Head Start Assistant Teacher (South CISD)

AVANCE Inc•Rio Grande City, TX

13d

About The Position

The Head Start Assistant Teacher shares responsibility for a classroom serving children ages 3 to 5 and works collaboratively with the teacher, families, and other staff to support positive outcomes for children of all abilities. The role includes supporting teacher-child interactions, maintaining a positive learning environment, implementing curriculum, assessing children, meeting individual needs, working with families, and participating in professional growth and collaboration. The Assistant Teacher supports children’s development through child-centered, developmentally and linguistically appropriate experiences, positive guidance, and consistent classroom routines. The position involves observing and documenting children’s progress, individualizing curriculum, supporting children with disabilities and challenging behaviors, implementing daily lesson plans and IFSPs, and collaborating with the teaching team to review outcomes and adjust instruction. The Assistant Teacher also helps establish partnerships with families through regular communication, home visits, conferences, parent involvement, and coordinated services. Additional duties include maintaining classroom records and supplies, conducting daily health checks, supervising children during meals, field trips, and outdoor activities, and ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment. The role requires participation in team and Assistant Teacher meetings, trainings, and other assigned events. Work is generally performed in an office environment, with moderate to occasionally loud noise; travel to sites and work-related functions may be required up to 10% of the time.

Requirements

At minimum, hold a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, a state-awarded certificate meeting or exceeding CDA requirements, be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or baccalaureate degree, or be enrolled in a CDA credential program to be completed within two years of hire.
A physical examination and background checks are required.
Must have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, a clean driving record subject to annual MVR checks and policy, current auto liability insurance, and be bondable by AVANCE, Inc.
Able to travel locally or long-distance for work-related meetings, functions, and site visits up to 10% of the time.
Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and handle multiple priorities flexibly.
Ability to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
Must be honest, dependable, and able to meet deadlines.
Self-motivated and able to work independently.
Able to perform duties involving walking, standing, stooping, bending, pulling, pushing, handling objects, and reaching with hands and arms.
Occasional lifting or carrying and pulling or pushing of 10 pounds is required.
Specific vision abilities include close, distance, color, and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
May need to operate a motor vehicle during the course of duties.

Responsibilities

Apply knowledge of child growth and development when working with children and communicating with stakeholders.
Implement a child-centered curriculum and learning environment that promotes social interaction, active engagement, self-motivation, and development for children of all abilities.
Observe children to identify possible causes of challenging behavior; use preventive measures, teach social and communication skills, and partner with families on support strategies.
Use observations and anecdotal notes to document children’s progress and individualize curriculum.
Build positive partnerships with families in program, school, and home settings.
Use the written curriculum to identify developmental and learning goals, experiences, staff and parent supports, and materials needed to achieve those goals.
Assist in developing individual plans for each child, including goals and activities based on identified needs.
Provide developmentally and linguistically appropriate experiences suited to children’s ages, languages, and cultures.
Implement experiential learning activities and provide positive guidance and discipline to support children’s readiness skills.
Implement daily lesson plans based on children’s needs and interests, observations, early childhood development, and key experiences.
Implement Individual Family Services Plans (IFSPs) for children with disabilities.
Supervise and eat nutritionally prepared meals and snacks with children as curriculum activities, modeling good nutrition and social skills.
Assess children continuously, organize anecdotal notes around goals and objectives, and document information in CreativeCurriculum.net.
Work with the teaching team to analyze classroom child outcomes twice yearly and adjust curriculum planning and implementation in consultation with the education coordinator.
Share relevant information with the Family Advocate, participate in case conferences as appropriate, and maintain regular parent contact and documentation.
Provide classroom updates to the Teacher for inclusion in the monthly newsletter.
Refer developmental concerns to the Early Learning and Inclusion Leaders.
Work with the Teacher to schedule and complete two home visits and at least two parent-teacher conferences per year.
Participate in parent orientation and the AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program as required.
Refer parents interested in volunteering or substitute work to the Family Advocate and support classroom volunteers as needed.
Request supplies, participate in inventory as requested, and maintain individual, family, and classroom data for documentation, assessment, evaluation, and planning.
Collaborate with the Teacher to prepare daily lesson plans and post them for parents, volunteers, and visitors.
Conduct daily health checks and provide children with a consistent classroom routine.
Supervise classroom field trips and outdoor activities.
Follow disease- and injury-prevention regulations, including universal precautions and contamination prevention.
Maintain a safe, healthy, positive learning environment and ensure children’s safety and security in accordance with Early Head Start and daycare licensing requirements.
Build trusting, productive relationships with families and invite their involvement in curriculum and child development approaches.
Provide parents opportunities to strengthen child-observation skills and share assessments with staff to help plan learning experiences.
Encourage parent participation in conferences and home visits concerning children’s development and education.
Perform other duties as assigned and model appropriate classroom practices.
Work with the Center Director and Teacher to develop and support individual development plans for assigned volunteers.
Assist the Teacher in improving work methods and procedures and support supervised volunteers in setting goals, priorities, and timelines.
Adapt plans to changing or emergent program requirements while maintaining work quality and quantity within available resources.
Participate in bi-weekly Team Meetings and bi-weekly Assistant Teacher Meetings, as well as assigned meetings, events, and training.
Travel to various sites and work-related meetings and functions as needed.
Maintain emotional control under stress and work with interruptions and deadlines.