Preschool Teacher Assistant

Preschool Teacher Assistant

The Teacher Assistant in collaboration with the Lead Teacher provides support in effective instructional strategies, classroom management, learning, assessment, evaluation and related research for children 3-5 years old. The Assistant Teacher is responsible for providing developmentally appropriate learning experiences, supervision of children assigned in the classroom, and providing a supportive and positive classroom climate, while ensuring the individual needs of the children are met as mandated by DCFS, ExceleRate Illinois, NAEYC, federal, state and local standards, as applicable.

Salary is $17.05 per hour, full-time benefits, and opportunities to grow within the organization.

Our staff is the Y's greatest asset. Our teams provide valuable skills, knowledge, and passion that is essential to the contribution and positive impact in our communities, which is why we offer Y employees numerous perks and benefits, including:

• Competitive salaries reflecting your skills and experience.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for eligible employees, plus wellness programs, mental health resources, and a family gym membership.
• Generous PTO and paid holidays, with flexible work hours for work-life balance.
• 403(b) plan with company contributions for eligible employees after 2 years of service.
• Continuous learning opportunities through workshops and training programs.
• Supportive work environment valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Discounts on programs, employee assistance programs, and company-sponsored events.

What you'll do:

• Promotes and models high quality teaching and learning in the classroom that fosters academic readiness.
• Demonstrates culturally and linguistically appropriate practices that values all children and families and makes them feel welcomed and an essential part of the program.
• Maintains awareness and supervision of children's needs and ensure their physical health and safety, at all times.
• Assists with communicating and developing effective partnerships with parents and families, encouraging parent involvement.
• Abides by DCFS and all quality standards for maintaining safe, high-quality programming.
• Collaborates regularly with classroom team including families, volunteers and all staff.
• Assists with collecting and using multiple data sources, both formative and summative, to inform instruction and child centered learning and development.
• Assists with completing routine professional development annually; utilizes continuous quality improvement (CQI); and identifies different instructional resources and methods to meet children's varying needs and improve the classroom experience for children and families.
• Participates and supports association/center efforts towards recruitment, enrollment, attendance and retention of families while supporting the YMCA's mission and center operations as needed.

Lesson Planning and Classroom Management:

• Collaborates with the Lead Teacher to develop lesson plans with goals, objectives, activities and outcomes for children that integrate health, nutrition, mental health, disabilities and parent involvement.
• Assists the Lead Teacher in implementation of high quality, developmentally appropriate instructional activities and curriculum approaches (like Creative Curriculum™) that facilitate active learning experiences and promote the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of each child; while ensuring the program follows DCFS, YMCA, ExceleRate Illinois™, and NAEYC accreditation standards, if applicable.
• Takes the lead in absence of the lead teacher.
• With the support of the Lead Teacher, uses observational and child data to assist in planning developmentally appropriate and engaging early learning experiences based upon the emergent needs of the child.
• Assists the Lead Teacher in leveraging the physical environment and pedagogical documentation to support teaching and learning practices.
• Supports and implements planned studies/projects for an in-depth investigation of a topic over time.
• Establishes and maintains an attractive, clean, safe and engaging classroom environment which includes positive guidance techniques and that encourages children's independence and self-selection of activities.
• Assists with classroom management, arrangement, organization, and labeling materials.
• Assists with completion of classroom inventory quarterly; and the selection of materials and equipment to support instruction and children's learning using environmental assessments to guide decisions.

Minimum & Preferred Requirements:

• High School Diploma or equivalent (GED) and a minimum of 6 college credit hours in Early Childhood Education required
• ECE Child Development Associate (CDA) or comparable credential (Minimum: Gateways Level 2 ECE credential) preferred
• Must have prior experience working with children
• Basic knowledge of child growth and development as well as developmentally appropriate practices for children ages 2-5.
• Ability to analyze and interpret state and Local Standards as well as State and local licensing requirements.
• Ability to build rapport with children, families, and colleagues.

Child Abuse Prevention - Supports the YMCA's commitment to child abuse prevention by:

• Reporting any items that may provide a health or safety hazard to staff, members or guests to your supervisor
• Following all policies and procedures related to keeping children safe in our facilities and programs, including those related to the monitoring and supervision of children
• Reporting any suspicious behavior and violation of policy and procedures to your supervisor
• Completing all child abuse prevention training as required

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.