Position Description
Position: Early Learning Center Preschool Instructor
Reports to: Director of the ELC
Status: Non-Exempt (Hourly)
Contact: Co-Directors of ELC: Diamond Gray-Diaz, diamond_gray@cate.org. Jessica Knapp, jessica_knapp@cate.org
Pay Scale: $ 22.00- $25.00 DOE
Job Summary
The ELC Teacher position is responsible for all aspects of care while at the Cate Early Learning Center. Such responsibilities will include: physical caregiving, developmental assessments, development of age-appropriate/individually appropriate curriculum, and facilitating supportive relationships with parents.
Job Benefits
Health Benefits
The School pays 90% of the monthly premium for all full-time employees for the base plan HMO option. The School pays 90% baseline plan premium for a single employee, plus 40% for dependents. The School pays 90% baseline plan premium for a single employee, plus 40% for dependents.
Additional Benefits Include flexible spending, life insurance, long-term disability, voluntary benefits, accident insurance, accidental death & dismemberment: (AD&D), hospital indemnity insurance, commuter benefits, critical illness insurance, legal service, short-term disability, retirement plans, vacation, sick, and holiday time, on-site child care facility, and professional development funds.
All Cate Employees live up to the following Essential Expectations:
- Overtly support and act according to the school’s mission and values.
- Foster a safe, predictable, and supportive environment for employees and students.
- Interact with colleagues in a respectful and collegial manner that fosters a healthy culture for living, learning, and working together.
- Demonstrate commitment and courage in service of building our school culture where diversity is affirmed and supported.
- Demonstrate appropriate planning and preparation to meet the complex and evolving needs of your role.
- Uphold professional standards of predictable presence, reliable responses, and relational trust.
- Appropriately steward strategic and special projects associated with role or team.
- Honor the confidentiality of School, student, and family information.
- Comply with policies and procedures as articulated in the School’s Employee Handbook.
- Authentically engage in self-reflection in service to professional growth and adapting to the evolving needs of the school.
Essential Job Functions
The responsibilities of this position will include, but not be limited to the following:
- At all times ensure the children’s safety in both indoor and outdoor environments.
- Responsible for formulating relationships with parents and children that are respectful of individual differences, family styles, and cultural/socioeconomic diversity.
- Responsible for ensuring that all meal and rest breaks for the staff and the changes in the daily schedule for the children (outside time, meals for the children, diaper changes, etc.) are done in an organized manner to support a sense of routine in the environment for the children.
- Plan, supervise, and implement the Infant-Toddler program in accordance with the policies and philosophy of the ELC and the identified curriculum objectives.
- Strive to create an instructional program that meets the needs of each child with concern for his/her interests, individual learning style, and pace of learning.
- Provide appropriate guidance to support staff and substitute teachers, and actively facilitate their program development skills.
- Design a stimulating, consistent, and developmentally appropriate learning environment suitable for all children enrolled in the classroom.
- Responsible for doing routine evaluations of each child’s development.
- Adaptable to changes in daily routines and program needs.
- Strive to create a state-of-the-art childcare program.
Interactions with Children
- Strive to create a language-rich program, encouraging positive and respectful interactions.
- Treat each child with dignity and respect.
- Help each child to become aware of his/her role as an integral member of the group.
- Help each child to become comfortable with him/herself.
- Encourage active involvement in problem-solving in the environment.
- Encourage children to be responsible for their actions to support the development of their roles as effective decision-makers.
Working with Parents
- Communicate with parents on a regular basis regarding the progress of their children in the program or specific issues as they occur on a day-to-day basis.
- Work with new parents to create an easy transition into the Program.
- Create an environment that embraces open communication between staff and parents.
- Provide Early Childhood/community resources as needed.
Employee Conduct
- It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, children, and parents.
Physical Requirements
- Continually able to observe and respond to children’s needs, emergencies and/or conflicts that might occur during the day (inside or outside environment).
- Continually able to lift children/materials 1-50 pounds from the floor to a waist high table.
- Continually able to kneel to maintain eye contact at child’s level.
- Continually able to sit on the floor to work with children.
- Continually able to react to a child that is 20 to 30 feet away within 30 seconds.
- Continually able to carry a child (1 to 50 pounds), up to 50-100 feet.
- Continually able to respond to children’s first aid needs (inside and outside) which may include cuts, bruises, blood/bodily fluids.
- Continually able to communicate clearly and calmly to children, parents, and co-workers.
- Continually able to deal effectively with the stress involved in working closely with children, parents, and co-workers.
- Continually able to do fine and medium hand manipulation.
Minimum Job Qualifications
- High school graduate.
- Minimum of one year’s experience working with young children, two preferred.
- Twelve (12) core units in Early Childhood Education.
- 6 Infant-Toddler units (or 3 units at time of hire with successful completion of 3 additional units within 12 months of hire).
- Preferred AS or AA in related fields.
- Successful completion of the fingerprinting process and or successful transfer of fingerprints from another program.
- Successful completion of the hiring packet, including current immunization record.
- Working knowledge of personal computers with experience in the use of such programs as Word, Excel and Outlook.
- Comfortable with team-based work structure; ability to demonstrate flexibility on the job.
- Demonstrates initiative, is conscientious and provides complete follow-through on areas of responsibility.
- Preferred bilingual (Spanish).
- Strong grasp of RIE philosophy.
- CPR/First Aid Certification, or able to acquire within 3 months of hire date.
This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. An employee may also perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned.
Physical Requirements
- Ability to lift 50 pounds, using proper lifting techniques
- Ability to sit, stand, and/or move around the applicable working environment as needed
- Ability to travel safely and comfortably around our campus
- Ability to use a keyboard (or an alternative input device) and other office equipment
- Ability to read information in printed material, on a computer screen, and/or on a mobile device/laptop for extended periods of time
Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
Cate School is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition including genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender, gender identity, genetic information or any other category protected under federal or local law.
