Teacher, Early Head Start

Educare Chicago provides high-quality care, best-in-class education, and a stimulating learning environment to children from birth to five years old on Chicago’s South Side. As a program that serves low-income families, Educare’s research-based program helps children develop the literacy, language, early math, and social-emotional skills they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. We are recruiting individuals who want to join us in this mission and share a commitment to our core values of appreciation & respect, empowerment, excellence, learning, and communication. Become part of our rewarding, mission-driven culture. We want our employees to feel empowered, motivated, energized, and passionate about the work they do.

The Lead Teacher is responsible for the implementation and coordination of the comprehensive education program in the classroom. The Lead Teacher ensures that the classroom activities and environment are developmentally appropriate and reflect the agency’s philosophy and curriculum. The Lead Teacher ensures that the individual needs of the children are met as mandated by federal, state, and local standards.

• Supervisory Responsibilities: Supervise and mentor the Teacher Assistant and Teacher Aide. In collaboration with the Master Teacher, completes performance evaluation for the Teacher Assistant and Teacher Aide. Collaborate with the Master Teacher to execute corrective actions. Conduct weekly team meetings and monthly reflective supervision. Approve time sheets and time off requests. Monitor quantity and quality of child documentation. Delegate responsibilities to Teacher Assistant, Teacher Aide, and other support people who are assigned to the classroom.  
• Administrative Responsibilities: Create and monitor education binders. Document weekly team meetings. Ensure program documentation and reports are completed accurately and on time. Participates in recruitment efforts to help maintain full enrollment. Ensure completion and monitoring of daily attendance, health checks, parent sign/scan in & out, and meal participation records. Ensure confidential information is protected. Read and respond to Outlook emails daily.
• Child Development: Observe, assess, and document each child’s health, skills, behavior, growth, and development. Provide opportunities for children to develop positive self-images and experience success. Ensure goals are made with parents and are reflected in children’s individual plans. Participate in Family Child Reviews. Identify developmental concerns regarding children and follow agency protocol. Collaborate with the Master Teacher in family staffings. Ensure staff adherence to IEP, IFSP, Implementation Plans, and strategies provided by Education Managers and consultants.  
• Curriculum and Assessments: Facilitate curriculum planning sessions to develop clear learning objectives that effectively incorporate documentation collected on each child. Develop lesson plans with goals, objectives, experiences, and outcomes for children, integrating health, nutrition, mental health, disabilities, and parent involvement. Incorporate children’s interests, culture, school readiness goals, State and Head Start guidelines, program curriculum, and approach into individualized and group learning opportunities. Work with the assessment team and Master Teachers to utilize standardized and authentic assessment data to create learning opportunities to advance children’s development and learning. Establish and maintain a classroom environment that includes positive guidance and emotionally supportive techniques that meet state and local licensing regulations, Head Start Program Performance Standards, and Start Early’s philosophy and curriculum. Use of curriculum approaches and other resources are evident, Conscious Discipline, Erikson Literacy, and Math initiatives. Implementation of child teacher interactions supports high quality as measured by the CLASS. Ensure the curricula are implemented with fidelity. For Pre-K only – Research, plan & schedule meaningful field trips that enhance the current study in your classroom. 
• Classroom Environment:  Develop and maintain an attractive, clean, safe, and engaging environment that encourages children’s independence and self-selection of activities. Maintain a classroom environment that reflects scores that exceed high-quality ratings on the environmental rating scales (ECERS, and ITERS). Environments reflect curriculum fidelity (Creative Curriculum), adhere to regulatory compliance of State, Local, and Federal Standards (DCFS, DFSS, and OHS). Ensure implementation of Active Supervision strategies.  
• Parent Involvement/Interdisciplinary Work: Conduct monthly interdisciplinary meetings with the teaching team and Family Support Specialist. Collaborate with Family Support Staff to complete two parent/staff conferences, two home visits, two Family Child Reviews, and four Family/Classroom events per year. Encourage family participation in parent events, home visiting, conferences, and volunteering. Provide examples and ideas for educational activities for parent/child participation at home. Develop positive and effective partnerships with families using the Touchpoints Approach. Hold friendly daily conversations with families while maintaining professional boundaries. Provide a monthly Parent Newsletter. 
• Other: Attend and actively participate in all required meetings and trainings, which includes being fully present and available during virtual meetings and professional development trainings without outside distractions. Maintains 20 hours of continuing education annually. Performs all other duties as assigned within the scope of the job description. Follows all mandates of Head Start regulations, state and local licensing regulations, and the Start Early philosophy and curriculum. Input classroom data into appropriate information systems. Administer medication when necessary.  

• Bachelor’s degree in ECE, CD, or related field with at least a minimum of 30 credits in ECE and at least 15 credits in infant & toddler studies.
• A Level 5 Gateways I/T Credential for Early Head Start. 
• Two years’ experience in a relevant early childhood group setting required.
• 20 hours of annual continuing education. CPR and First Aid certification, and Food Handlers certification. Additional training requirements include Mandated Reporter, Health and Safety Basics, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and Shaken Baby Syndrome. 
• Knowledge of early childhood education, child development theories, and teaching best practices. Knowledge of and ability to implement early childhood curriculum and developmentally appropriate practice for the specific age group (0-3 or 3-5), and be able to remain abreast of developments in the child development field. Knowledge of and ability to implement Head Start Performance Standards and state and local licensing requirements. 
• Ability to communicate and work with diverse families and professionals. Ability and willingness to work in a program located in a high-risk, low-income community. Ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential information and materials. Ability to communicate and respond in a manner that consistently demonstrates respect and concern. Must have excellent command of the English language and grammar, both verbal and written. 
• Deep commitment to advancing diversity and incorporating it into interpersonal routines and practice.
• Efficiently establish and handle relationships with colleagues/clients and gain their trust and respect.
• Relief and experience in handling risk and uncertainty to move work forward.

We recognize that few candidates might meet every single piece of knowledge, experience, or education listed here. Research shows that women and people of color, among many other historically excluded groups, are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. Start Early is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your qualifications don’t perfectly align with everything in the job description, we still encourage you to apply!

Base Annual Salary: $53,799.00 -  $63,294.00

We believe that all employees should be paid fairly. As of the time of this posting, this is the expected base annual salary range. The base annual salary will be based on a wide range of factors, including skills, qualifications, experience, as well as business needs and limitations.

Our generous benefits plan includes:

Comprehensive Health Plans, Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, Holistic Wellness Program, Professional Development Program, 401k Contribution, Paid Volunteer Days, 6 months paid parental leave, and much more.

Start Early is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to our core values by creating an inclusive environment for all staff.