POSITION TITLE Teacher Assistant

DEPARTMENT Early Head Start

LOCATION Takoma Park, Maryland

SUPERVISOR Infant and Toddler/Disabilities Coordinator

PRIMARY PURPOSES OF JOB
Responsible for ensuring the safety of all children, assisting in the planning and implementation of the program’s educational approach and promoting and supporting the role of the parent as their child’s primary teacher. This function will be carried out in keeping with the Goals and Mission of the Agency.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Assist teachers in developing and implementing a plan to ensure the safety of the children within the group to utilize indoor and outdoor facilities and supervise activities of children to ensure their safety.
• Inspect facilities for hazardous conditions and unsafe equipment and materials and remove all debris, hazardous unsafe equipment and materials.
• Predict unsafe situations and take precautions, provide child first aid, implement procedures that prevent the spread of infectious diseases, promotes oral and physical health, appropriately respond to emergencies/crises.
• Provide positive child guidance and appropriate limits and effectively respond to challenging behaviors of children.
• Assist teachers in utilizing all CentroNía required screening and assessment tools and performance standard guidance to address child health, nutrition, and development and provide effective follow-up on information gathered.
• Write objective narrative notes and maintain adequate records and submit timely, complete and readable documentation and required reports.
• Provide appropriate materials and create, warm, safe and educationally challenging indoor and outdoor environment for children at all developmental levels.
• Create a classroom environment that fosters the development of self-awareness, autonomy, and self-expression.
• Assist teacher in planning individual and group activities to stimulate learning, according to ages of children and that foster independence, trust and emotional security through the use of familiar routines, transitions, and predictable responses to children needs.
• Provide opportunities with support and guidance for each child to explore a variety of sensory and gross motor and fine motor experiences.
• Assist teachers in implementing instructional activities, including individual, small and classroom group, indoor and outdoor experiences that promote and support emerging communication skills, creative arts, social emotional and physical development and positive approaches to learning.
• Promote and support the role of the parent as their child’s primary teacher and foster the attachment between them.
• Involve parents in educational activities of the program to enhance their role as the principal influence on the child’s education and development and assist parents to increase knowledge, understanding skills, and experience in child growth and development.
• Encourage parent participation in parent groups at the center and provide opportunities for parents to use their skill and talents in the classroom.
• Assist in organizing family conferences, participate in child study teams, case conferences, inter- agency conferences, and IFSPs.
• Participate in staff and family conferences.
• Promote high quality interpersonal communication between children, families, peers, support/management staff, and community services/schools and community helpers. In bilingual settings, communicate both verbally and in writing, with both the parents and the children in their language when possible.
• Appropriately address conflicts and differences between staff, parents, and children.
• Attend all required in-service training, and orientations, workshops, webinars, etc.
• Follow CentroNía’s personnel and other policies, applicable State and Federal regulations and standards and the CentroNía and Early Head Start mission, goals, and plans.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE
• 1 year experience as teacher in an Infant/Toddler program
• Ability to work with an ethnically and linguistically diverse population
• Bilingual English/Spanish (Strong Preference)

REQUIRED EDUCATION
High School Diploma and CDA credential for Infant and Toddler Caregivers.

WORKING CONDITIONS
Non-profit community based organization, bilingual Spanish/English environment

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability, it is necessary to specify the physical, mental and environmental conditions of the Essential Duties of the job. The following codes are used to explain the frequency of physical activity:
"F" for frequently; "O" for occasionally; "N" for not at all

On the job the employee must be able to carry/lift loads of:
( F ) Light (up to 25lbs.)
( N ) Moderate (25-50lbs.)
( N ) Heavy (over 50lbs.)

On the job the employee must:
( F ) Bend ( F ) Sit ( F ) Squat and Kneel ( F ) Stand
( O) Crawl ( F ) Walk ( F ) Climb ( F ) Push/Pull
( F ) Handle objects (Manual Dexterity) ( F ) Reach above shoulder level
( F ) Use fine finger movements (F) Talk and hear when working with officials, managers, colleagues, peers on the telephone or in person. (F) Specific vision abilities including close vision and distant vision.
*Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable any qualified person with disabilities to perform essential functions of the job.
To carry out this job an individual must be able to perform all essential functions of the job satisfactorily.

To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter and references; indicating the position you are applying to:
Human Resources Department at CentroNía:
1420 Columbia Road, NW, DC 20009
centroniajobs@centronia.org
Fax (202) 745-0154
“Educating children and youth, and strengthening families, in a bilingual, multicultural community.”
CentroNía is an equal opportunity employer