Education/Disabilities Coach (Child Care Specialist II)

Education/Disabilities Coach (Child Care Specialist II) This position is responsible for coaching, mentoring, training, and technical assistance for educators in the Head Start and Early Head Start program. Serves as an expert on strength-based and culturally responsive Practice Based Coaching, best practices in early childhood education and disabilities, and curriculum fidelity. They will also achieve and maintain reliability in CLASS to conduct observations in PreK and Infant/Toddler classrooms. The ideal candidate is a positive change agent with experience in early childhood education, who can build trusting relationships through effective communication, reliability, and collaboration. The prospective candidate should have experience working with diverse populations and believe in Head Start’s mission of promoting school readiness by guiding educators to achieve quality programming that is child and family centered. They will collaborate with the education managers and Head Start coordinator to help identify professional development needs and trends. Works under the general supervision of the Head Start coordinator. In this position, you will: Serve as an expert on Head Start/Early Head Start as it relates to Early Childhood Development and Disabilities. Assess all education staff to identify strengths, areas of needed support, and which staff would benefit most from intensive coaching. Collaborate with educators in the development of goals that are specific, measurable, and achievable within a specific period of time. Help develop an action plan for achieving the goals. Assist with reviewing lesson plans and provide feedback to educators on developing lesson plans. Implement the Creative Curriculum Fidelity Tool and provide ongoing feedback on curriculum practices to ensure curriculum fidelity. Conduct focused classroom observations and model best practices when in the classroom. Analyze observations results, making recommendations for improvements and reporting outcomes. Stay abreast of current trends and research in coaching and education/disabilities practices and disseminate pertinent information. Demonstrate interpersonal communication through clear written, verbal, and nonverbal communication with educators, and use active and mindful listening skills. Prepare written coaching and work-related reports. Illustrative Duties Serves as the “expert” within a function, a particular field of knowledge or services (e.g., disabilities, health, education, child care referral) within a broad program area; Assists in developing, enhancing, and assessing programs; Recommends changes to local policies and procedures; Assesses needs, and develops, delivers, and evaluates training programs; Oversees delivery of technical assistance provided to providers, parents, centers, and the community; Coordinates services with other governmental programs and community organizations; Works with multidisciplinary teams to develop plans to best meet children’s needs; Reviews research and demographic data for official county reports; Maintains current knowledge of legislation, best practices, and performance measures; Updates systems and resources to match current program strategies; Monitors programs for compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations; Assists in researching and writing grant proposals and seeking innovative funding sources; Oversees a program site and manages services within that site; Supervises other professional and support staff within the program area; Prioritizes workloads of staff and manages caseload distribution; Participates in the hiring and evaluation process of staff in the program area. Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities Knowledge of the principles, concepts, and methodology of assigned area of accountability; and/or extensive knowledge in particular area of expertise; Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; Ability to keep current on the latest theories of early childhood development and education; Ability to work independently and as a member of a team; Ability to manage projects and supervise others; Ability to assess, deliver, and evaluate training. Employment Standards Minimum Qualifications: Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, psychology, social work, or a closely related field; plus two years of experience in day care administration, early childhood education, or related human service administration. Certificates and Licenses Required: Valid driver's license. Must achieve Infant, Toddler, and PreK Classroom Assessment and Scoring System (CLASS) reliability certification within 30 days of appointment and maintain thereafter. Necessary Special Requirements: The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check, a Child Protective Services Registry check, and driving record check to the satisfaction of the employer. Preferred Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited College or University with a baccalaureate degree or higher in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, or Special Education; plus at least four or more years of experience in: Coaching/mentoring educators in birth to five early childhood education programs, Conducting focused classroom observations and modeling best practices when in the classroom, Using a research-based birth to five curricula, and Developing and administering professional development for adult learners. Reliable in Infant/Toddler and PreK Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) tools. Proficiency in using technology and automated databases. Excellent oral and writing skills. Physical Requirements Work is generally sedentary in nature. However, incumbent may be required to do some walking, standing, bending, and carrying items up to 25 pounds. Ability to operate keyboard-driven equipment. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing. Sufficiently mobile to attend meetings at various locations and make presentations to county staff and community. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations. Selection Procedure Panel interview and may include exercise. Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others). We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity. Fairfax County Government Equal Employment Opportunity Statement Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce. Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY View phone number on click.appcast.io. View email address on click.appcast.io EEO/AA/TTY. #J-18808-Ljbffr Longwood University