Education Specialist

DEPARTMENT: Early Childhood Services

REPORTS TO: Head Start/EHS Director

SALARY: $65-$70K

Job Summary:

Under the supervision of the program’s Educational Coordinator, the Education Specialist supports teaching teams in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of curriculum that is responsive to the needs of the children in the classroom. The Education Specialist plans and collaborates with teaching staff to promote children’s development and ensure children are meeting school readiness goals. The Education Specialist supports teachers and other relevant staff in providing responsive care, effective teaching, and an organized learning environment that promotes healthy development and children’s skill growth aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five,

Essential Job Responsibilities Will Include

In collaboration with the program’s leadership and teaching teams, the Educational Specialist major responsibilities fall within the following functions:

• Provide guidance, support and coaching to teaching teams to promote effective teaching practices that emphasize nurturing and responsive practices, interactions, and environments that foster trust and emotional security
• Ensure teaching teams are providing communication and language rich opportunities, interactions, and environment that promote children’s language and problem solving skills
• Support teaching teams in promoting critical thinking and problem-solving; social, emotional, behavioral, and language development; provide supportive feedback for learning; motivate continued effort; and support all children’s engagement in learning experiences and activities
• Support teaching teams in the development and implementation of curricula that consists of organized activities, schedules, lesson plans, and the implementation of high-quality early learning experiences that are responsive to and build upon each child’s individual pattern of development and learning
• Ensure and promote the integration of child assessment data in individual and group planning by teaching teams
• Ensure that teaching teams include developmentally appropriate learning experiences in language, literacy, social and emotional development, math, science, social studies, creative arts, and physical development that are focused toward achieving progress outlined in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five.
• Support teaching teams in promoting bilingualism and biliteracy and implement research-based teaching practices that support their development.
• Support and coach teaching teams in implementing well-organized learning environments with developmentally appropriate schedules, lesson plans, and indoor and outdoor learning experiences that provide adequate opportunities for choice, play, exploration, and experimentation among a variety of learning, sensory, and motor experiences.
• Support teaching teams to effectively implement curriculum with fidelity, and provide support, feedback, and coaching for continuous improvement through training and professional development
• Support teaching teams in completing developmental screening to identify concerns regarding a child’s developmental, behavioral, motor, language, social, cognitive, and emotional skills within 45 calendar days of when the child first attends the program.
• Support teaching teams in meeting the individualized needs of children with disabilities, including but not limited to those eligible for services under IDEA, and all children have access to and can fully participate in the full range of activities and services.
• Support teaching teams in integrating parents in developing the program’s curriculum and identifying school readiness goals.
• Support the implementation of quality assessments using research-based tools such as the ITERS, ECERS, CLASS and CHILD.
• Participate and support program-wide activities such as annual program self-assessment, community assessment, governance, professional development, federal reviews, and community partnerships development
• Maintain proper documentation, tracking, and monitoring systems for reporting purposes
• Support special events, new initiatives, and innovative programming through partnerships with funders and research institutions
• Other tasks as assigned by supervisor

Pre- Employment Requirements:

• Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education preferred.
• Position requires a current New York State N-6 certification
• Clearance through DOI Fingerprinting, NYS Central Registry, Sex Offender Registry, Clearance, 3 reference checks, physical examination with updated TB test, varicella, TDAP, MMR Meet all health requirements in Article 47 (DOHMH) and Head Start Performance Standards.
• Obtain First Aid/CPR preventive Infectious Diseases certificate within the first year of employment.
• Excellent writing skills and computer proficiency.
• Must have demonstrated achievement in supervision and management, family and community partnerships and collaborating with diverse teams.
• Spanish high recommended

Equal Opportunity Employer ( EOE)