Primary Caregiver

Infant Toddler Teacher

With supervision, coordinates activities for infants/toddlers as guided by Head Start Performance Standards, Service Area Written Plans, Procedures, and Policies, and California State Community Care Licensing regulations. Carry out responsibilities in accordance with the Agency's policies and applicable federal and state laws.

Essential duties and responsibilities include:

• Supervising and supporting all children in the classroom
• Participating in the distance learning model of instruction when required
• Adhering to Child Assessment/Observation System & Family Partnership System Timeline
• Ensuring and participating in a minimum of 2 parent home visits and two conferences per child
• Assessing children, developing individualized routines, and creating developmentally appropriate plans and curriculum
• Encouraging language development in children in the primary and secondary languages
• Reinforcing the role of the parent as primary caregiver and educator of the child
• Working in partnership with the Lead Primary Caregiver, providing daily leadership in the classroom, including indirectly supervising and directly guiding the work of the Classroom Assistant, Full Inclusion Assistant, if assigned, and classroom volunteers
• Working in partnership with service area managers and center staff to better assess the needs of the children and families to ensure quality services to children and families
• Supporting and serving as a resource to the families and working with them in assessing their strengths, interests, needs, and making referrals as appropriate
• Building a close, personal relationship with each child, while creating a warm, accepting, and developmentally appropriate environment which encourages the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development of the infant/toddler and family
• Maintaining warm, friendly, and professional working relationships with children, parents, and coworkers
• Ensuring and sharing in the daily cleaning and sanitization procedures of the classroom, classroom equipment, and outside play yard; maintaining health and safety standards for children, classroom volunteers, and staff; promoting good health and nutrition and providing an environment that contributes to the prevention of illness
• Maintaining classroom files on children and ensuring confidentiality of client records and information
• Coordinating and cooperating with consultants and specialists on items relevant to the center and children, ensuring maximum use of services and resources
• Collaborating/coordinating program services with other community entities: i.e., school districts, those serving children with diagnosed disabilities, State Child Care programs
• Participating in staff meetings, consultant meetings, trainings, and appropriate special events, as scheduled
• Participating in the team-building process within the program by using established communication channels in a constructive and productive manner that enhances the team effort
• The health, safety, and supervision of children in the program is essential; therefore, every employee is responsible for the care and supervision of children while they are present at the center
• Understanding and implementing Head Start Procedures and Head Start Performance Standards
• Other relevant duties, as assigned

Qualification requirements include:

• A California Children's Center Permit/Child Development Associate Teacher (or higher) Permit with three infant toddler units required; 6 preferred, as well as a minimum of 3 supervision units. OR
• An Infant/Toddler Child Development Associate credential, as well as a minimum of 3 supervision units, OR
• AA or higher in Early Childhood Education.

In addition to the above:

• Six months of teaching experience in a preschool/infant-toddler classroom
• High School diploma or GED or equivalent
• Prior to beginning work, must be able to pass the Community Care Licensing criminal record clearance, and have a current (within one year) TB clearance and Health Screening Report.
• Current Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and Health and Safety Course.
• Bilingual in Spanish & English preferred.

Knowledge and skills include:

• Working knowledge of the principles and practices of child development and adult learning styles.
• Understanding of the principles of bilingual and multicultural education.
• Basic personal computer skills with word processing and email experience
• Basic oral and written communication skills
• Bilingual, Spanish/English preferred.
• Establish and maintain a healthy learning environment
• Support children's social and emotional development
• Knowledge of and sensitivity to culturally diverse groups and persons from low-income families.
• Basic skills in reading, analyzing, and interpreting procedures and governmental regulations.
• Basic ability to write reports and correspondence. Basic ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of parents, children, and staff.
• Basic ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• Basic ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of situations with good judgment
• Basic ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Personal characteristics include:

• Highly dependable, takes initiative, has good judgment, and is able to function with minimal supervision.
• A sincere interest in the development of all children and in building partnerships with families.
• Works effectively in a team environment and actively participates in joint problem solving; willingly cooperates with co-workers

Physical demands include:

• Talking or hearing regularly
• Sitting at a desk and using a computer occasionally
• Standing, walking, using hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls, reaching with hands and arms, climbing or balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling frequently
• Lifting and/or moving up to 20 pounds frequently and up to 50 pounds occasionally
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus
• Driving approximately 10% of the time to meetings, trainings, and home visits as scheduled throughout the year
• Spending approximately 15% of the time writing and/or keyboarding

Work environment characteristics include:

• Working in outside weather conditions for a minimum of 45 minutes a day
• Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate and sometimes noisy

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

Other duties may change at any time with or without notice.