Head Start Lead Teacher; Augusta Locations

Nature And Scope

Under the supervision of the Center Manager/Director, the Head Start Lead Teacher is ultimately responsible for the implementation of the day‑to‑day operation of services for children ages 3‑5.

• Responsible for directly supervising and developing the classroom associates and managing the day‑to‑day operations in the classroom.
• Plan and implement learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical development of children.
• Improve the readiness of children for school by developing their literacy, phonemic, and print awareness.
• Enhance understanding and use of language, understanding and use of increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, and an appreciation of books.
• Begin the foundation of early math and early science, problem‑solving abilities, and approaches to learning.
• Establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment.
• Support the social and emotional development of children.
• Encourage the involvement of the families of the children in a Head Start program and support the development of relationships between children and their families.
• Consistently implements developmentally appropriate practices that are individualized, inclusive of children with disabilities, and age appropriate and integrated across all areas of a child’s development.
• Meet all job‑related federal, state, local and program regulations and timelines for compliance, implementation, and documentation.
• Meet performance standards, monitoring guidelines, licensure regulations, disabilities service requirements, and the completion of developmental assessments, parent conferences, and home visits.
• Actively participate in teaching activities by consistently moving around the learning environment both indoors and outdoors.
• Constant supervision of children during all activities (indoors & outdoors) as well as during all times when children are under their direct care.
• Re‑direct inappropriate behaviors in a positive manner that is supportive and non‑punitive.
• Respond quickly to a child in distress or a crying child by immediately calming them in a nurturing and appropriate manner.
• Utilize developmentally appropriate feeding, toileting, cleaning, and health care practices for children with special health care needs.
• Model appropriate language behaviors for children including grammatically correct verbal and written language usage.
• Plan, prepare, and implement age‑appropriate activities that are integrated across the curriculum; thematic; real, concrete, and relevant; stimulating and challenging; and based on the child’s individual needs and interests.
• Prepare in advance lesson plans, materials and environment that are organized, interactive, appropriate, clean, safe, and hands on.
• Plan and implement a balance of open and structured child‑initiated and teacher‑directed activities.
• Implement large group, small group, and individualized instruction.
• Prepare, plan, and implement transition strategies for daily activities.
• Organizes classroom space into functional areas (i.e. interest centers) that are easily recognizable and clutter free.
• Conduct and record ongoing observations that are descriptive of the whole child and his/her developmental milestones rather than just exclusive reports of problem behaviors.
• Conduct all home visits in the home and in a timely manner as required by the program guidelines.
• Conduct all scheduled parent conferences and any additional conferences, in a time, manner, and location that is most convenient for parents. These conferences shall predominantly contain positive and developmental information rather than reports of behavior related incidents and child’s areas of concern.
• Administer and record regularly scheduled developmental assessments as required by program guidelines.
• Consistently utilize information from developmental assessments in the planning, teaching and individualization of classroom activities.
• Based on assessments, observations, developmental milestones, and/or typical behavior immediately refer all suspected disabilities and abuse to the appropriate authority.
• Plan and provide activities that ensure parent and volunteer…