SUMMARY: This position will perform all job responsibilities with coaching and direction from lead classroom teachers or other senior level staff. This role serves as a caregiver responsible for helping to meet the physical and emotional needs of designated group or classroom of children daily. A positive attitude and a passion for excellence in customer service and for promoting the well-being of children is essential as is a high degree of reliability.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Other duties may be assigned.
• Provide constant supervision of assigned children and arrange for temporary coverage when you must be out of the room.
• Assist classroom leads in implementing planned curriculum.
• Be fully prepared at designated start time each day to be in the assigned classroom or other area for child supervision, such as the gym or playground, as instructed.
• Follow classroom lead’s predictable routine in the classroom each day and expect to provide children in outdoor play every day.
• Keep each child’s records, identifying information, behavior, and assessments completely confidential—being careful not to discuss individual children within earshot of others.
• Facilitate and support potty training when each child’s individual cues and behavior indicates readiness.
• Follow internal mandated reporting protocols, document any indications / concerns about child neglect or abuse, and report them to senior-level staff.
• Participate in collaborative and routine center maintenance activities, including keeping assigned classroom space clean and orderly with extraneous materials stowed away.
• Provide coverage for co-workers’ breaks as scheduled or requested.
• Maintain professional personal appearance appropriate for work with young children—no spaghetti-strap tank tops or overly short shorts.
• Question the identity of anyone who comes on premises and is not personally known to you. Ask for photo ID from anyone onsite to pick-up children that you have not met before. Please also check children’s folders for names of those authorized to remove children from care. If you are at all uncertain about identity or authorization, alert senior staff or place a call to parents. It is always better to err on the side of caution!

COLLATERAL DUTIES:
• Maintain a positive attitude and a passion for excellence in customer service and for promoting the well-being of the company, its products and its employees.
• Enthusiastically participate in company sponsored community events for the sake of charitable giving in the amount of 4 hours each quarter year.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
None at this time.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Verifiable related experience, solid applicable references, and must love children.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:
High School Diploma and verifiable related experience.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Must be articulate and have strong spoken and written communication skills in English language.
Knowledge of American Sign Language highly desirable.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:
Basic computation skills required.

REASONING ABILITY:
Must be able to use reason in prioritization in situations requiring immediate response

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:
Pediatric CPR and First Aid training.
Acquire 30 hours of industry training each year, maintain log of training hours, and submit to personnel file for licensing inspection.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; and use hands and fingers to handle or feel. The employee is occasionally required to sit; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move more than 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the professional, smoke-free work environment is usually moderate.