Associate Instructor

Since 1966, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) has been dedicated to providing innovative, high-quality, and cost-effective educational programs and services to meet the diverse needs of children and adults in Greater Hartford. Serving 33 member districts and reaching additional communities statewide, CREC supports approximately 12,000 students annually through more than 120 educational programs. Our offerings include professional learning and coaching for educators, specialized programming for students with diverse needs, and PreK-12 education across 16 interdistrict magnet schools. Additionally, CREC provides school construction, operations, and cooperative business services, while also delivering programs that help adults build real, job-ready skills.

Position Summary

The CREC Reggio Magnet School of the Arts (RMS) is seeking an Associate Instructor to join a team of educators fully committed to the belief that every student can and must learn at high levels. RMS is a full-day interdistrict magnet school serving students PreK-Grade 5. Inspired by the Italian Reggio Emilia philosophy, the curriculum is designed to respect a child's point of view and encourage students to control the direction of their learning. Reggio educators pair high challenge with loving support as they guide students through differentiated learning experiences designed to meet the needs of all students.

Duties/Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support daily functions of the school including but not limited to arrival, dismissal, lunch coverage, and covering classrooms as needed.
• Provide small group instruction under the direction of the classroom teacher. Work with students individually and in small groups to reinforce basic learning and implement assigned programs.
• Provide intervention programming to small groups of students under the direction of the intervention coordinator.
• Collect, track, and enter student data into the district portal.
• Support administration of state, district, and school assessments.
• Collaborate with classroom teachers and other school staff.
• Assist and guide students to reinforce reading, language arts, mathematics, computer instruction, and other skills.
• Assist staff in the administration and correction of classroom exercises, tests, and assessments.
• Assist in classroom preparations and strategies for reinforcing instructional materials and skills according to individual student needs.
• Assist with record-keeping procedures to document student learning and performance.
• Assist with classroom behavioral management to minimize disruptions, ensure a safe and orderly classroom, and ensure students are on task.
• Accompanies and supervises students on field trips, ensuring safety, access, and engagement in activities while reinforcing behavior plans and promoting inclusion of all students.
• Construct, copy, distribute, and use educational materials as needed.
• Implement emergency interventions for students who are at risk of harming themselves or others by following school/program-approved procedures.
• Contributes to the IEP process and serves as a resource for the evaluation team as needed.
• Assist guidance, school counselors, pupil services staff, or building administration, as needed.
• Accompanies and supervises students on field trips, ensuring safety, access, and engagement in activities while reinforcing behavior plans and promoting inclusion of all students.
• Models effective strategies, shares knowledge of student needs and classroom procedures, and offers guidance on day-to-day responsibilities and how-to's to promote consistency in practice of Associate Instructors.
• Assist students in non-instructional areas, such as supervising the student lunch programs, bus duty, playground duty, corridor, study hall, and other related non-instructional areas.
• May be required to obtain a Public Safety License (PSL), or Massachusetts equivalent to support student field experiences.
• May serve as a substitute for the classroom teacher in their absence, providing instruction and supervision as needed; a pay differential is provided for this responsibility.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Competencies

Intrapersonal Competencies

• Demonstrate a dedication to all learners especially those historically marginalized.
• Demonstrate commitment to lifelong professional learning and growth.

Interpersonal Competencies

• Support in creating positive learning environments (i.e., school and classroom culture) that support individual and collaborative learning.
• Build strong relationships with students, peers, families, and learning community members that contribute to individual and collective success.
• Contribute to the lifelong success of all learners, particularly those who have been historically marginalized due to background, demographics, neurodiversity, ability, or culture.

Cognitive Competencies

• Utilize in-depth understanding of content and learning progressions to support learners and lead individual learners toward mastery.
• Demonstrate awareness of and employ culturally responsive teaching (CRT) to center students' diversity as a strength and asset in their learning journey.
• Employ techniques for developing students' skills of metacognition, self-regulation, and perseverance.

Instructional Competencies

• Support in personalizing learning experiences.
• Develop student agency, ownership, self-advocacy, and effective communication skills with regard to learning.
• Assist with the use of technology in the service of learning and completing professional responsibilities (e.g., various learning platforms, gradebook, Google Suite, and Microsoft Office).

Teaching/Subject Assignment Specific

• Support the teaching of foundational math concepts (e.g., number sense, operations, fractions, problem-solving) using hands-on activities and real-world applications.
• Strong knowledge of literacy development,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree (BA) from four-year college or university.

Travel Requirements

Motor Vehicle Operator's License or ability to provide transportation to meetings, trainings, and professional learning opportunities as required.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Working in a classroom demands prolonged standing/movement, frequent bending and crouching, lifting and carrying materials, fine motor skills for manipulating small objects, clear speaking voice, good vision and hearing, the ability to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously, and sometimes the need to move quickly to respond to student needs. Successful teachers require the ability to work in a high-energy environment with varying noise levels (from quiet to loud) based on student activity. Teachers are expected to work both indoors and outdoors (as needed) and may be expected to participate in off-site field experiences.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

• Group Health Insurance Plans
• Basic & Supplemental Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability & Short Term Disability options
• 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan with Employer Matching Contribution if applicable
• Flexible Spending Account Pre-Tax Savings for Health Care, Dependent Care, and Limited Purpose Post Deductible (if contributing to an HSA)
• Comprehensive benefit time package
• Employee Assistance Program
• Bereavement time & Religious Holidays
• Credit Union Access
• Tuition Reimbursement Program
• Employee Network Groups
• Access to professional learning opportunities with two fully paid courses through CREC University each year, empowering you to expand your skills and advance your career!
• Benefit from our exclusive partnership with Springfield College, offering a 15% discount on tuition for next-level degree programs to support your academic and career aspirations!

Based on terms and conditions during your employment, specific to your job classification and collective bargaining agreement.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Statement

CREC strives to understand and confront the symptoms and causes of racism and prejudiceranging from biases to aggressions to discriminatory policies, practices, and traditionsthat harm people from systematically marginalized groups or that benefit privileged groups. CREC staff and students acknowledge and respect people of all identifiers, such as race, socioeconomic status, gender identity and expression, education, age, ability, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, language, nationality, religion, and veteran status.

Disclaimer Statement

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or physical requirements. Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.