Assistant Teacher - Child Development Center; Primary

Kennedy-King College's Child Development Center is seeking a dedicated and nurturing Assistant Teacher – Child Development Center (Primary) to support the delivery of high-quality early childhood education services within our Child Development Laboratory Schools. This role is ideal for professionals who are passionate about child development, creating engaging learning environments, and building strong partnerships with families. Under the supervision of the Teacher – Child Development Center, the Assistant Teacher provides instructional, clerical, and classroom support to help implement a developmentally appropriate curriculum aligned with the educational philosophy and goals of the Child Development Center.

The Assistant Teacher works collaboratively with teaching staff to create a safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment that supports the growth and development of preschool-aged children.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Adheres to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Code of Ethical Conduct, demonstrating a professional attitude and work ethic, and respect for children, families, and colleagues.
• Provides a safe, healthy environment for children, with a focus on classroom health, hygiene, nutrition, and safety. This includes maintaining a clean and orderly environment for children; ensuring children attend to personal hygiene/hand washing; teaching children about health and nutrition; and reporting accidents, injuries, and illnesses to parents and supervisors.
• Assists the teacher in the development and implementation of an environment and curriculum that provides for a variety of developmentally appropriate activities to promote children’s development in the areas of language and literacy, cognition, social-emotional well-being, and physical health. This should be done with consideration of the Center’s goals, educational philosophy, and general curriculum plans.
• Assists in the maintenance of required paperwork, logs and records, as well as documentation to assess individual children and the class as a whole.
• Ensures children’s safety through constant supervision, storage of dangerous materials, arrangement and maintenance of classroom and equipment.
• Works with other teaching staff to provide a nurturing, stimulating, non-punitive, and culturally sensitive environment that encourages language, self-expression, exploration, creativity, imaginative play, thinking skills, and the development of positive relationships.
  Ensures parents are greeted warmly and receive adequate information about their child’s experience at the center through daily contact, scheduled conferences, and written documentation as required.
• Participates in any quality enhancement initiatives that the center may undertake.
• Participates in staff meetings, planning, and professional development and shares information gained from coursework or attendance at professional development workshops and conferences.
• Adheres to requirements put forth by funding, licensing, and accreditation agencies.
• Performs other duties as required and maintains classroom atmosphere and requirement in the absence of the regular teacher.
• Adheres to CCC Customer Service Excellence standards.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Associate’s degree from an accredited college or university in Child Development, Early Childhood Education or a related field, plus two (2) years of experience with preschool children, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
• Illinois Gateways to Opportunity Early Childhood Credential, Level 4 or above, is required.
• Must have and maintain a warm, supportive attitude towards children.
• Must be flexible in receiving assignments and adapting to…