Teacher's Assistant

Douglas-A-Thom Clinic•Norwood, MA

19d

About The Position

The Early Intervention Teacher’s Assistant provides developmental and therapeutic support to infants and toddlers as directed by the Early Intervention (EI) Group Coordinator, follows the curriculum format, sets up and cleans up the group activities and maintains an organized materials inventory.

Requirements

High school equivalency with a minimum of three years experience in Early Intervention or similar program plus 30 hours of in-service training, workshops, or college courses in a related field.
Experience working with infants and toddlers.
Ability and interest in working with a team of professionals.
Must be able to lift 40 pounds and maintain a current drivers’ license.
CPR and First Aid certification required.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries; promote client confidentiality; and exhibit flexibility, sensitivity to cultural differences, and teamwork.
Experience with Microsoft Word and Excel.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to problem solve, make recommendations, and implement solutions.

Responsibilities

Assists group leaders in providing Early Intervention child group services.
Assists group leaders in maintaining a safe and therapeutic group environment.
Assists group leaders in providing guidance and assistance as needed to children in class according to IFSP and daily curriculum plan.
Remains informed of children’s IFSP goals and work with service coordinators and group leaders to implement strategies to address them in the group setting.
Interacts with children using developmentally appropriate practices, including behavior management and therapeutic interventions as developed with group leaders and staff.
Greets and interacts with children and families before, during, and after groups. (Help orient new families to group routine, share updates with caregivers whenever necessary).
Participates in home/or center visits on request.
Supports and participates in implementation of group activities (preparing snack, washing child’s hands, supporting upset child).
Promotes ongoing communication about children enrolled in group services with other group team members, including caregivers, group leaders, service coordinators, other EI providers as appropriate).
Assists group leaders and staff to prepare and implement designated classroom activities for groups according to the classroom curriculum (sensory, art, manipulatives, motor equipment, etc).
Assists in planning and preparing snacks for groups.
Maintains cleanliness of group space and materials (wash dishes, sanitation of toys, clean sinks, vacuum, etc.).
Prepares for group services and cleans up after group services, including set up/clean up of toys and materials. Ensures that all toys and materials are put back in appropriate storage areas and table surfaces, mats, bolsters, etc. are disinfected after each group.
Maintains organized toy closets.
Works with Group Coordinator to maintain inventory of supplies (food, cleaning, art, group equipment).
Assists with ordering snack supplies, art supplies, and curriculum materials as needed.
Assists Group Coordinator and staff to prepare and update group classroom bulletin boards.
Assists with preparing all classroom group documents, including group binder, group attendance, children IFSPs, group paperwork, Group Availability Forms, etc. Ensure that documents are updated regularly and stored to maintain confidentiality.
Updates group documents as new children enter group; remove information as children end group.
Ensures emergency numbers, allergies, special information, etc. are posted on each child in class.
Assists group leaders with recording group attendance.
Demonstrates knowledge of child development.
Demonstrates appropriate play skills with infants and toddlers.
Demonstrates the ability to set appropriate limits as demonstrated by the group leaders and staff.
Demonstrates the ability to follow instructions and act independently.
Demonstrates the ability to react promptly and wisely in emergency situations.
Assists Office Team in administrative duties as needed including filing and copying.
Other duties as assigned.