Teacher Assistant HS

Umatilla-Morrow Head Start•Milton-Freewater, OR

About The Position

The Teacher Assistant supports the teacher in implementing early learning preschool programs and creating safe, nurturing learning environments where children can grow and learn. The role supports children’s school-readiness goals, including social, emotional, educational, physical, and nutritional development. The assistant helps prepare and evaluate classroom activities, supervise and care for children, maintain classroom health and safety, support parents, and contribute to required records and child-goal tracking. In classrooms with transportation, the assistant also helps supervise children during bus transportation and supports safe boarding, exiting, and emergency procedures. The position requires a high school education or equivalent, one year of experience in a preschool-related program, and current First Aid, CPR, and Food Handler’s cards. The employee must obtain Step 6 in ORO within one year of hire and enroll in a CDA or comparable credential program, or a college degree program leading to an associate degree, within two years of hire. Head Start, community service, and multicultural experience are preferred. The work takes place indoors in environmentally controlled conditions and outdoors, with exposure to weather, cleaning fluids, and sanitizing agents. Tasks are performed in close physical proximity to others and involve frequent movement, lifting children, classroom setup, and sanitation duties. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities. Salary is commensurate with education and experience.

Requirements

High school education or equivalent.
Obtain Step 6 in ORO within one year of hire.
Enroll in a CDA program or comparable credential program, or a college degree program resulting in an associate degree, within two years of hire.
One year of experience in a preschool-related program.
Current First Aid, CPR, and Food Handler’s cards.
Current enrollment in the Child Care Division’s Central Background Registry.
Current physical examination, drug screen, and TB screen documentation prior to hire.
Ability to drive a private or agency vehicle; a valid driver’s license and personal automobile, or a plan that allows fulfillment of position requirements, is required. A DMV record check will be conducted prior to hire.
Desire to work with low-income children and their families.
Ability to communicate effectively with staff, families, children, and the public by telephone and face-to-face, one-to-one, and in group settings.
Fluency in spoken and written English.
Ability to lift children weighing up to 50 pounds from the floor to waist height ten to fifteen times per day.
Ability to frequently crouch, bend, and kneel; maintain eye contact at a child’s level; reach children on play equipment; stand or sit for long periods; use stairs; walk or run quickly; and traverse rough or uneven ground.
Ability to maintain children’s and environmental safety using visual, auditory, and olfactory senses.
Ability to set up classrooms by moving tables, chairs, shelves, and other items; kneel or sit on the floor or in child-sized furniture; make precise arm-hand movements; maintain static arm-hand positions; and manipulate small objects with skill and control.
Ability to perform regular sanitation of classrooms and equipment using items such as a broom, carpet sweeper, and mop.
Ability to observe, compare, and monitor behaviors, records, and data, and comprehend and analyze written material and make inferences and references from it.

Nice To Haves

Head Start experience.
Community service experience.
Multicultural experience.

Responsibilities

Assist the Teacher in preparing, implementing, and evaluating daily classroom activities.
Help ensure children are taught and supervised consistently and remain within sight and sound at all times.
Take responsibility for the children when the Teacher is absent and take the primary lead for five children in the classroom.
Assist the Teacher and parents with children’s daily needs and routines.
Help ensure children are signed in and out daily using the required attendance and sign-in/sign-out forms.
Help maintain a safe and healthy environment and share responsibility for classroom orderliness and cleanliness, including assigned janitorial duties such as sterilizing toys and cleaning floors, toilets, and sinks.
Help plan and involve parents and children in preparing nutritious foods and cleaning up at mealtimes.
Assist with children’s personal hygiene, including diapering, feeding, tooth brushing, toileting, hand-washing, and resting.
Share responsibility for providing appropriate care for children with disabilities.
Encourage parents to attend monthly Family Nights and, when required, attend and contribute relevant education information.
Provide input for Parent/Staff Conferences, Comprehensive Staffing, and monthly individual child goal tracking.
Use teachers, other staff, and the resource library for technical assistance.
Maintain positive communication with parents.
In classrooms with transportation, monitor children and adults during transport; ensure restraints are properly installed and fastened; assist with boarding, exiting, and evacuations; ensure the bus is attended at all times; assist with post-trip bus inspections; and help with take-home materials.
Demonstrate positive guidance techniques with children.
Participate in assigned staff meetings, conferences, training sessions, and workshops.
Maintain familiarity with agency policies, performance standards, work plans, and objectives.
Maintain respectful relations with staff, children, families, and the community.
Keep accurate records, file reports on time, and maintain confidentiality regarding staff and family information.
Maintain professional standards, improve personal skills and education, and fulfill mandated-reporter responsibilities under the Child Abuse and Neglect Policy.
Attend work consistently, contribute positively as a team member, and demonstrate commitment to the agency’s mission, values, and policies.
Perform other duties deemed necessary by the supervisor.
Apply safe work practices, report hazards and injuries immediately, comply with agency safety standards, participate in emergency drills, and promote safe environments.