Position Title: Headstart Teacher

Employee Classification: Early Childhood Educator

College/Division: College of Hlth, Educ & Soc Trans

Department: 350450-DONA ANA HEADSTART PGM

Internal or External Search: External - Open to all applicants

Location: Las Cruces

Offsite Location (if applicable):

Target Hourly/Salary Rate:  35,000

Appointment Full-time Equivalency:  1.0

Exempt or Non-Exempt:  Exempt

Summary:  Dona Ana County Head Start is looking for a Teacher to join our team. We provide children ages 0-5 ,and their families educational services to prepare them for kindergarten and future learning.

Classification Summary:
Plan and implement curriculum that provides learning experiences that will advance the intellectual and physical development of children thus improving readiness for school. Establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment. Support the social and emotional development of children; and encourage the involvement of the families with children in a Head Start program.Support the development of relationships between children and their families.

Classification Standard Duties:
Plan and implement learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical development of children, including: improving the readiness of children for school by developing their literacy, phonemic, and print awareness, their understanding and use of language,increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books, their understanding of early math, counting, geometric shapes, and early science,and their problem-solving abilities. Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, storytelling, and field trips. Observe and evaluate children's performance, behavior, social development, and physical health. Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, or health-related problems, and discuss them with supervisors, parents or guardians, and child development specialists. Administer tests to help determine children's developmental levels, needs, and potential. Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress. Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations. Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration. Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

Required Education, Experience, Certification/License, Equivalency
Required Education:Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood education or field related to Early Childhood or Child Development.; Required Experience:No previous experience required.; Equivalency:Associate degree in Early Childhood Education Child development or related field with one-year experience. Complete a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, Child development, or related to Early childhood within 3 years of hire date.; Required Certification/License:

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
KNOWLEDGE:Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.; SKILLS:Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. Teaching others how to do something. Talking to others to convey information effectively. Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. Managing one's own time and the time of others.; ABILITIES:The ability to communicate information and ideas orally and in writing so others will understand. Ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. Ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. Ability to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Job Duties and Responsibilities
Develop lesson plans and implements Creative Curriculum in the classroom; organize and lead activities to promote physical, mental, and social development; cooperate with other staff and classroom groups to maintain the smooth functioning of the center, which at times may require changes to meet the needs of the children; maintain a comprehensive and ongoing portfolio assessment for each child, including weekly observations in each area, examples of the child's work, and a developmental assessment, completed as per Teaching Strategies GOLD procedure; use home visits and parent conferences to discuss the child's individual development and progress, assist the parents in developing observational skills and solicit parent observations; eat with and assist children in development of social and self-help skills, and sound nutritional practices; guide children's acquisition of social skills; attend staff training and meetings, and board and parent meetings as requested; maintain a safe and healthy classroom environment - assure that classroom equipment, furniture, materials, and supplies are properly maintained and stored; use the playground as an extension of the classroom; assures that the playground is safe; assist in conducting the daily health and environment checklist; assist in implementing children's I.E.P. (Individual Education Program) seeking clarification for any aspects that are not well understood; assist in recruiting and orienting volunteers, providing them with guidance as needed; complete and submit required forms and records in a timely and accurate fashion, e.g., lesson plans, time sheets, meal reports etc.; and perform the functions of this position with a strong understanding of the Head Start Performance Standards and Developmentally Appropriate Practices.

Preferred Qualifications

Special Requirements of the Position
Must pass a New Mexico state background clearance through early childhood education and care department. First Aid and CPR required, or willing to obtain upon hire.

Department Contact:  Zaira Falliner, (575) 571-5198, zfalline@nmsu.edu

Contingent Upon Funding: Contingent upon external funding

Bargaining Unit Eligibility: This is NOT a bargaining unit position with American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Standard Work Schedule: Standard (M-F, 8-5)

If Not a Standard Work Schedule: 

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

Environment: Work is normally performed indoors.

Physical Effort: Light physical effort. Effort applies to no more than two (2) hours per day.

Lifting Requirements: Requires handling of average-weight objects up to 25 pounds or standing and/or walking for more than four (4) hours per day.

Risk: No or very limited exposure to physical risk.