Preschool Teacher - Head Start

Join our Head Start team! The Head Start Teacher works with children to promote their growth in the areas of social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development.

This position has multiple openings available. ** Now offering a $1,500 hiring incentive bonus for new Preschool Teachers hired!

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Head Start Teacher works in partnership with Teacher Assistants and Classroom Aides to promote the growth of preschool children in the areas of social-emotional, physical, cognitive and language development. Involves families in every aspect of their child's education, including facilitating parent involvement.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• High School Diploma or GED; and
• Associate Teacher: 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

• Driver qualifications are not required for this position.
• Successful registration with the Central Background Registry of the Child Care Division.
• CPR/First Aid Certification or the ability to obtain within 60 days of hire.
• Food Handlers Card or the ability to obtain within 30 days of hire.
• Candidate must pass pre-employment physical examination, renewable every two years.
• Candidate 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.
• Demonstrated proficiencies with Microsoft Office (including Outlook), videoconferencing platforms, and web tools.
• Effective interpersonal communication skills, in both oral and written form.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee will also perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned by immediate supervisor and other management as required.

Classroom

• Ensures safety in the classroom at all times, with active supervision of children, utilizing the transition and counting form and procedure. Ensures children are released only to parent/guardians or authorized adults.
• Records children's daily attendance, working with site team to determine the cause of absences.
• Provides for the development of children's cognitive, physical, social-emotional and language skills through implementation of curriculum, lesson planning and individualization.
• Conducts developmental and social-emotional screenings for each child, with input from parents. Provides follow up to concerns, including the provision of resources, or referrals for children with identified developmental or social-emotional needs.
• Provides a safe environment for children/groups of children during classroom time utilizing Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) strategies and Trauma Smart concepts. Maintains an acceptable and positive level of guidance in individual and group situations reacting to emergency situations with competence and a calm attitude.
• Partners with Education and Inclusion & Support staff, families, and Willamette Education Services district staff to ensure the full participation of children receiving Early Intervention or Early Childhood Special Education Services.
• Utilizes strategies provided by Education and Inclusion & Support staff regarding the social-emotional needs or mental health concerns of children.
• Conducts and records child observations to utilize in setting goals, individualizing and completing assessments.
• Creates lesson plans utilizing a variety of curricula to address children's individual goals, taking into account each child's characteristics, strengths, and needs.

Office/Paperwork

• Effectively uses ChildPlus and applicable databases to enter or obtain information.
• Completes regular child assessments, using information obtained from child observations. Shares information with program administration and parents.
• Conducts a minimum of two home visits and two education conferences per year.
• Completes Ouch Reports and Accident Reports when a child is injured at school, providing parent with appropriate paperwork for insurance if child will receive medical attention.
• Documents all conversations with parents/guardians or other relevant individuals in ChildPlus Family Documentation Log.
• Completes required paperwork to initiate support for child/family needs.
• Uses office time efficiently to make and receive parent phone calls, order supplies, preparing children's work to go home, preparing materials for activities, and other office work as needed.
• Verifies and submits weekly Meal Counts and Attendance forms.

Staff Development/Meetings

• Attends a variety of classes, workshops, seminars, pre-service training and other Head Start Teacher trainings, and keeps current on developments in early childhood education, and developmentally appropriate practices.
• Attends a variety of meetings including individual reflection meetings, region meetings, site team meetings, debriefing after observations, IFSP meetings, Skill-Building Plan meetings, and other meetings as necessary.
• Keeps current on and complies with program and agency policies and procedures, Head Start Performance Standards, and other applicable regulations.
• Attends and contributes to child/family staffing meetings.

Parent Involvement

• Provides regular opportunities for parent participation by training parents who volunteer in the classroom.
• Participates in planning for and implementing monthly parent meetings.
• Participates in classroom orientations at the beginning of the school year.
• Provides tools, resources and opportunities for parents to engage with their children utilizing developmentally appropriate practices.
• Develops and maintains relationships with parents/guardians, to ensure consistent and frequent communication.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

There are no supervisory duties in this position.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities.

• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.
• Regularly lift and/or move 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to move about the workspace.
• Ability to reach and/or extend to access materials or equipment.
• Incidental driving tasks may be requested for employees with a personal vehicle and proof of current auto insurance.
• Ability to evacuate children from the classroom in an emergency.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Mostly indoor classroom environment.

• Frequent indoor and outdoor supervision of children, including high-needs children who exhibit difficult behaviors.

OUR MISSION: MWVCAA invests in people and their futures to reduce the impacts of poverty.

Our Vision: We envision a just future, where our communities are empowered to reach positive outcomes and everyone is respected for their infinite worth.

**Enrollment in the Central Background Registry is beneficial if you are even considering working with children in the State of Oregon, since it will be required before you can start a position. Enrollment is free and it is recommended that you start now as the process can take time. Start enrollment online at: oregonearlylearning.com

MWVCAA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, veterans, and people with disabilities or any other protected category. We welcome all people to join us in achieving our Mission. If you require any assistance in the application process, or reasonable accommodations to perform the essential duties of the position, please notify a member of our team at (503) 585-6232.

**This is a partial list of essential duties and responsibilities. To review the full job description, download below.

If you need ADA accommodations to apply for MWVCAA job openings, please contact Human Resources at HR@mwvcaa.org or call 503-585-6232 to ask for a HR Team Member