Join our Head Start team! The Early Head Start Teacher utilizes responsive caregiving and continuity of care strategies to build relationships with children and promote their growth in the areas of social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development. Involves families in every aspect of their child's education, including facilitating parent involvement.

Candidates must submit applications by 9/4/24 to be considered for first-round interviews.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

EDUCATION And/or EXPERIENCE

High School Diploma or General Education Degree (GED)
- Associate Teacher: An Infant/Toddler CDA or one-year equivalent certification
- Level I: An Associate's degree in Early Childhood Education or a related degree with a minimum of 18 credit hours of Early Learning coursework.
- Level II: A Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education or a related degree with a minimum of 18 credit hours of Early Learning coursework.
One year of experience working in early childhood programs.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Driver qualifications are required for this position. Valid driver license, insured vehicle available for use on the job, and a satisfactory drive record for the previous three years are required.
Successful registration with the Central Background Registry of the Child Care Division.
CPR/First Aid Certification or the ability to obtain within 60 days of hire.
Food Handlers Card or the ability to obtain within 30 days of hire.
Candidate must pass pre-employment physical examination, renewable every two years.
Candidate must pass pre-employment and random drug/alcohol screenings.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

Demonstrated proficiencies in Microsoft Office (including Outlook), videoconferencing platforms, and web tools.
Effective interpersonal communication skills, in both oral and written form.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee will also perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned by immediate supervisor and other management as required.

Classroom

Utilizes infant and toddler curriculum and lesson planning procedures to create and implement flexible learning opportunities based on children's needs, strengths, and interests.
Develops close relationships with children through nurturing and responsive interactions, along with consistent routines to maintain a continuity of care.
Supports the social-emotional growth of infants and toddlers by using individualized responses and approaches based on their temperaments and needs.
Utilizes consistent responses to infants' and toddlers' actions and behaviors to support learning and provide positive redirection.
Builds social-emotional growth and language development through engaging and connecting with children during large- and small-group time, meal times, diaper changing, and bottle-feeding.
Integrates developmentally appropriate movement and physical activities and routines that support health and learning.
Assesses and modifies the learning environment to support the changing ages, interests, and characteristics of infants and toddlers.
Ensures safety in the classroom at all times, with appropriate supervision of children, utilizing the transition and counting form and procedure. Ensures children are released only to parent/guardians or authorized adults.
Records children's daily attendance, working with site team to determine the cause of absences.
Conducts developmental and social-emotional screenings for each child, with input from parents. Provides follow up to concerns, including the provision of resources, or referrals for children with identified developmental or social-emotional needs.
Conducts and records child observations to utilize in setting goals, individualizing and creating assessments.
Creates a supportive climate and positive environment with opportunities for children to make connections with other children and staff.
Maintains a spontaneous and flexible attitude in meeting children's individual needs, encouraging children to verbalize their own feelings and ideas.
Prepares materials, activities, and projects for class.
Participates in family style meals, taking USDA required meal counts, and leading conversation at the table to enhance the social and emotional growth of children.
Conducts, in the classroom, monthly emergency drills to prepare children and staff for fires, earthquakes, secure campus, and lockdown situations.
Supports team by providing coverage for breaks, lunches, and illness, at home site as well as other sites in the program.
Changes children's diapers in accordance with Program procedures.
Works with parents whose children require potty training support.
Maintains a clean, sanitary, safe, and orderly classroom.

Office/Paperwork

Effectively uses the ChildPlus and Teaching Strategies Gold databases to enter or obtain information.
Completes Progress Checkpoints for child assessment, using information obtained from child observations. Shares information with program administration and parents.
Writes an article for parent newsletter each month.
Uses office time efficiently to make and receive parent phone calls, order supplies, preparing children's work to go home, preparing materials for activities, and other office work as needed.
Verifies and submits weekly Meal Counts and Attendance forms.

Staff Development/Meetings

Attends a variety of classes, workshops, seminars, pre-service training and other Head Start Teacher trainings, and keeps current on developments in early childhood education, and developmentally appropriate practices.
Attends a variety of meetings including individual reflection meetings, region meetings, site team meetings, debriefing after observations, and other meetings as necessary.
Attends IFSP meetings or Triage meetings when necessary to support children with social-emotional or developmental concerns.
Keeps current on and complies with program and agency policies and procedures, Head Start Performance Standards, and other applicable regulations.
Attends and contributes to child/family staffing meetings.
Contributes to training and orienting of new staff as necessary.
Complies with MWVCAA safety and personnel policies, including punctuality and attendance.

Parent Involvement

Maintains daily communication with parents by providing information about their child's day, including information about diapering, toileting, meal times, rest times, and activities.
Conducts home visits twice per month per family, presenting child development materials and providing resources to Early Head Start families.
Supports parents as children transition to and from the program through a variety of transition activities.
Provides regular opportunities for parent participation by training parents who volunteer in the classroom.
Participates in planning for and implementing monthly parent meetings.
Participates in classroom orientations at the beginning of the school year.
Providing tools, resources and opportunities for parents to observe and practice appropriate redirection skills with their child.
Develops and maintains relationships with parents/guardians, to ensure consistent and frequent communication.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close and distance vision and ability to adjust focus; hearing abilities required.
Regularly lift and/or move 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Frequently reach with hands and arms; regularly required to climb or balance; occasionally required to stand; walk; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
Ability to remain calm and quickly evacuate children from the classroom in an emergency.
Manual dexterity for handling office equipment.
Frequent driving in all weather conditions between Agency and family home sites.
Requires planning and problem-solving skills, including resourcefulness and creative thinking.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Mostly indoor classroom and bus riding environment.
Frequent outdoor supervision of children and monitoring pick up/drop off.
Occasional exposure to cleaning chemicals, creative substances such as paints.
Enrollment in the Central Background Registry is beneficial if you are even considering working with children in the State of Oregon, since it will be required before you can start a position. Enrollment is free and it is recommended that you start now as the process can take time. Start enrollment online at: oregonearlylearning

MWVCAA is committed to promoting and achieving diversity, equity and inclusion with employees and with those we serve. The agency strives to be an employer of choice with a vision for all people to be respected for their infinite worth, and supported to envision and reach a positive future.

MWVCAA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, veterans, and people with disabilities or any other protected category. We welcome all people to join us in achieving our Mission. If you require any assistance in the application process, or reasonable accommodations to perform the essential duties of the position, please notify a member of our team at (503) 585-6232.

This is a partial list of essential duties and responsibilities. To review the full job description, download below.

If you need ADA accommodations to apply for MWVCAA job openings, please contact Human Resources at or call to ask for a HR Team Member.

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Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency

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Infant/Toddler Teacher - Early Head Start