits during the program year.

Set learning goals and plan learning experiences by integrating knowledge of each child’s temperament, interests, gender, culture, language, learning approaches, understanding, misconceptions, and abilities and by working collaboratively with families and a range of specialists (e.g., medical, dental, speech, nutrition, mental health).

Demonstrate respect for families’ values, strengths, and cultures by welcoming their contributions and participation, encouraging children to talk about their families, and designing learning experiences accordingly.

Use information about children obtained through home visits, parent-teacher conferences, and other parent-staff interactions by incorporating this data into daily routines and interactions with children.

Support children’s overall development by integrating sensory learning experiences related to all domains throughout the curriculum, environment, and day.

Promote children’s security and attachment by responding promptly and consistently to their needs, providing frequent and affectionate one-on-one contact, and offering predictable daily routines and interactions.

Enable children to develop emerging skills and practice existing ones by engaging them in individual and small-group experiences designed to enhance their development and learning.

Promote children’s development of fine and gross motor skills by providing a variety of materials (e.g., puzzles, stacking toys, balls, climbing structures), equipment, and opportunities.

Foster children’s curiosity, engagement, reasoning, and problem solving by providing a balance of open-ended exploration, teacher-guided inquiry, structured activities, and sensory-based play.

Help children acquire meaningful content knowledge by ensuring that learning experiences and routines are child-centered and are based on information that is current, accurate, and focused at the children’s level of understanding.

Help children gain independence and autonomy in eating, toileting, dressing, and hygiene by encouragingly presenting age-appropriate and manageable tasks and by recognizing their abilities.

Build children’s awareness of and ability to follow basic health and safety rules by providing opportunities for health and safety learning (e.g., implementing and discussing routines—washing hands, fire drills, crossing streets) and by supervising children at all times and positively redirecting them from potentially harmful activities.

Support families in extending children’s learning at home by providing newsletters, take-home activities, home visits, and parent-teacher conferences.

Help children who are learning English by providing them with the supports (e.g., props, gestures, incorporating basic words in the child’s home language, securing volunteers who speak the child’s language) they need to fully participate in classroom experiences.

Help children expand their emergent language and literacy skills by cuing in and responding to children’s non-verbal forms of communication (e.g., gestures, sounds).

Foster teacher-child and child-child communication intentionally by facilitating mutual sharing and authentic exchange of ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Advance children’s listening, understanding, and communicating skills and supports development of content knowledge by commenting on children’s activities and experiences and describing children’s actions and events.

Build children’s vocabulary by regularly introducing new and challenging words, discussing them, and infusing them into ongoing activities.

Cultivate children’s understanding of and appreciation for books by gathering a wide range of high-quality children’s literature, including board books, for children to explore on their own or with a teacher.

Enhance children’s knowledge and language and literacy development by regularly reading books with children individually, in small groups, and in various settings (e.g., block area, housekeeping area).

Further children’s listening, vocabulary, and attention span through book reading by using prompts for discussion and follow-up activities.

Encourage children’s scribbling and other emergent writing skills, their awareness of print, and the varied purposes for writing by providing and using a range of writing materials (e.g., markers, crayons, finger paint, letter magnets) and environmental print.

Support children’s interest in and awareness of numbers, counting, and problem solving by initiating counting games and activities and by providing materials that link number concepts to numerals and mathematical understanding and vocabulary.

Promote children’s understanding of size, shape, color, and directionality by engaging them is small- and large-motor activities that require them to sort, match, identify patterns, group objects, and measure objects.

Build children’s ability to compare and talk about the similarities and differences between objects by providing experiences with sorting, matching, patterns, grouping, and measurement.

Assist children in understanding math and science concepts by embedding math and science experiences into everyday routines, music, movement, literacy, art, and play.

Help children expand their knowledge of their bodies and the world around them by planning and implementing age-appropriate activities and explorations.

Encourage children’s use