Preschool Lead Teacher

Child-Parent Centers, Inc. • Tucson, AZ

2d • $1,698 - $1,868 • Onsite

About The Position

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 enrolled children and families. 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 services. The lead teacher receives regular on-going support from the site supervisor and the education specialist (coach) to implement the agency’s 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 lead teacher position is funded for eight hours per day Monday through Friday and leads the classroom team in working directly with children who may be in the classroom up to 6.75 hours per day, four 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.

Requirements

• 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 work experience with classroom based preschool aged children.
• Demonstrated proficiency using Office 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• 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.
• Must read, write, and speak English.
• Provide proof of immunizations: MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), Tdap (adult Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis), and a clear Tuberculosis assessment.
• Able to pass a company paid physical exam prior to starting work.
• Able to pass a criminal 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

Nice To Haves

• 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).
• Two (2) years documented experience as a supervisor.
• Four (4) years’ experience working in a preschool 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.

Responsibilities

• Implement the Languages of Learning curriculum a minimum of 6.75 hours per day four 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)
• Promote children’s active exploration, creativity, and development in all domains by designing indoor and outdoor environments based on knowledge of how children develop and learn, and their individual abilities.
• Build children’s pride in their cultures, families, and communities by ensuring that classroom learning centers and materials reflect children’s cultures and communities (e.g., books and print in families’ languages, family photographs, items from their culture)
• Ensure that children are intellectually challenged by selecting, organizing, and using high-quality materials and equipment and by adapting the environment to support each child’s skill acquisition and success.
• 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
• Maintain a healthy physical environment by following health and safety procedures (e.g., following universal precautions, regularly sanitizing equipment, child-proofing environments).
• 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
• Develop and implement the child supervision system, child count system, and active supervision implementation plan to ensure all children are supervised at all times.
• Support parents 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.
• 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)
• Encourage children’s 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 (e.g., traffic signs, labels in the classroom, store signs)
• 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 in-depth exploration of topics in physical, life, and earth sciences.
• Encourage children’s use of scientific inquiry by offering experiences and opportunities to engage in questioning, predicting, investigating, and collecting and analyzing data.
• Expand children’s knowledge of nature, living things, and materials and processes by providing objects, tools, and experiences that enable them to closely observe and explore nature and scientific concepts (e.g., cause and effect, time, temperature, buoyancy, changes in materials).
• Facilitate children’s ability to listen to, interact with, and appreciate different types of music by providing individual and group experiences with singing, finger plays, creative movement, and musical instruments.
• Develop children’s imagination and creativity by providing child-directed and teacher-guided opportunities for them to express their thoughts, ideas, experiences, and feelings through various media (e.g., movement, dance, drama, music, visual arts).
• Help children learn about themselves and others by designing and implementing meaningful experiences to explore similarities and differences between people.
• Align goals and approaches to support children’s progress by engaging with program staff, specialists, families, and staff in other learning settings who also serve the child.
• Offer families opportunities to increase their child observation skills by providing written and verbal information and encouraging participation in classroom and family education activities.
• Engage families as full partners in their own and their children’s development and learning by helping families develop and reach realistic and achievable long- and short-term goals, engaging them in assessing their needs and strengths, and supporting them in taking actions to reach their goals.
• Strengthen parent-child relationships by helping families recognize the satisfaction and value of engaging with their children and supporting their learning through daily, routine experiences in the home and community.
• Build families’ and children’s self-esteem by drawing on their cultural strengths (e.g., family child bond, extended family, health and nutrition practices) to influence child-rearing skills and to foster positive family interactions.
• Support families in addressing challenges (e.g., mental illness, substance abuse, disabilities, family violence) that affect their well-being, by discussing issues and/or linking them to community.
• Individualize approaches to working with families by drawing on a sound understanding of family development issues and the unique needs of each family.
• Supervise assigned staff by providing direction, input, and feedback using tools and resources provided in the agency’s performance planning, supervision and evaluation system.
• Provide a minimum of one supported supervision meeting per month to assigned staff. Use reflective practice supervision and coaching strategies with consistency and equity to create a learning environment that supports development while maintaining accountability for performance.
• Support and monitor assigned staff in professional achievement or personal growth through the professional development system including attainment of required certifications or education.
• Identify self-growth, development goals, and strategies for achievement with support and input from supervisor.
• Commit and participate in consistent and planned meetings with supervisor to further professional growth by seeking feedback, reflecting on and assessing own practice, and taking advantage of opportunities to improve skills and knowledge
• Monitor child observation, screening, and assessment data to plan individualized experiences and small and large group activities.
• Provide accurate and timely data into child information systems (Smart Teach and/or ChildPlus) to support the agency’s program reports to local, state, and federal officials and funders.
• Monitor children’s progress per the goals developed by self and other staff and specialists, including those in IEPs, by observing and documenting children’s play, conversations, routines/schedules, and work samples and through conversations with families.
• Participate and support the completion of at least two parent conferences and two home visits during the program year to enhance both teacher and parent understanding of children’s educational and developmental progress.
• Meet federal, state, and program documentation requirements by maintaining accurate, objective, complete, timely, and well-organized child and family records.
• Responsible for reporting (including self-reporting) any unsupervised child incidents to the supervisor and to those with a need to know.
• Participate in center staff meetings and the planning of center activities. Identify emerging needs, initiate requests for additional assistance, and participate in on-going improvements to program policies and procedures.
• Participate on transdisciplinary team within the agency to meet family needs and to build the parent/child/teaching staff relationship
• Identify children who may need referrals by reviewing child observation, screening, and assessment data in collaboration with the classroom team, specialists, and families.
• Broaden ability to accurately assess children’s development by seeking consultation to supplement own observation and planning and to determine when referral is needed.
• Lead planning transitions to or from home to toddler or preschool classrooms and/or other early education and care settings by engaging families, others in the program, and members of the community in planning.
• In the absence of the site supervisor, may act as the site supervisor and guide activities of the center team.
• Secure, train, and supervise classroom volunteers.
• Recruit and enroll eligible families.
• On a rotating basis with other teaching staff, act as bus monitor for applicable bus runs.
• Understand and model the agency's vision, mission, and philosophy within the agency and the community.
• Demonstrate approachability, ownership, accountability, and life-long learning.
• Use the agency's communication and problem-solving approach.
• Seek perspective of others.
• Identify emerging issues and contribute new knowledge.
• Work to de-escalate when emotions and stakes are high.
• Maintain professional behavior and relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Use agency systems and technologies to accomplish work
• Maintain a high level of attendance to support ongoing service delivery.
• Recognize children's safety as the first responsibility of all staff and acts swiftly to ensure no child is unsupervised.
• Implement agency policies and procedures for safeguarding confidential or sensitive information about employees and/or program participants. Restrict access to paper or electronic documents to those with a need to know.
• Performs other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Paid Leave – 25 paid holidays (time off aligns with most school districts), 5 days paid vacation 10 days each year thereafter, and 8 days paid Personal leave first year, 8 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)
• Retirement Plan - Agency contribution after years of services and hours eligibility criteria are met. Employee 401k deferral after eligibility is met.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees