Preschool Lead Teacher

## Job Summary and Qualifications
**Location:**

• Laguna Head Start 5001 North Shannon Road Tucson, AZ 85705, 1 position
• Cavett Head Start 2125 East Poquita Vista Tucson, AZ 85713, 1 position
• Prince Head Start 90 East King Road Tucson, AZ 85705, 1 position
• Mission Manor Head Start 6009 South Santa Clara Tucson, AZ 85706, 1 position

**Salary Range:** $1698.40 - $1,782.40 (bi-weekly)

**Shift Type:** 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday, Mid July through Mid June, approximately 7:30am-4:30pm, may require occasional evenings and weekends due to special events

**Classification:** Salary, Non- Exempt

**Supervisor:** Center Manager

**Supervises:** Teacher (1), Co-Teacher (1)

*\*may require occasional evening and weekend work due to special events*

**Job Summary:**

Child-Parent Centers (CPC) is seeking professionals who share our values and principles for building trusting relationships with children, families, and colleagues. Successful candidates welcome individual differences and perspectives, respect cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and are sensitive to current circumstances. Candidates display a commitment to teamwork, open communication, and are eager to work in a fast-paced, high quality preschool environment. This is a great opportunity for organized and dependable early childhood professionals with strong work ethic and a desire to grow. CPC provides opportunities and financial support for lead teachers to grow professionally including continuing education credits in childhood education or child development or through professional memberships in local regional or national early childhood organizations. If you have previous experience working in an early childhood center and are interested in joining our growing team, we encourage you to apply.

Reporting to the Site Supervisor, leads the classroom team in providing comprehensive high-quality early education and child development services for enrolled children and families. Daily routines promote children’s cognitive, social, health, and emotional growth for later success in school. The lead teacher serves as the parent’s primary contact for all services. The lead teacher receives regular on-going support from the site supervisor and the education specialist (coach) to implement the agency’s curriculum that includes creating a safe and enriching environment, embedding responsive and effective teacher-child interactions, and fostering partnerships with families by respecting values, strengths, and cultures and welcoming parent's contributions and participation. The lead teacher position is funded for eight hours per day Monday through Friday and leads the classroom team in working directly with children who may be in the classroom up to 6.75 hours per day, four days per week.

When working outside the classroom, the lead teacher guides the classroom team activities such as planning lessons, documenting children's work and outcomes, entering and analyzing child and family data, setting goals, and attending professional development opportunities.

**Benefits:**

• Paid Leave – 25 paid holidays (time off aligns with most school districts), 5 days paid vacation 10 days each year thereafter, and 8 days paid Personal leave first year, 8 days each year thereafter, and up to 5 days paid Sick leave each year.
• Insurance benefits - dental, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Health Savings Accounts, PPO medical (3 plans), Vision, and Supplemental Life coverage for self, spouse, and child ($25,000 basic life and Accidental death and disability provided by employer) Supplemental coverages (Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, and Accident Insurance), and pet insurance.
• Retirement Plan - Agency contribution after years of services and hours eligibility criteria are met. Employee 401k deferral after eligibility is met.

**Minimum Qualifications:**

• Must be 18 years of age.
• Possess an associate degree from a recognized educational institution in the field of early childhood education or an associate degree in a related field (Child and Family Studies, Consumer Studies, Developmental Psychology, Elementary Education, Home Economics/Family and Consumer Sciences, Human Development, Human Ecology, Human Services, Nursing, Psychology, Public Health, Social Work, Sociology, or Special Education) and a minimum of 18 credits in early childhood education or child development coursework.
• One (1) year documented work experience with classroom based preschool aged children.
• Demonstrated proficiency using Office 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Possess a valid Arizona driver's license and excellent driving record.
• Possess a current AZ Department of Public Safety Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card OR obtain prior to the first day of work.
• Must read, write, and speak English.
• Able to pass a company paid physical exam prior to starting work.
• Able to pass a DES Centralized Background Check prior to starting work.

**Other Requirements (post hire):**

• Provide proof of immunizations: MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), Tdap (adult Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis), and a clear Tuberculosis Self-Assessment.
• Ability to maintain a valid level fingerprint clearance card and annual DES Centralized Background Check.
• Must be able to prove the right to work in the USA by providing appropriate documents to complete the Federal I-9 form.
• Must possess or have the ability to possess and keep current certification in First Aid Training/CPR training including Infants and Children.
• Must possess or have the ability to possess and keep current a Food Handler’s Certificate issued by the Arizona Department of Health Services

**Competencies:**

• Leadership
• Supervision
• Coaching
• Accountability and Dependability
• Safety Focus
• Listening
• Creative and Innovative Thinking
• Building Relationships
• Teamwork
• Technology
• Self-Management
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Development and Continual Learning

**Desired Qualifications:**

• Possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a recognized educational institution in the field of Early Childhood Education or closely related field (listed above).
• Two (2) years documented experience as a supervisor.
• Four (4) years’ experience working in a preschool center-based classroom.
• Six (6) years’ work or volunteer experience with groups or individuals from a variety or ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds or with Head Start.

**Work Environment:**

• Indoor classroom – temperature controlled.
• Outdoor playground – exposure to hot and cold
• Possible exposure to communicable illness, blood borne pathogens.
• Exposure to cleaning and sanitizing chemicals

**Physical Requirements:**

Frequently

• Ability to see or hear and respond quickly to unsafe situations.
• Stooping, bending, reaching.
• Moving quickly around objects (run, jump, jog)
• Up and down from carpet/floor and/or 12”-14” chairs
• Lift children (3-5 year old children) {19 – 50 lbs}

Occasionally

• Picking up and dropping off supplies
• Push and pull furniture 20lbs to 50lbs
• Lifting +/- 50 lbs

## Duties and Responsibilities
**Job Specific Duties and Responsibilities:**
**Direct Services:**

• Implement the Languages of Learning curriculum a minimum of 6.75 hours per day four days per week. Ensure and support the completion of at least two parent conferences and two home visits during the program year.
• Set learning goals and plan learning experiences by integrating knowledge of each child’s temperament, interests, gender, culture, language, learning approaches, understanding, misconceptions, and abilities and by working collaboratively with families and a range of specialists (e.g., medical, dental, speech, nutrition, mental health)
• Promote children’s active exploration, creativity, and development in all domains by designing indoor and outdoor environments based on knowledge of how children develop and learn, and their individual abilities.
• Build children’s pride in their cultures, families, and communities by ensuring that classroom learning centers and materials reflect children’s cultures and communities (e.g., books and print in families’ languages, family photographs, items from their culture)
• Ensure that children are intellectually challenged by selecting, organizing, and using high-quality materials and equipment and by adapting the environment to support each child’s skill acquisition and success.
• Use information about children obtained through home visits, parent-teacher conferences, and other parent-staff interactions by incorporating this data into daily routines and interactions with children
• Maintain a healthy physical environment by following health and safety procedures (e.g., following universal precautions, regularly sanitizing equipment, child-proofing environments).
• Build children’s awareness of and ability to follow basic health and safety rules by providing opportunities for health and safety learning (e.g., implementing and discussing routines—washing hands, fire drills, crossing streets) and by supervising children at all times and positively redirecting them from potentially harmful activities
• Develop and implement the child supervision system, child count system, and active supervision implementation plan to ensure all children are supervised at all times.
• Support parents in extending children’s learning at home by providing newsletters, take-home activities, home visits, and parent-teacher conferences
• Help children who are learning English by providing them with the supports (e.g., props, gestures, incorporating basic words in the child’s home language, securing volunteers who speak the child’s language) they need to fully participate in classroom experiences.
• Enhance children’s knowledge and language and literacy development by regularly reading books with children individually, in small groups, and in various settings (e.g., block area, housekeeping area)
• Encourage children’s emergent writing skills, their awareness of print, and the varied purposes for writing by providing and using a range of writing materials (e.g., markers, crayons, finger paint, letter magnets) and environmental print (e.g., traffic signs, labels in the classroom, store signs)
• Support children’s interest in and awareness of numbers, counting, and problem solving by initiating counting games and activities and by providing materials that link number concepts to numerals and mathematical understanding and vocabulary.