Infant Teacher

The Infant Teacher is responsible for caring for very young children in a developmentally appropriate manner and upholding the values and teaching practices of the Growing Place (GP). This candidate assists the Lead Teacher and fulfills the daily responsibilities required to ensure a safe and engaging experience for children. This position requires a candidate to be attentive, flexible, reflective, and warm in disposition.

Primary Teaching and Learning Responsibilities

• Engage, supervise, and support children at all times; ensure their health and safety
• Follow daily routines and rhythms for children
• Serve as secondary caregiver for select children; create attuned and nurturing relationships
• Assist children with care routines: diapering, hand washing, bottle/feeding, nap, etc., according to children’s schedule and needs; record routines daily
• Prepare, serve, and clean up bottles/meals/snacks
• Follow protocols for sanitizing, washing, and storing materials
• Build trusting, respectful, and professional relationships with children and families 
• Complete incident reports as appropriate and report all incidents to Lead Teacher  
• Report parent concerns to a Lead Teacher and/or Campus Director 
• Use GP’s social constructivist, Reggio-inspired, and RIE approaches 
• Collaborate with others to design and research curriculum 
• Support Lead Teacher in updating children’s needs and services forms, schedule updates, and update information pertinent to Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Assist in the preparation of the indoor and outdoor learning environments 
• Ensure responsibilities for opening and closing the school are completed daily
• Participate in school events when requested 
• Follow health and safety mandates; going off-campus, and emergency action plans
• Communicate directly with team members and others on the staff to resolve issues in a prompt and professional manner  
• Support the school in onboarding new staff
• Adhere to center policies and regulatory agencies guidelines
• Assist the teaching team by using the systems and strategies required to document, organize, and make accessible the experiences of children and adults, including digital photographs, audio recordings, scanned work, and video 
• Assist the Lead Teacher in collecting data regarding children’s play and behaviors
• Observe and document children in play and share observations with the teaching team
• Actively participate in staff meetings 
• Participate in on-going professional development and continuous performance management 

This job description is not meant to state or imply that these are the only duties the employee performs. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform other job-related duties requested by their supervisor.

Benefits Information: 

• Paid staff synchronized vacation: 4 weeks Paid National/State Holidays: 10 Days
• Hours of Paid Sick Leave (PSL): 72 Hours (9 Days) at start of school year; Mid-year hires accrue PSL at the rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. At the end of each school year, any unused PSL will be rolled over to the next school year as Paid Time Off (PTO), capped at 108 hours.
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits Covered at 100%
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 50% match up to 3% 
• Life Insurance with a fully paid premium and a $25,000 benefit.
• Eligible for Public Loan Forgiveness Program
• Professional Development includes paid coursework at Santa Monica College, six annual full-day professional development days, and opportunities to attend conferences, workshops, and study tours.

• Associate’s Degree with 12 ECE Units (including coursework in infant development)
• 1 year of experience working with children ages 3 months - 3 years old in a licensed childcare program, a NAEYC-accredited child care center preferred
• Must meet the requirements of the California Department of Social Services 
• Demonstrated understanding of child development 
• General understanding of RIE and willingness to implement in daily interactions
• Demonstrates professionalism in attire, attitude, punctuality, and attendance

Competencies

• Communication and Interpersonal Skills; ability to write and speak about children’s experiences, accurately record information on children’s daily charts, accident reports etc., have skills to support professional relationships with parents and colleagues
• Organization and Planning; ability to keep classroom organized and children’s materials stocked and plan for daily tasks to be completed
• Classroom Management; has the ability to lead, transition, and engage children in respectful and playful ways, develop positive daily routines for each child
• Facilitation and Engagement; implement RIE practices when engaging children, exhibit warm, nurturing and joyful interactions 
• Collaboration and Teamwork; works well with others, has a positive team-player spirit, takes initiative as well as direction from others, and shares in achieving classroom goals
• Caring and Inclusiveness; values integrity, helps to sustain a culture of belonging
• Flexibility; willingness to take on additional responsibilities, support other areas of the school as needed for daily operations or long-term successes

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Standing and sitting in environments designed for children ages 3 months - 6 years
• Requires ability to move rapidly from a sitting to standing position and able to get down and up off the ground
• Ability to push, pull, or lift 50lbs
• Requires working in all weather conditions
• Requires ability to respond quickly to auditory and visual cues