Head Start Lead Teacher (All Locations)

YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

The Head Start Lead Teacher is responsible, under the supervision of the Center Manager/Director, for implementing the day-to-day operation of services for children ages 3–5. The role directly supervises and develops classroom associates and provides a safe, healthy, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate learning environment. The teacher plans and implements curriculum and activities that support children’s intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development, school readiness, literacy, language, early mathematics and science, problem-solving, and approaches to learning. The role also partners with families, conducts home visits and parent conferences, documents observations and assessments, and meets program, licensing, health, safety, and reporting requirements. The employee must be able to perform physical tasks including kneeling, bending, squatting, lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying objects or children up to 50 pounds. Employment is contingent on passing required background checks and being legally eligible to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in early childhood education.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
PDS documentation, transcripts, and proof of credentials.
Ability to kneel, bend, squat, lift, push, pull, and carry objects or children weighing up to 50 pounds.
Ability to pass a pre-employment criminal-record check, drug screening, motor vehicle record check, and reference check according to company policy.
Must be legally eligible to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship.

Responsibilities

Directly supervise and develop classroom associates and manage day-to-day classroom operations.
Plan and implement learning experiences that advance children's intellectual and physical development and improve school readiness, literacy, language, early mathematics and science, problem-solving, and approaches to learning.
Establish and maintain a safe, healthy, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate learning environment.
Support children's social and emotional development and redirect inappropriate behavior positively and non-punitively.
Encourage family involvement in the Head Start program and support relationships between children and their families.
Apply individualized, inclusive, age-appropriate practices across all areas of child development.
Meet applicable federal, state, local, program, performance, monitoring, licensing, and disability-service requirements, timelines, and documentation standards.
Actively participate in teaching indoors and outdoors and maintain constant supervision of children in the teacher's care.
Respond promptly and nurture children who are distressed or crying.
Use developmentally appropriate feeding, toileting, cleaning, and health-care practices, including for children with special health-care needs.
Model appropriate language, including grammatically correct verbal and written language.
Plan, prepare, and implement integrated, thematic, age-appropriate activities based on children's individual needs and interests; prepare organized, interactive, clean, safe, hands-on materials and environments in advance.
Balance child-initiated and teacher-directed activities, including large-group, small-group, and individualized instruction, and plan transitions between daily activities.
Organize classroom space into recognizable, functional, uncluttered areas.
Conduct and record ongoing observations of each child's development and milestones.
Conduct required home visits in a timely manner and scheduled parent conferences at times, in ways, and locations convenient for families, emphasizing positive developmental information.
Administer and record required developmental assessments and use assessment information to plan, teach, and individualize classroom activities.
Refer suspected disabilities and abuse promptly to the appropriate authority based on assessments, observations, milestones, or typical behavior.
Plan activities that support parent and volunteer participation in the classroom and at home.
Record and total daily attendance accurately, submit applicable reports, and provide monthly tabulated attendance by the third day of the following month.
Count, record, and submit accurate meal counts to food-service staff daily after each meal.
Attend and participate in required team, site, and agency meetings, training, professional development, and continuing education.
Follow and enforce site health, safety, classroom organization, aesthetic, and sanitation guidelines.
Follow mandatory reporting procedures for suspected abuse, unsafe conditions, repair needs, complaints, accidents, and injuries.