Teacher, Early Head Start

Overview

Educare Chicago provides high-quality care, best-in-class education, and a stimulating learning environment to children from birth to five years old on Chicago’s South Side. As a program that serves low-income families, Educare’s research-based program helps children develop literacy, language, early math, and social-emotional skills they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. We are recruiting individuals who want to join us in this mission and share a commitment to our core values of appreciation & respect, empowerment, excellence, learning, and communication
. Become part of our rewarding, mission-driven culture. We want our employees to feel empowered, motivated, energized, and passionate about the work they do.

Position: Lead Teacher – responsible for the implementation and coordination of the comprehensive education program in the classroom. The Lead Teacher ensures that classroom activities and environment are developmentally appropriate and reflect the agency’s philosophy and curriculum, and that the individual needs of the children are met as mandated by federal, state, and local standards.

• Supervisory Responsibilities: Supervise and mentor the Teacher Assistant and Teacher Aide. In collaboration with the Master Teacher, complete performance evaluations for the Teacher Assistant and Teacher Aide. Collaborate with the Master Teacher to execute corrective actions. Conduct weekly team meetings and monthly reflective supervision. Approve time sheets and time off requests. Monitor quantity and quality of child documentation. Delegate responsibilities to Teacher Assistant, Teacher Aide, and other support people assigned to the classroom.
• Administrative Responsibilities: Create and monitor education binders. Document weekly team meetings. Ensure program documentation and reports are completed accurately and on time. Participate in recruitment efforts to maintain full enrollment. Ensure completion and monitoring of daily attendance, health checks, parent sign/scan in & out, and meal participation records. Ensure confidential information is protected. Read and respond to Outlook emails daily.
• Child Development: Observe, assess, and document each child’s health, skills, behavior, growth, and development. Provide opportunities for children to develop positive self-images and experience success. Ensure goals are made with parents and reflected in children’s individual plans. Participate in Family Child Reviews. Identify developmental concerns and follow agency protocol. Collaborate with the Master Teacher in family staffings. Ensure staff adherence to IEP, IFSP, Implementation Plans, and strategies provided by Education Managers and consultants.
• Curriculum and Assessments: Facilitate curriculum planning sessions to develop clear learning objectives and documentation for each child. Develop lesson plans with goals, objectives, experiences, and outcomes for children, integrating health, nutrition, mental health, disabilities, and parent involvement. Incorporate children’s interests, culture, school readiness goals, State and Head Start guidelines, program curriculum, and approach into individualized and group learning opportunities. Work with the assessment team and Master Teachers to use standardized and authentic assessment data to create learning opportunities.
  
  Establish and maintain a classroom environment with positive guidance and emotionally supportive techniques that meet state and local licensing regulations, Head Start Program Performance Standards, and Start Early’s philosophy and curriculum. Use curricula such as Conscious Discipline, Erikson Literacy, and Math initiatives. Ensure fidelity of curriculum implementation. For Pre-K only – research, plan & schedule meaningful field trips that enhance the current study in the classroom.
• Classroom Environment: Develop and maintain an attractive, clean, safe, and engaging environment that encourages children’s independence and self-selection of activities. Maintain a classroom environment that reflects scores exceeding high-quality ratings on environmental rating scales (ECERS, ITERS). Ensure curriculum fidelity…