Early Head Start Teacher

Job Details

Location:

Lafayette Parish - Lafayette, LA 70501

The EHS Teacher is responsible for working with infants or toddlers in a classroom setting. The Teacher will work collaboratively with a partner Teacher to ensure the successful operation of a classroom with capacity per the Head Start infant/toddler ratio standards. The Teacher, along with families and colleagues, works to achieve meaningful progress of each child along his/her own unique developmental path and toward PRIME TIME Head Starts school readiness goals.

• Uses knowledge of the principles of child growth and development to work with children and communicate with families, internal and external stakeholders.
• Implements child-centered daily routine, curriculum, and learning environment that encourages the development of age-appropriate positive social interactions, active exploration and engagement in learning, and self-motivation to promote development in all domains for children of all abilities.
• Understands the development of self-regulation in infants-toddlers as well as age-appropriate expectations for pro-social behaviors. Creates a nurturing, responsive environment that promotes positive development of social and emotional competencies. Observes closely and with understanding to determine possible causes of challenging behavior, implement preventive measures, and teach children new social and communication skills in partnership with families.
• Uses observations of children and anecdotal notes to document children's progress and individualize curriculum.
• Creates partnerships with families to establish positive interaction patterns in the program, school, and home.

• Will assist in ensuring that the written curriculum includes goals for children's development and learning; the experiences through which children will achieve these goals; what staff and parents can do to help children achieve these goals; and the materials needed to support the implementation of the curriculum toward achieving the stated goals.
• Support the social and emotional development of children.
• Responsible for collaborating with a partner Teacher in the preparation of daily lesson plans. Post them for parents, volunteers, and visitors in the classroom.
• Will assist in the development of individual plans for each child including goal setting based on identified needs and prescriptions for objectives and activities to meet established child outcomes.
• Planning and implementing learning experiences that advance the cognitive and physical development of children, including progress toward school readiness goals by developing their language (understanding and increasingly complex use, expanding vocabulary) emergent literacy, print and numeracy awareness, their appreciation of books, and their problem‑solving abilities.

• Follow the program curriculum providing ample opportunities for natural play and hands‑on experiences that reflect the learning styles of individual children in the group.
• Implement developmentally and linguistically appropriate experiences appropriate to the age, language, and culture of the children served.
• Establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment.
• Implement experiential learning activities advancing infants' and toddlers' intellectual and emotional competence.
• Provide positive guidance and discipline supporting children as they acquire readiness skills for kindergarten and beyond.
• Implement daily lesson plans in response to children's needs and interests incorporating observations, anecdotal record keeping, knowledge of early childhood development, and key experiences.
• Implement Individual Family Services Plans (IFSPs) for children with disabilities.
• Provide children with a consistent classroom routine that is responsive to individual infants' and toddlers' needs.
• Always provide supervision and ensure the safety and security of children in accordance with Early Head Start and daycare licensing requirements.
• Supervise and eat nutritionally prepared meals and/or snacks with the children as a curriculum activity (toddlers and 2s) to model good nutrition and proper…