Teacher Assistant

Job Description

Job DescriptionSalary:

• Assist in planning and implementing a variety of creative developmentally appropriate activities to enhance childrens social, physical, emotional, cognitive and motor skill development in a classroom environment. Participates actively with children at all times during such activities.

• Personal qualifications as required in Part 407: Licensing Standards for Day Care Centers, emotional maturity, willingness to cooperate with the aims of the program, respect for children and adults, flexibility, patience, good personal hygiene, and physical and mental health which does not interfere with responsibilities;

• Assist in maintaining the physical environment, both indoors and outdoors, that includes constant supervision of children, toys, and equipment. Responsible for ensuring safe, clean, and healthy conditions in all surroundings with children in accordance with all licensing requirements and consistent with agency philosophy and policies. This includes, but is not limited to, statute/policy regarding appropriate supervision of children.
• Assist in planning, implementing, and participating in classroom activities that foster childrens freedom of choice. The classroom activities must be sensitive to the needs of individual children including their individual learning styles, habits, and disabilities, if applicable.
• Participate in staff meetings, training sessions, conferences, workshops, and other professional development activities.
• Responsible for maintaining communication with parents as needed regarding childrens daily activities, progress, and concerns.
• Establish a positive link with parents and welcome them into comfortable and constructive roles in the classroom.
• Foster awareness, understanding and appreciation of various cultures through group activities and appropriate role modeling.
• Write regular, anecdotal notes about the observed health, peer relationships, adult/child relationships, behavioral concerns, and areas of growth for each child in the assigned group.
• Help children become aware of their roles as integral members of groups. Support positive peer and adult/child relationships and problem solving within groups.
• Work as a member of a team that includes program management staff, training coordinators, classroom staff, and support staff.
• Assume an equal share of routine classroom housekeeping responsibilities.
• Assist with maintaining program records, including, but not limited to, classroom attendance, meal counts, child assessments, accident reports, and anecdotal notes.
• Other duties as assigned.

Follows procedures as required by licensing and funding agencies (including but not limited to Illinois DCFS Licensing Standards, City of Chicago Health Requirements for Day Care Centers, Head Start Performance Standards, Chicago Public School requirements, Carole Robertson Center for Learning Policies and Procedures and quality standards as defined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children)

PHYSICAL DEMAND
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform.

• Requires frequent sitting, standing, bending, or stooping for prolonged periods.
• Requires lifting up to 55 lbs.
• Requires physical agility to attend to the physical needs and activity levels of children.

• Possible exposure to blood and bodily fluids or tissues.
• Possible exposure to communicable diseases; and
• Job requires sitting for long periods of time (during planning and reporting) and standing for long periods of time (during work with children, observations, and training), as well as stooping, squatting, and running.