Teacher Aide

General Summary

To assist the teacher in carrying out developmentally appropriate activities in the preschool classroom and in promoting the health, nutrition and education of children while attending to their safety and welfare. The Teacher Aide must comply with the Head Start Program Performance Standards, THHS Child Care Regulation, School Readiness Goals and other Federal, State and any local regulations, policies and procedures.

The Teacher Aide serves in the role of teacher when the assigned teacher is absent.

• Responsible for assisting teachers with the care, supervision and education of a group of children as part of a teaching team.
• Provide preschool aged children with a nurturing, safe and healthy environment and individualized learning experience to help them develop socially, intellectually, physically, and emotionally in achieving social competency.
• Assists in implementing screening procedures that identify concerns in the developmental, behavioral, motor, language, social, cognitive, and emotional skills of each child in the classroom within 45 calendar days of the child’s entry into the Program.
• Assists in implementing with fidelity a research-based curriculum with effective teaching practices that promote positive outcomes by promoting growth in the developmental progression described in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework:
  Ages Birth to Five. Integrate child assessment data and developmentally appropriate learning experiences in planning and implementing a collaboratively designed lesson plan.
• Assists in conducting Parent-Teacher conferences, at least two center visits and two home visits, with more frequent conferences conducted as appropriate.
• Assists in implementing the classroom’s emergency procedures, including the posting of procedures, locations and telephone numbers of emergency response systems, emergency evacuation routes, notifying families of emergencies, and other procedures and the maintenance of up-to-date family contact information and authorization for emergency care.
• Assures that the child’s outdoor and indoor environments are safe and clean at all times, including storing outdoor equipment such as wagons and tricycles and storing dangerous materials and potential poisons under lock and key. Sanitize classroom equipment and supplies and maintain a clean classroom including restrooms and kitchen area.
• Assists with the supervision, safety and well-being of all children in the classroom at all times, including active supervision, maintaining child/staff ratio, and that no child is left alone or unsupervised. Assures the classroom’s environment is developmentally appropriate for each child, including children with disabilities.
• Assists in conducting activities in the classroom to conform to the Program’s written program plans, Performance Standards, Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework:
  Ages Birth to Five, Minimum Standards for Licensing, CACOST’s Head Start Birth to Five Program policies and procedures, School Readiness Goals and the Parent, Family and Community Engagement Framework. May also be required to conduct activities and temporarily serve as the Teacher in the event that the lead Teacher is absent.
• Assists in the implementation of children’s IEPs or Plans of Care for children with Disabilities.
• Maintains a cooperative attitude of working with the teacher, volunteers, parents and program staff and assists the Teacher in obtaining monthly In-kind for the classroom.
• Assists with sanitizing, cleaning, dishwashing and meal service as needed.
• Assists with child drop‑off and pick‑up procedures.
• Assists the Teacher with documentation of attendance, education, health, nutrition, mental health, transition, disabilities and parent/family engagement requirements in the appropriate program software, portfolio or child’s file.
• Assists the Family Advocate in promoting parent engagement activities and in obtaining required documents from parents such as physicals, dentals, immunizations, in‑kind, etc.
• Complies with the Program’s confidentiality policies.
• Any other duty as assigned by the Teacher and/or Operations Manager.

• Pri…