Teacher Assistant Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• No experience required.
• Enroll within 90 days of hire in a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential program and complete the credential within nine months.
• After completing the CDA, enroll in an associate degree program within two years.
• Valid Florida driver’s license and ability to be insured by the company’s current insurance carrier.
• Subject to applicable federal, state, and local legal requirements and background checks.
• Ability to plan and carry out lesson plans and learn to coordinate activities.
• Ability to work with children with special needs.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships, particularly with parents and children.
• Accuracy in completing work; reliability and punctuality; ability to work with limited direction.
• Knowledge of organizational methods and ability to evaluate situations and make timely decisions.
• Effective oral and written communication skills and ability to analyze and interpret data.
• Ability to use and operate a computer while maintaining confidentiality of You Thrive Florida, Head Start, child, and parent information.
• Physical ability to talk, stand, sit, squat, kneel, use fingers, arms, hands, and legs, walk, stretch and reach, handle and grasp, climb, bend, turn, balance, push and pull, use depth perception, carry and lift up to 65 pounds, and drive.
• Correctable eyesight and hearing are essential.

Responsibilities

• Assist the teacher in providing developmentally appropriate activities that support children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development and meet individual needs.
• Implement lesson plans in collaboration with the teacher using established curricula and provide small-group, large-group, and individual learning experiences.
• Guide children in developing basic concepts described in education, nutrition, health, dental, and mental health plans.
• Prepare children for vision, hearing, dental, speech, developmental, and other screening or examination procedures.
• Assist with ongoing child observation and assessment, including anecdotal notes, health checks, and required tracking tools.
• Maintain each child’s education portfolio with current required documentation and partner with the teacher to identify suspected delays or other concerns.
• Support implementation of local education agency (LEA) Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
• Organize and document outdoor play, support gross motor development, and balance indoor and outdoor activities.
• Maintain safe, clean, and orderly classroom and playground areas; report needed repairs and take appropriate action to address unsafe conditions.
• Help maintain classroom supplies and provide learning experiences that encourage children to solve problems, initiate activities, explore, ask questions, and learn by doing.
• Encourage children’s language development through open-ended questions and support positive self-concept, social skills, and cultural and ethnic acceptance.
• Supervise children directly at all times and maintain required child-to-staff ratios.
• Help maintain accurate classroom attendance and ensure sign-in/sign-out records correspond to the children present; inform the Family Advocate of known reasons for absences.
• Participate in breakfast and lunch with children and support family-style dining and healthy cooking activities reflecting the community’s ethnic and cultural composition.
• Plan and participate in safety, fire, and storm drills; work with health staff to maintain first aid supplies, secure medication storage, and OSHA compliance.
• Maintain and document regular parent contact; assist with two home visits and two parent/teacher conferences per year, document parent participation, and provide two individualized home activities per child each month.
• Acquaint volunteers with the classroom and assist with the parent bulletin board.
• Report child abuse and neglect according to program policies and procedures.
• Recruit children for the program and participate in community activities that enhance Head Start.
• Maintain required USDA/Child Care Food Program documentation and data quality and meet completion timelines.
• Participate in center and classroom activities, parent meetings, annual parent activities, training, staff meetings, and other meetings as requested.
• Act as an advocate and role model for Head Start families and help develop and implement the annual training plan.
• Demonstrate proficiency in applying the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) in the learning environment.
• Participate in ongoing monitoring, Community Assessment, and Self-Assessment and perform related reasonable functions.
• Maintain confidentiality of client, staff, and agency information and effective working relationships with coworkers and outside contacts.
• Organize and prioritize assignments; submit reports, documents, and files as directed.
• Follow You Thrive Florida policies and procedures and applicable Head Start, federal, state, and local laws, regulations, standards, notices, and directives.
• Perform additional duties as assigned by a supervisor or management.

Benefits

• Teacher break pay
• Sick leave
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Employer-paid health benefits
• Vision plan
• Dental plan
• 403(b) retirement plan
• Company-paid holidays
• Pet insurance
• Employer-paid basic life insurance policy of $30,000
• Employer-paid long-term disability insurance
• Employer-paid accidental death and dismemberment insurance
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness qualified employer