Aftercare Program Teacher

Overview of Easterseals Serving DC  MD  VA

Who We Are

Including Individuals. Empowering Families. Strengthening Communities. ℠

Easterseals DC MD VA (www.eseal.org) is leading the way to full equity, inclusion, and access through direct and life-changing disability and community services. 

Since 1945, Easterseals DC MD VA has worked tirelessly to enhance quality of life and expand access to healthcare, education, and employment. And we won’t rest until each one of us is valued, respected, and accepted.

We take a holistic approach, providing comprehensive services to thousands of children and adults in our neighborhoods, no matter their disability, military status, income, race, or age: To help each child reach their full potential, we provide personalized child development and early intervention services. To improve health and reduce isolation in adults with disabilities, we offer engaging activities and expansive resources. To enable military families to integrate into the community, we provide a suite of services, including employment support and mental healthcare. And to sustain families and caregivers, we provide comprehensive services and support.

Together with our partners, we’re reducing poverty and homelessness and improving healthcare and employment by empowering people of all ages and abilities to be full and equal participants in their communities. Join us.

 As the Easterseals affiliate serving Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, (www.eseal.org) Easterseals DC MD VA works through public-private partnerships to provide community-based services in the most efficient manner possible. These traits were demonstrated in the opening our Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Inter-Generational Center, which has quickly become an international model of excellence for delivering superior outcomes, including creating meaningful connections between generations. It was opened through visionary partnership among local, state, and national governments, as well as private individual, corporate, and foundation investment. The shared resources created a maximum return on investment for the community. Through a variety of resources, Easterseals provides information and guidance about how to navigate changing needs within our communities.

Easterseals DC MD VA, we know that creating a hopeful, inclusive community where all people realize their potential and live meaningful lives can be done only when we value our greatest asset – our staff. More than 200 employees across the greater Washington, DC area, from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Falls Church, Virginia, value the rewarding work that enables Easterseals to lead the way to 100% equity, inclusion, and access for people with disabilities, families, and communities.

If you want to do well while doing good, Easterseals DC MD VA may be the place for you.

Core Values

Our entire staff shares our Core Values which are an integral component of the success of ESDCMDVA:

• Respect: We respect each other. We value the uniqueness and dignity of each individual and appreciate the strength of diversity and inclusion. 
• Responsibility: We share a sense of responsibility for doing things right, being good stewards and being accountable for our actions. 
• Integrity: We conduct business ethically with a commitment to moral integrity and we expect people to hold a high moral standard. We communicate openly, honestly and directly. 
• Innovation: We embrace new ideas, take measured risks and find better ways to help more people. 
• Care: We show compassion for others and continue to live our mission each day. 

Easterseals Job Description

Job Title: After Care Teacher

Department: Early Head Start

Location: Bladensburg Road

Reports to: Center Director 

FLSA Classification: Non-Exempt

Job Summary:

This position serves as an Aftercare Teacher for the aftercare classroom. The aftercare teacher shares responsibility for a classroom of 18 months to 3 years and 3- to 5-year-old children. S/he works collaboratively with the teacher, family members and other staff to achieve positive outcomes for children of all abilities.

Duties/Responsibilities:

The Aftercare Teacher’s responsibilities also fall within the following core functions, although s/he may perform other tasks as needed:

• Planning 
• Program Implementation 
• Family Partnerships 
• Communication and Service Coordination 
• Record Keeping and Reporting 
• Human Resources 
• Planning and implementing learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical development of children, including improving the readiness of children for school by developing their literacy and phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness, their understanding and use of language, their understanding and use of increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books, and their problem-solving abilities. 
• Establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy learning environment.
• Supporting the social and emotional development of children. 
• Encouraging the involvement of the families of the children in the aftercare program and supporting the development of relationships between children and their families. Their literacy and phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness, their understanding and use of language, their understanding and use of increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books, and their problem-solving abilities.
• Establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy learning environment.
• Supporting the social and emotional development of children.

(Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.)

Required Skills/Abilities: 

The Assistant Teacher will ultimately be evaluated on a combination of skills, dispositions and behaviors, some of which are related to the specific service area of this position and others that represent the general expectations of all Acelero Learning employees. 

The assistant teacher’s role encompasses effective practices in the following (as outlined in our Assistant Teacher Success Rubric): 

1. teacher-child interactions 

2. Learning environment 

3. Curriculum 

4. Child assessment

 5. Meeting all children’s needs 

6. Working with families 

7. Professional growth and collaboration

 Child Growth & Development: Uses knowledge of the principles of child growth and development to work with children and communicate with internal and external stakeholders.

• Implements a child-centered curriculum and learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation to promote development in all domains for children of all abilities.
• Addresses challenging behaviors by observing to determine possible causes of the behavior, implementing preventive measures, teaching the child new social and communication skills and partnering with families to support the child at home.
• Uses observations of children and anecdotal notes to document children’s progress and individualize curriculum. 
• Create partnerships with families to establish positive interaction patterns in program, school, and home. 

Required Education and Experience:

• CDA, or 90 hour or High School Diploma or enrolled to complete within one year of hire OR a degree in Early Childhood Education or related field with at least nine (9) credits in Early Childhood Education or enrolled to complete degree (with related credits) within one year of hire.
• Intermediate computer literacy skills in email, Microsoft Office. 
• Obtain CPR and First Aid certification within the first year of employment.

Physical Requirements: 

• Able to lift a child weighing 40 pounds, 20 times a day if needed.

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. 

EEOC/M/F/V/D 

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