Center Aide

BECOME A HEAD START PROFESSIONAL BENEFITS: - Competitive Pay - Welcoming and Friendly Environment - Retirement Plan with Match - Professional Development Opportunities MISSION: CCSCT empowers vulnerable families and individuals in greater South Central Texas to achieve self-sufficiency by eliminating barriers through innovative programs and strong community partnerships. JOB SUMMARY: The Center Aide is responsible for the assisting the EHS/HS Teacher in providing care and education for children and their families in a child care setting, in addition to providing a supportive, safe, and stimulating learning environment. ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. - Assists with maintaining a calm, safe classroom and playground that incorporates developmental appropriateness; assists in creating an atmosphere in which the children feel comfortable and secure, reflecting the cultures of all enrolled children. - Ensures the safety of children through constant supervision, effective arrangement of space, proper maintenance of equipment and regular practice of fire drills and other emergency procedures. - Assists with incorporating developmentally appropriate practice according to the Head Start Performance Standards. - Assists with ensuring continuity of curriculum and high standards of equality in the classroom; works individually with children who experience difficulty in group activities. - Assists with consistently implementing center routines, including hand washing, tooth brushing, eating, napping, and transitioning between activities (HS children only). - Assists children in developing self-help skills including diapering, toilet training, hygiene, feeding, dressing and daily activities in a caring, nurturing and supportive learning environment (EHS children only). - Operates the classroom in compliance with all childcare-licensing standards, paying particular attention to standards prohibiting any form of physical punishment. - Assists with ensuring the arrangement of each classroom provides a stimulating, clean, and safe learning environment. - Assists with completion of daily documentation as required. - Assists with providing a variety of planned activities designed to encourage individual and group play and assists in providing a variety of language stimulation activities. - Provides experiences that promote individual self-expression in conversation, imaginative play, and creativity and provides positive guidance to promote self-esteem. - Provides experiences involving thinking skills such as generalizing, classifying, sorting, and problem solving. - Observes, records, and reports any child's behavior, sharing information appropriately with other staff members. - Shows personal development and growth by being relaxed, using a calm, quiet voice, being pleasant and enthusiastic about the children, and by using self-control in trying situations. - Reports all suspected child abuse to the Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400 or to an immediate supervisor. - Encourages the involvement of the families of the children in a Head Start program and supports the development of relationships between children and their families. - Follows CCSCT Policies and Procedures and maintains confidentiality in all phases of agency operations. - Familiarizes self with the agency's Strategic Plan and gains an overall understanding of how position contributes to the accomplishment of goals within that plan. - Attends and participates in staff meetings and related activities; attends conferences, workshops, and trainings to increase professiona knowledge; serves on committees as assigned. - Performs other related duties as assigned or required. {=html} SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: This position has no supervisory responsibilities. JOB REQUIREMENTS: Education and Experience Requirements Child Development Associate (CDA) credential in appropriate age group required. Individuals without a CDA credential must work toward and receive their Child Development Asso