Job Title: Assistant Teacher                                                                 FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Reports To: Director or Assistant Director, Kidspace                    Pay Range: $21.15 - $26.44 per hour
Program Type: Child Development Center

Organizational Overview

For nearly 50 years, House of Ruth has empowered women, children, and families to rebuild their lives and heal from trauma, abuse, and houselessness. We offer comprehensive services for survivors, including service-enriched housing, nationally accredited child and family development programming, and free counseling to anyone who has experienced domestic violence. The House of Ruth's Kidspace Child Development Center is an OSSE-approved employer. As a teacher or assistant teacher at the House of Ruth you may be eligible to receive a supplement payment through the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund.

Click on the link below for more information and to determine your eligibility.

https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/page_content/attachments/FY23%20General%20Flyer.pdf

Position Summary:

Plans and teaches an age-appropriate curriculum for young children, provides a nurturing and therapeutic environment promoting growth and helps parents to understand their child’s development.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: include the following. Other duties may be assigned. All duties and responsibilities are completed according to House of Ruth’s policies and procedures.

• Prepares the weekly lesson plans in conjunction with the teacher by finding appropriate activities in the Creative Curriculum. Assembles the necessary materials. Implements the plans and activities. Assists in managing the classroom in a therapeutic manner.
• Helps the children grow physically, emotionally and intellectually as individuals and in a group. Promotes self-confidence and a positive self-image in each child.
• Constantly interacts with the children and encourages their involvement in activities. Provides daily therapeutic, nurturing interactions through play and one on one time.
• Develops and maintains an environment that is nurturing, safe, orderly, clean, inviting and stimulating. Validates children’s feelings, both positive and negative, at all times. Comforts upset children at all times.
• Conducts parent conferences. Regularly communicates with parents regarding their child’s progress. Assists in teaching parenting skills. Provides positive role modeling and nurturance to parents.
• Assists the teacher in completing developmental assessments. Completes documents, GOLD observations and progress reports for assigned children. Assists in maintaining the children’s files.
• Carries out appropriate, positive and consistent discipline using redirection and natural or logical consequences. Validates children’s feelings and comforts children who are upset as a result of redirection and consequences at all times.
• Attends and participates in all required meetings and training sessions. Helps build a supportive staff and parent team. Follows all recommendations of specialists.
• Actively participates in all quality improvement efforts, including, but not limited to, becoming familiar with QI tools such as CLASS and ITERS and following the best practices described by these tools, attending assigned training, completing surveys and other assignments designed to improve program quality, participating in observations by internal observers and outside observers.
• This position requires the ability to interact with children on their level while on duty (while seated on the floor or at the table and chairs.)
• Conducts home visits with the teacher as per Early Head Start schedule and guidelines.

Education/Experience Required:

• CDA in Infants and Toddlers or associate's degree in early childhood required
• One to two years’ experience

• Successfully passing the following pre-employment process is required:
  • FBI Fingerprint/Background Check
  • Alcohol and drug Test
  • Urine Screening
  • TB Test
  • Police Clearance
• Strong working knowledge of MS Office 365.
• High level of interpersonal skills to handle sensitive and confidential situations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be fully vaccinated including booster.

Salary and Benefits

• Salary commensurate with experience and the Pay Equity Fund. The benefits package for full-time employees includes:        
  • Medical and Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Life/AD&D
  • Retirement Plan
  • Tuition Assistance Program
  • Paid Time Off and Holidays
  • Employee Referral Program

Physical Requirements:

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is required to stand; walk; sit; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high.

Other physical demands include bending and stooping to assist children with dressing needs, toileting,transitioning from sitting on the floor or chair to standing during classroom activities, transferring non-ambulatory children to and from strollers, chairs, changing tables, cribs, etc. Children may at times pull/jerk away or bolt/run from caregivers.

The ability to intervene in these situations is required. Moving or lifting of any child may be required in an emergency situation (i.e. to assist toddlers in evacuating the building or to ascend or descend stairs) and/or to prevent injury on the playground or other outdoor situations or activities.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Additional Information:

The House of Ruth is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.

All duties and responsibilities are completed according to the House of Ruth’s policies and procedures.

To be considered for this position submit your resume.