HQ TEACHER

Southwest Oklahoma Community Action Group, Inc.

JOB DESCRIPTION FOR BIRTH TO FIVE SCHOOLS HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER

Status: Non-Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act

Pay Rate: $ 26.06 hourly – Has Bachelor Degree with Oklahoma Teaching Certificate with Early Childhood endorsement.

Supervisory Relationships: Directly supervised by the School Supervisor. Position does not have supervisory duties but does provide general instructions to the assigned Assistant Teacher and volunteers.

Purpose: The purpose of the Birth to Five Schools Highly Qualified Teacher is to provide comprehensive early childhood experiences in the classroom. Ensures that each child has the opportunity to accomplish the performance measures. Responsible for implementing the Head Start Performance Standards requirements in the lessons and activities.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Plans and implements daily lesson plans and other school activities using Creative Curriculum and available resources. Lessons and activities will adhere to Performance Standards, DHS Licensing Regulations, and agency policies. Learning experiences will be designed to advance intellectual and physical style development of children and prepare them for the transition to the next phase of their education. Teacher has direct interaction with children and participates in daily activities. Ensures activities are age appropriate. Helps children develop an appreciation of books, problem-solving through early match and science, and develop phonemic, literacy and print awareness, as well as language and vocabulary.

2. Eats family-style meals with the children to aid in the development of social skills. Conducts taste experiences weekly with children to expose them to a variety of foods.

3. Recruits volunteers for the classroom. Has a volunteer sign-in sheet on display in the classroom for easy sign-in. In-kind donations and volunteer time is documented on the proper forms and turn in monthly.

4. Supports parents as educators of children. Sends home tasks monthly to be completed with parents. Promotes parent interest and recruits parent volunteers for the classroom. Attends parent meetings as assigned. Completes home visits and parent teacher conferences and required documentation.

5. Assist in medical/dental screenings, mental health screenings (including observational notes), administering Brigance Testing, and IEP development of school enrollees.

6. Completes paperwork and reports as required. Types of paperwork include daily health check, attendance, meal count, classroom and playground checks, sign in and out sheets for children daily, case notes, children’s folders, anecdotal notes, and tracking of services. Uses Teaching Strategies GOLD on-line to document and track individual child goals.

7. Sweeps and mops the classrooms, cleans the children’s bathroom, sanitizes children’s bedding and toys as required by Head Start and DHS Licensing guidelines.

8. Serves as a bus monitor on transportation routes as assigned by the Center Director.

9. Responsible for assisting in emergency medical care, safety, fire prevention, and sanitation of the staff, children, and school environment.

10. Other related duties as assigned.

Performance Expectations:

1. Confidentiality of children and family information is mandatory.

2. Teaching children appropriate behavior for social settings is an important aspect of Head Start. Employees are expected to model appropriate behavior such as using proper tone of voice and maintaining control of the classroom.

3. Provides a positive learning environment for the children through encouragement and interaction with the children. Supports the parent as the primary educator of the child.

3. Must be able to work in a positive manner with children ages 3- 5 from a variety of backgrounds, including children who have disabilities. Able to relate to problems of low-income and minority families.

4. Attend training as required. Must maintain any training or certification requirements. Training may require some evenings, weekends, and/or overnight travel.

5. Comply with program procedures and licensing guidelines and follows best practices. Stays current with early education trends and practices and adapts as changes are introduced. Abides by SOCAG Personnel Policies and adheres to Performance Standards.

6. Ensure children’s safety by enforcing safety rules and procedures. Follows other safety rules such as wearing closed-toe shoes (no sandals), bus safety rules, and various other program procedures.

7. Must be able to complete written documentation and computer data entry as assigned.