Certified Early Learning Lead Teacher

Position Summary: The Early Learning Lead Teacher (T1) works to ensure that our youngest scholars have a solid foundation for life, and are prepared to enter the Buffalo Public Schools UPK program. They encourage the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of children while attending to their safety and welfare. They promote family engagement in all aspects of the program. The ELL TI has patience, compassion, and energy and is capable of inspiring, encouraging, and developing young children, each of whom will have different abilities and personalities. The ELL T1 is creative with strong administrative skills and has the ability to plan and execute dynamic, memorable, and innovative lessons to achieve learning outcomes. They are responsible for ensuring high-quality instruction through modeling, co-planning with Early Learning Co-Lead Teachers (T2’s) and providing feedback. The ELL T1 will demonstrate and model a passion for purposeful learning through play and equitable early childhood practices.

Major Responsibilities/Activities:

• Serves as the license holder for the classroom; Ensures NYS OCFS policies and procedures are monitored and maintained, in partnership with ECS Director of Operations and building level administration.
• Always supervise and monitor children and respond appropriately to crises or emergencies that may occur.
• Establish a positive classroom climate.
• Ensures that operations meet agency, federal, state, and local requirements, including licensing, accreditation, contractual and other standards.
• Guide the behavior of children in positive, effective ways.
• Follow a consistent schedule that includes small and large group experiences, choice time, music and movement, large and small motor activities, skill development, meals, and effective transitions between activities.
• Encourage experimentation, exploration, problem-solving, cooperation, socialization, and choice-making; ask open-ended questions and follow-up questions to promote further learning and thinking.
• Follow agency-adopted curricula, using effective strategies to guide learning, leading to success as students enter the Buffalo Public Schools.
• Prepare the classroom environment and materials to support developmentally appropriate curriculum plans and learning experiences.
• Assess individual and group needs, attending to specific interests, strengths, and concerns.
• Work with appropriate agencies to develop specialized planning for children and families as needed.
• Coordinate with support staff when indicated, developing a collaborative approach that benefits all children in the classroom.
• Adapt curriculum to address and meet individual goals for children as identified in their individualized family service plans (IFSP).
• Develop and utilize integrated curriculum plans that reflect mandated elements and components, familial and cultural influences, and promote social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
• Establish weekly goals that promote individual and group educational plans and include other early learning components.
• Participate in integrated service meetings to plan for and deliver collaborative services across all areas.
• Provide an atmosphere that promotes and reinforces family and volunteer engagement.
• Support the role of families as the first and primary teachers of their children.
• Support families’ safety, health, financial stability, life goals, and aspirations.
• Maintain regular communication with families based on the family’s individual needs.
• Conduct the required parent/teacher conferences for assessment and support, and to share information on classroom progress and educational strategies at school and at home.
• Help plan and participate in family activity events.
• Coordinate with the Health Home Coordinators (HHC) as needed to assist families to complete follow-ups (i.e. dental, medical, physical, and mental health needs of families, etc.)
• Monitor and document attendance concerns.
• Utilize agency-adopted tools for ongoing assessment and documentation.
• Ensure all federal, local, state, and/or agency documentation is completed accurately.
• Monitor and report child abuse.
• Ensure records on children and families are current, complete, and confidential, and required reports are completed accurately and in a timely manner
• Propensity for problem-solving.
• Ability to relate to families in a holistic fashion that incorporates education, social services, health and nutrition, and family issues.
• Willingness to comply with the established agency performance standards which include:
  • productivity/personal responsibility, embracing a team player orientation, and maintaining a professional demeanor.
• Demonstrate self-motivation, continual learning, and taking initiative.
• Practice professional and effective interpersonal communication skills.
• Nurturing character that enables the building of a respectful, trusting, and loving relationship with children and their families.
• Ethical and professional conduct that enables the building of a respectful, trusting, and collaborative relationship with the staff and partners.
• Modeling of appropriate behavior for children, parents, and other staff.
• Submit monthly program reports.
• Monitor family needs, and family partnership agreements, and follow up to linkages and referrals, providing guidance to case management staff.
• Demonstrates strong interpersonal skills.
• Participates and contributes to program Quality Improvement process and annual program assessment.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to apply Early Childhood Development theory in daily activities, and adapt to the individual needs of children.
• Significant decision and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to work as a team member collaborating with staff, families, and community resources.
• Ability to maintain respectful relations and communication with staff, families, children, and community.
• Ability to supervise preschool children and ensure a safe environment.
• Ability to respond to events happening at all times in the classroom, outdoor play areas, and on field trips. This includes the physical ability to move quickly in order to respond to children who are very active and may need redirection or restraint in order to ensure their safety or the safety of others in the environment.
• Ability to interact with children at their eye level, i.e. sitting, kneeling, stooping, bending.
• Lifting up to 50 lbs.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or a “Related” Bachelor’s Degree or higher that includes coursework equivalent to a major, 300 hours of instruction (30 quarters or 20 credits) in Early Childhood Education. Transcripts are required to validate educational requirements.
• Related Degree holders must have Pre-K classroom (ages 3-5) experience, one year minimum is preferred. Experience should include the ability to adapt curriculum to meet the needs of all children including at-risk, special needs, gifted, and culturally diverse populations.
• Complete and maintain annual training hour requirements.
• Demonstrated teacher leadership qualities and strong interpersonal skills, including giving and receiving constructive feedback.
• Proven ability in using student-level data to guide instructional decisions.
• Strong pedagogical knowledge and content expertise.
• Models continual improvement, demonstrate lifelong learning, and applies new learning to help
• all students achieve.
• Demonstrates evidence of professional growth, including leadership and participation in a wide range of significant professional development activities.
• Strong communication skills: written and verbal. Bilingual English/Spanish skills are highly desirable.
• Within 30 days of employment must be Pediatric CPR & First Aid certified.
• Excellent diagnostic and problem-solving skills.
• Valid New York State driver’s license.

Believe and practice Say Yes Racial Equity Statement, “Equity will be achieved when we can all just wake up and live freely; be valued and respected; live free from structural impediments based off of perceived racial characteristics; and, have fair representation and opportunity."

Say Yes Buffalo is an Equal Opportunity Employer:Say Yes Buffalo provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran or familial status, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Say Yes Buffalo complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer leaves of absence, compensation, and training.