Early Childhood Educator III

Summary

This position will be responsible for independently developing and sustaining high quality development and learning environments; serves as an effective member of MELC’s Early Childhood Education teaching teams and can guide the practice of ECE I and ECE II professionals. ECE lll will have completed an early childhood education bachelor’s degree program or an early childhood education master’s degree program for initial preparation.

Duties

• Maintain a positive, nurturing, and supportive relationship with children and families. 
• Provide a learning environment and experiences that promote physical, social, cognitive, and emotional growth. 
• Apply knowledge and understanding of the Professional Standards and Competencies with a strong focus on young children in MELC’s birth to age 8 setting
• Assess the development of children and provide individualized planning to support the needs of children.
• Able to negotiate any areas of concern if there are potential conflicts between familie’s preferences and cultures and MELC’s practices and policies on health, safety and developmentally appropriate practices
• Collaborate with 
• Communicate with families and engage them in the learning process; hold at least two home visits and two family conferences per child, per year. 
• Advise and support other staff (i.e. assistant teacher, floaters, volunteers). 
• Participate in developing and implementing an Individual Family Services Plan (IFSP) as needed. 
• Maintain accurate individual and classroom records/reports as required. 
• Maintain a safe and healthy environment at all times; reports safety hazards to facilities personnel. 
• Follow health and safety at the highest standards of quality. 
• Follow food program regulations. 
• Maintain order of classroom and other learning environments of the program.
• Serve as an effective member of MELC’s early childhood education teaching teams and guide the practice of ECE l & ll in the Lead educator role
• Cooperate with other partners and/or organizations to support the program.
• Demonstrate competency in the content areas of the Wisconsin Core Competencies.
• Participate on special events committees. 
• Follow all Wisconsin Department of Children and Families State Licensing and Youngstar requirements, Early Head Start Performance Standards and any other best practices mandated for quality programs.
• Attend staff meetings and in-services. 
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Minimum education requirements of an Bachelor’s Degree in early childhood or in a related field which includes at least 12-18 credits focused on early childhood development (infant/toddler). 
• Preference of at least two years of experience working with infants and toddlers with ability to provide care and education to meet the needs of all children including but not limited to; special needs and culturally diverse populations. 
• Knowledge of practices as it relates to Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) licensing and Youngstar requirements, Head Start Performance Standards, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and other best practices in the field. 
• Meets all DCF and Youngstar requirements for a Lead Teacher. 
• Minimum of three (3) years of classroom experience.
• Experience with diverse populations is a must.

Benefits

• Medical & Dental (Malaika pays 70 % of Premium)
• Vision
• AFLAC
• 403b Retirement plan (No company match)
• Free $15,000 life insurance policy
• 11 paid holidays
• Professional Development opportunities