Important Notice: Update concerning COVID-19 The health and safety of our employees, parents, families, and candidates is of utmost importance to CDI Head Start. Many of our head start centers are closed, however, we will continue to contact qualified candidates and schedule interviews either by phone, video, or onsite with limited contact with others. We look forward to reviewing your application.

If you have a job-related inquiry, please contact cdi@cdiheadstart.org

JOBS: Kittitas County, WA

Mentor Teacher

Location: Ellensburg              Apply For this Job      Aplicar en español

Pay Period: Biweekly
Salary Range: $ 1669.03- $
Weeks per Year: 40
Hours Per Week: 40

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR: Education and Mental Health Manager

GENERAL SUMMARY:

This position is responsible to mentor a group of teachers providing guidance, training and technical assistance, oversee and monitor child development activities and planning.  Receives content area supervision, training and technical assistance from content area managers/specialist/coordinators.

 

B.  DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION

This position is responsible for assisting in the improvement of early learning through analysis and application of ECE best practice methods, identification and management of professional development opportunities, and follow-up and coaching of strategies related to individual professional development plan goals. This position may be called upon to provide backup to classrooms when needed. Duties of the position are described in major functional areas listed below.  Additional duties may be assigned.

 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC JOB DUTIES – ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

a.  Program Development

1. Participates in the development and implementation of an agency-wide T/TA Plan.
2. Develops and facilitates a positive community presence in the community, focusing on networking opportunities, enhancement of volunteer participation and educational awareness efforts in regard to program needs.
3. Provides demonstration of best practices in the area of professional development.
4. Leads professional development activities, including formation of learning communities.
5. Participates in a formalized peer review process as a formative evaluator.
6. Conducts strategies for identifying the professional development needs of the staff.
7. With the staff representative, plans and coordinates center-based professional development opportunities like to individual professional development plans and job competencies.
8. Follows-up and extends staff development trainings.
9. Collaborates with colleagues to construct exemplary lesson plans.
10. Assists with the adoption and implementation of curriculum resources.
11. Facilitates curriculum planning.
12. Sharing best practices with Education Manager and education team.
13. Serves as a resource to overall education and collaboration team to support on the development, implementation and evaluation of Head Start/Early Head Start continuous improvement.
14. Supports and assists in implementing the program vision and mission.
15. Meets with parents and community members as appropriate.
16. Monitors and oversees all areas of child development activities and planning.
17. Helps in planning and providing a developmentally and linguistically appropriate curriculum and experiences in a manner appropriate to the ages, languages and cultures of children served.
18. Oversees learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical competence of children including improving the readiness of children for school by developing their literacy and phonemic, print and numeracy awareness, their understanding of the use of language, their understanding and use of increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books and their problem solving abilities.
19. Maintains a commitment to professionalism and continues own professional development so that decisions are based on knowledge of early childhood theories and practices.
20. Shares pertinent information with family services staff/case managers to ensure coordinated services that meet the needs of individual children and families.
21. Provides a stable classroom routine and environment.
22. Ensures a well-run, purposeful program responsive to participant needs.
23. Screens, observes and documents children as required.
24. Understands regulations associated with prevention of occupational disease and injury, including the exercise of universal precautions and the prevention of contamination.

b. Classroom Parent Involvement and Community Relations

1. Sets up system to assure program's needs for parent involvement in each classroom are met.
2. Establishes positive and productive relationships with families focusing on a relationship of trust and rapport with the parents of the children.
3. Participates in the orientation of parents to Head Start/Early Head Start throughout the year.
4. Facilitates and supports monthly Parent Committee meetings at the center.
5. Schedules and arranges meetings, and documents parent-teacher conferences and home visits as required.
6. Participates in the training of parents as requested.
7. Involves parents in the educational activities of the program: 
   1. to emphasize their role as the principal influence on the child's education and development
   2. to assist parents to increase their knowledge, understanding, skills and experience in basic child development.
8. Identifies and arranges for parents to participate as volunteers in the classroom and work as substitutes as well as other volunteer activities.
9. Collects monthly in-kind records from parents participating and submits to local administrative office.
10. Writes a classroom newsletter once every other month beginning in October and provides center news for the program newsletter as requested.
11. Positively promotes Head Start/Early Head Start in the community.
12. Directly orients, trains and supervises all classroom volunteers assigned in cooperation with the staff person responsible for volunteer recruitment and training.
13. Works closely with local school system(s), as appropriate, for shared activities, registration and smooth transition.

c. RECORDKEEPING AND FISCAL

1. Maintains filing, tracking and documentation systems.
2. Submits verbal and/or written reports to supervisor and/or the Program Director on the activities and status of the center on a regular basis.
3. Monitors staff attendance, meals served, collects and initials all staff time sheets and leave requests, verifying accuracy.
4. Monitors employee on-site file requirements and keeps them secure in locked files.
5. Assists in the monitoring of all children’s files for content, organization and security.
6. Assists in the identification, purchase and annual inventory of center supplies and equipment in accordance with the budget.
7. Assists in the fiscal management of the center by monitoring financial records, expenditures and accounts payable and receivable in a timely manner.
8. Understands, generates and documents in-kind and other allowable costs applied toward the non-federal share requirement.

1. With the manager/specialist/coordinator in charge of early childhood education, plans and implements pre-service and on-going in-service for classroom staff.
2. Conducts staff meetings and arranges for training and Family Nights and Parent Committees for parents and staff.  Maintains minutes, sign in sheets, in-kind forms, training logs, etc.
3. Provides supervision and evaluation of assigned staff at the center including hiring and termination in accordance with CDI Head Start Employee Handbook: human resources policies and procedures and Head Start/Early Head Start regulations.
4. Assists manager/specialist/coordinator in charge of early childhood education to work with individual Teachers to develop training plans for obtaining an AA degree of higher in Early Childhood Education.
5. Develops, conducts or arranges training as needed, including volunteer training in the classroom.  
6. Provides guidance and oversight to staff through monitoring.
7. Becomes thoroughly familiar with the human resources policies and procedures and ensure that all center staff are aware of these and any changes that may occur.
8. Responsible for participating in training opportunities, state sponsored meetings and appropriate committees and task forces as appropriate.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE   
Minimum requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development or other related degree with at least two years of experience working with young children and families. One year supervisory experience preferred.  Previous Head Start/Early Head Start experience preferred. 


By September 30, 2013, the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 mandates that at least 50% of Head Start teachers nation-wide must have a baccalaureate or advanced degree in Early Childhood Education; or a baccalaureate or advanced degree in any subject, and coursework* equivalent to a major relating to Early Childhood Education with experience teaching preschool-age children.


*Coursework equivalent to a major related to Early Childhood Education includes but is not limited to the following:


A. Teaching Credentials: licensure or certification by the state for Pre-K teachers recognized by the local school district or state education agency as qualifying teachers to teach pre-school children in that school district or state if the individual has at least 500 clock hours of experience in an early childhood setting teaching pre-school aged children.  This typically requires a bachelor’s degree plus licensure or certification.


OR


B. *Coursework:  No less than 15 semester credits for the associates degree or 30 semester credits for the bachelors degree in courses that focus specifically on child development, early childhood education and curriculum, early childhood teaching and assessment, psychology, family development, health and physical development, mathematics, science, and children’s literature.  Such courses may have been taken in various departments, such as Education, Home Economics, Music, Art, Library Sciences, Physical Education and Recreation, Psychology, Family Studies, and others and must specifically address young children. 


It is up to each employee to provide to their immediate supervisor, and/or the staff person responsible for human resources, information on the college credit courses taken (e.g., transcripts) and to demonstrate that the courses not specifically in the areas of early childhood education or child development address early childhood education or child development with a focus on children ages three to five (may require a copy of the course syllabus).