Early Childhood Educator

At Oregon Coast Community Action, we are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Teacher/Advocate to join our team. As a key member of our Early Childhood Education program, you will play a vital role in providing high-quality care and education to young children and their families.

The Teacher/Advocate will be responsible for delivering child and family services as defined by the Head Start Performance Standards, State Licensing Rules, program work plans, program goals, and other funding rules and regulations. This includes overseeing the day-to-day operations of the classroom, maintaining quality environments, and promoting children's growth and development.

• Provide responsive care, effective teaching practices, and an organized learning environment to promote children's growth and development.
• Utilize the Creative Curriculum to provide quality, developmentally appropriate indoor and outdoor learning experiences.
• Ensure all learning environments include age-appropriate supplies, materials, equipment, and space, including accommodations for children with disabilities.
• Use positive guidance strategies to support social-emotional and behavioral health.
• Complete ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE screening tools with parents and share purpose and results of all screenings and ongoing assessments.
• Promptly facilitate referrals, with parent consent, for further evaluation, if warranted through screenings, parent feedback, teacher observation, or ongoing assessment.
• Complete TS GOLD Child Assessments and utilize information to set child goals and individualize lesson plans and home visit strategies.
• Integrate TS Gold Assessment data in individual and group planning.
• Complete vision and hearing screenings for each enrolled child.
• Identify emergent or recurring developmental, medical, oral, or mental health concerns.
• Follow Universal Precautions in the event of exposure to blood/bodily fluids and follow posted diapering, toileting, and handwashing procedures.
• Intentionally integrate physical activity into daily lesson plans.
• Complete daily health checks to identify symptoms of illness requiring exclusion.
• Remove child from direct contact with other children and contact parents to pick up children who have emergent symptoms.
• Properly store and administer medication.
• Assist children in brushing their teeth at least one time daily after meals and facilitate swish and swallow.
• Ensure classrooms, equipment, and materials are cleaned and sanitized according to policies and procedures.
• Provide information to families about preventative medical and dental care.
• Assist families with information and support related to ongoing access and follow-up.
• Notify parents of infectious disease outbreak.
• Ensure children are supervised at all times and never left alone with volunteers.
• Ensure children are signed in and out of class and bus and released only to authorized adults.
• Ensure a daily classroom and playground safety check is completed.
• Maintain appropriate ratios and group size at all times.
• Ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate materials are available in classrooms.
• Partner with Early Intervention/ECSE providers to deliver appropriate services.
• Attend and provide input and family support, as requested, at IFSP meetings.
• Provide English Language Skills and Home Language Assessments for children whose primary language is not English.
• Provide high-quality, supportive environments and tiered supports, as outlined in the Pyramid Model.
• Provide families with information regarding language development, including dual language development.
• Identify and plan for special health needs, including asthma, diabetes, emotional, or other conditions that may require additional service provisions.
• Track daily attendance for each child.
• Contact parents within one hour of class start, if a child is unexpected absent.
• Promote strong attendance habits with information/education to parents.
• Conduct a home visit for children with two or more consecutive unexcused absences.
• Provide individualized attendance support for families, including direct contacts, intensive case management, attendance plans, etc.
• Provide family-style meal service with sufficient time for children to eat.
• Sit with children to provide supervision, socialization, and choking prevention during meals.
• Follow food safety guidelines for all food service.
• Ensure children have access to safe drinking water throughout the program day.
• Conduct 2 educationally focused home visits in the family's home environment with assigned families per year.
• Conduct 2 parent-teacher conferences with assigned families per year.
• Support parents as primary educators of their child.
• Provide support and information to families during referral, evaluation, and IFSP meeting processes.
• Regularly share information with families regarding their child's routines, activities, and behaviors.
• Provide information to families in understandable formats, including individuals with low literacy, and provided in the family's primary language.
• Use translated materials and qualified bilingual staff or consultants.
• Utilize interpreters if staff is not available.
• Welcome parents into facilities during program hours and provide opportunities for parents to volunteer.
• Encourage parent participation and invite parents to join meal-times.
• Engage parents in site parent committees for each center and support Policy Council representatives.
• Share responsibility with Family Engagement Specialist in planning and implementing parent meetings and activity days.
• Begin transition planning with parents for EHS-HS transitions six months prior to each child's third birthday to provide transitions as soon as possible after the child turns three, as appropriate.
• Provide information and support to families related to Kindergarten transitions.
• Provide classroom activities to support Kindergarten transitions, including classroom visits and activities to familiarize children with transition to Kindergarten.
• Collaborate with parents, ECSE, and local school districts to support transition planning for children with IFSPs or IEPs.
• Document services provided into appropriate data base systems.
• Ensure child and family files are complete and up-to-date.
• Meet federal, state, and program documentation requirements with accurate, objective, complete, timely, and well-organized records.
• Facilitate on-going communication, promote problem-solving, and conflict resolution within assigned team(s).
• Facilitate communication with others by using available technologies (e.g., phone, fax, e-mail, file sharing).
• Establish consistent weekly schedule including time for team communication and availability to parents.
• Collaborate with team members to identify approaches to solving issues, develop follow-up plans, and prepare for home visits and other family contacts.
• Ensure family confidentiality by limiting conversations about families and access to their records to those directly involved in providing services to them.
• Provide supervision to assigned staff, community, and parent volunteers, and practicum students.
• Provide constructive ongoing feedback.
• Conduct evaluations as outlined in the Employee Performance Evaluation Process.
• Support and encourage staff in their professional growth.
• Prepare Teacher Assistant to maintain and carry on in absence of Teacher.
• Work with Area Manager to develop an individualized training plan for supervised staff.
• Complete performance paperwork as required by appropriate program.
• Orient all volunteers to classroom emergency procedures.

• Infant & Toddler Program, including Baby Promise (in order of preference).
• BA in ECE or BA in related field or higher with 23 ECE quarter credits (15 ECE semester credits) with direct experience teaching infant, toddler, or preschool children.
• Oregon Registry Step 10 or higher with direct experience teaching infant, toddler, or preschool children.
• AA in Early Childhood Education (ECE) or AA in related field with 23 ECE quarter credits (12 ECE semester credits) with direct experience teaching infant, toddler, or preschool children.
• Oregon Registry Step 9 with direct experience teaching infant, toddler, or preschool children.
• Preferred: Credential, Certification, or AA/AS or higher in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or related field.
• Minimum Requirements: Current Infant/Toddler Child Development Associate (CDA) with direct experience teaching infant, toddler, or preschool children; or Oregon Registry Step 7.5 with direct experience teaching infant, toddler, or preschool children.
• Upon hire, enroll in Credential, Certification, or AA/AS or higher in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or related field to be completed within 18 months.
• High School Diploma or equivalent also required.
• Additional competencies/preferences: One-year experience working with low-income families preferred; one-year experience with home visitation preferred; knowledge of community resources; experience with special needs children preferred; two years of experience in family support programs or adult education preferred.

Coos, Curry, and Coastal Douglas Counties.

May lift items up to 51 pounds with or without reasonable accommodations.

Access to indoor office, in a climate-controlled environment; may not have access to sunlight. Regular activities outside in a non-climate-controlled environment.

Regular kneeling, bending, stooping, and sitting on the floor.

Regular walking and standing for prolonged periods of time.

Occasional events outside of the office at irregular hours will be required.

Attendance at off-site staff training events will be required.

Driving to home visits will be required if a function of the position.