Child Care Lead Teacher (Infants, Pre-Tods, & Preschool)

Summary:
Under the supervision of the Assistant Director (AD), assist in providing a learning environment at the newly built childcare development center that uses developmentally appropriate practices, protects, and nurtures the health and safety of each child and staff and provides resources and support to military families and their children.

Salary commensurate with experience ($26.25 per hour)

Duties and Responsibilities:
Mentorship

• Assists the ADs in helping childcare assistants translate professional development training into practice by mentoring, guiding, and role-modeling.
• Models appropriate behaviors and techniques for working with children and youth.
• Consults frequently with the Executive Director, ADs and the Training and Curriculum Specialist for guidance on strategies to further assist team members' professional development.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

• Complete on-going assessments of each child to develop a variety of strategies which will promote and support children’s learning and developmental progress.
• Make appropriate referrals based on screenings and on-going assessments.
• Support each child's individual learning and development by providing an environment offering developmentally appropriate equipment and materials.
• Be inclusive of children with disabilities by following the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) or the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP).
• Provide a daily program which balances adult and child-initiated activities in both large and small groups, indoor and outdoor play, and timely and predictable transitions.
• Develop and implement lesson plans based on the ELM curriculum.
• Provide opportunities for creative self-expression through art, music, movement, and dramatic play.
• Support the social and emotional development of each child by building trust, fostering independence, encouraging self-confidence, and supporting positive adult and peer relationships.
• Encourage positive guidance by setting clear, consistent limits, and having realistic expectations.
• Support the home language, culture, and family composition of each child by encouraging the feelings and rights of others.
• Plan appropriate field trips to be approved by the Executive Director.

Health, Safety, and Nutritional Procedures

• Provides care and supervision, oversight, and accountability for children in care.
• Maintains control of and accounts for the whereabouts and safety of children in care.
• Implement the agencies approved food policies.
• Practice and model the sanitation and hygiene procedures including hand washing, cleaning and disinfecting toys and furniture, and providing children with space to place personal belongings.
• Comply with policies regarding blood borne pathogens to adequately protect children and staff.
• Ensure that emergency information for each child is current and files are updated regularly.
• Follow the policies regarding temporary exclusion and physician notification of diagnosis.
• Practice the policies regarding medication administration and storage.
• Provide an indoor and outdoor environment supervised in accordance with Child Care Administration licensing regulations and free of environmental and physical hazards.
• Comply with the agencies approved Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting policy.
• Complete daily attendance records for each child.
• Respond to emergency situations by implementing emergency preparedness procedures.
• Supervise the nutritional aspects of the program by assisting children with “family style” meals, sitting with children during designated mealtimes, talking with the children during the meal/snack time and appropriately scheduling meals into the daily schedule.
• Serve all food that is on the planned menu, unless directed otherwise.
• Serve purchased food replacements for children with specific and physician documented dietary needs.
• Incorporate nutrition and related topics into daily activities and lesson plans.
• Inventories equipment on a recurring basis, recommends replenishing damaged, missing, and depleted supplies and purchases needed items.
• Secures supplies, equipment, and facilities in both the indoor and outdoor environment.
• Ensures compliance with law, policies, and regulations.

Staff and Parent Responsibilities

• Follow and implement the Early Learning Matters (ELM) curriculum.
• Make timely requisitions for health, safety, and classroom supplies.
• Maintain all necessary records and documentation.
• Supervise the daily responsibilities of the assigned assistant childcare teacher.
• Provide adequate notification in your absence for all approved leave, which includes personal days and advanced scheduled sick leave.
• Create a Substitute Guide including class lists, supplemental activity guides, outlines of daily schedules and transitions, and the location of all emergency evacuations and contact information.
• Attending all scheduled staff development days and any additional training sessions.
• Attending all staff meetings.
• Invite parents to become an integral part of the program, by providing opportunities for parents to participate in classroom activities. 
• Encourage parents to provide information regarding their child by scheduling and conducting two parent and teacher conferences throughout the year.
• Assist parents with transitioning from one classroom to another or from the child development center to kindergarten.
• Communicate with parents regularly, verbally and non-verbally.
• Participate in the creation of newsletters which will highlight classroom activities and upcoming events.
• Based on the child’s individual needs, suggest parent/child activities for the child to complete with their family.
• Communicate in a professional and respectful manner with parents and guardians.
• Assist in obtaining community partners and resources to provide and support families.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: 

• Must be 18 years of age or older. 

• Must hold an Associate, Baccalaureate, or Advanced Degree in Early Childhood Education OR a related fields OR Child Development Associate (CDA) and 12 months experience in an early childhood setting.  

• Must have all required education and experience to meet current Virginia State licensing requirements for qualifications.  

• Must pass Federal, State, Child Protective Services Checks, National Sex Offender Registry, and if living out of the State of Virginia in the last 5 years all applicable Out of State checks applicable. 

• Must have knowledge of Virginia licensing regulations. 

• Basic knowledge of MS Office and ProCare/childcare management software 

• Must participate in continued professional development through enrollment in formal and informal educational courses related to early childhood education.  

• Must be familiar with accreditation standards. 

• Preferred to have experience with military families and their children. 

• Required to do considerable walking, standing, bending, stooping, and lifting to 40 pounds. 

• Must pass a pre-employment physical, provide evidence of immunization and be free from communicable disease.  

• Must satisfactorily obtain or complete required training certificates and maintain certifications or credentials required by Federal, State or National Accreditation Institutions as used by the CDC. 

Education
**Must provide a copy of your Associate, Baccalaureate, or Advanced Degree in Early Childhood Education or College Transcripts (Showing degree awarded/conferred) when you apply OR a copy of your Child Development Associate (CDA) when you apply**

Compensation and Benefits:

• Sign-on Bonus: Eligible candidates will receive a $500 sign-on bonus upon hire.
• Retention Bonus: Earn up to $1750 in retention bonuses, distributed over key employment milestones as part of our commitment to employee satisfaction and longevity.

Armed Service YMCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind.  ASYMCA is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws of regulations in the locations where we operate. We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. ASYMCA encourages applicants of all ages.


 

Military spouses, veterans and military affiliated job seekers encouraged to apply.

Armed Services YMCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. ASYMCA is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. ASYMCA encourages applicants of all ages.

Armed Services YMCA acknowledges the minimal use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in our initial recruitment stages. All AI use is coupled with human review and is designed to assist our team in building efficiencies and excelling at focusing on timeliness and communication in our hiring process. Our hiring teams thoroughly evaluate skills and qualifications and make all final hiring decisions.