Description:
The Community Action Agency of Somerville, known as CAAS, is changing lives for our community members who are furthest from opportunity. For over 40 years, we have been helping local families and individuals achieve financial security while working to eliminate the root causes of economic injustice. Our largest offering, Head Start, is a free preschool program that promotes school readiness. We offer comprehensive developmental preschool and wraparound services to ~270 low-income, culturally diverse children and their families each year in Somerville and Cambridge. Our six centers are fully open for in-person learning. Our Head Start program is integrated with our Housing Advocacy, Tenant Organizing, and Income Maximization programs to provide a full suite of anti-poverty services. We are proud to be a source of stability and support for our community.
The Head Start Center Director works collaboratively with the Education Coordinator and Education Director in monitoring the delivery of high quality education services in a safe, healthy, and developmentally appropriate classroom for children 3 to 5 years old in accordance with EEC regulations and Head Start performance standards.
Responsibilities Include:
- Provide supervision, guidance, and support to the teachers in the center.
- Ensure that a developmentally appropriate, culturally competent curriculum is implemented in conjunction with the program-wide curriculum schedule, while ensuring individualization to meet each child’s unique needs.
- Ensure that Second Step is embedded into the regular curriculum and used regularly.
- Ensure that fall, winter, and spring formal assessment of each child using the Teaching Strategies Gold online assessment platform is completed and entered into My HeadStart. Help plan discussions with families about their child’s growth during one-on-one conferences, as appropriate.
- Enter data pertaining to childrens’ records into the appropriate system including Parent-Teacher Conferences, ASQ scores and Open House.
- Attend Case Conferences as needed to discuss plans for children needing additional support.
- Assist the Education Director with preparing and maintaining all routine documentation and other paperwork required for state licensure and under our meal program and federal grant requirements.
- Ensure that all proper health and safety protocols are followed to ensure the classroom environment and all daily activities strictly adhere to established health and safety protocols.
- Ensure that a culturally responsive and welcoming environment is created so that each family feels welcomed; encourage family participation in classroom routines and special events.
- Pursue ongoing professional growth and maintain compliance with state and federal professional development and qualifications requirements through relevant in-service and external training opportunities.
- Ensures all required paperwork is completed and turned in on time by collecting and delivering all paperwork to each specific content area supervisor at the CAAS Union Square Office.
- Ensure classrooms have appropriate supplies and materials by completing all order forms and distributing them to the Site Coordinator on a monthly basis.
- Ensures the coverage of classrooms when a teacher has a planned day off or an unexpected sick day.