Position Overview:

UMCDC provides full-day care and child development program for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers ages 3 months to 5.5 years of age from many backgrounds. Every employee goes through a.) An orientation process within the first 30 days of employment; b.) Probationary period of 6 months with a minimum of an interim and c). a final observation and evaluation. Staff are accountable for their job responsibilities, understanding, implementing, and adhering to following University and UMCDC policies, and codes of conduct, procedures and protocols, as well as federal guidelines (e.g. USDA, ADA/IDEA., MN DHS Licensing regulations and NAEYC accreditation standards. Staff in this position must apply “best practices” and knowledge of early childhood education and development from a comprehensive theoretical base e.g. Erikson, Piaget, Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia (e.g. on assessments, an early taxonomy of cognition, and recognition of developmental indicators.Staff must also have detailed skills of observation, documentation, and record keeping, and the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues in a diverse setting of families & children. UMCDC is responsible for the deliverables of the mission statement as a model, demonstration, and training site for early child practicum and other student observations, pediatric residents, and the larger community. 

*This position is represented by the AFSCME Technical unit. 

Job Responsibilities:

Learning/ Behavioral Assessment of Children (20%)

• Understand and assist in the assessment of individual children using anecdotal notes for the Desired Results assessment tool and other informal means (e.g. taking photos, anecdotal notes or quotes, and organizing materials) to be used in the development of curriculum and in parent conferences (as set by center & to meet Licensing and accreditation standards criteria i.e. two times per yr. for infants/toddlers and preschool)
• Assist documenting and recording children’s assessments (on the excel spreadsheet and Power point) to assist in collaboratively planning emergent curriculum and scaffolding for individual children, small groups and the group as a whole. Meets weekly with teacher to aid in planning the curriculum & materials
• Add & update assessment data and documentation into the computer
• Use of DRDP assessment results to:
  • Identify children’s interests, needs, and notes development to discuss
  • Collaborate with the Teacher & AC to improve scaffolding and extend curriculum
  • Assist to plan classroom improvements and materials with the Teacher
  • Assist the Teacher to develop and implement curriculum
  • Follow up on interfacing of the DRDP & curriculum assigned by the AC and/or Teacher

Teaching/ Curriculum Planning (20%)

• Know and apply a myriad of teaching methods to address range of temperaments, intelligences and diversity
• Review and use DRDP individual and group profiles when collaborating with the teacher to plan curriculum for their classrooms to support individualized & group learning. There must be evidence that indicates assessment information was used to assist curriculum planning
• Assist in planning and implementing scaffolding for individual children, small groups, and the assigned group as a whole. Meets weekly to discuss, plan and develop curriculum processes and materials with the teacher and/or AC
• Incorporate concepts and activities that encompass all domains as directed by the teacher that are developmentally appropriate (social, emotional, physical, perceptual, cognitive, e.g. nature science, math, and the arts, health and safety, and social studies) across modalities
• Work in/with small group on projects, investigations, documenting children’s work and revisiting documentation(s) to recall and to help make the children’s work visible to them and their parents (e.g. their “knots”, strategies, ),and to extend curriculum
• Understand and initiate investigations, projects, and activities with questions to find out -what the child/children know

Documentation (20%)

• Make visible documentation of the children’s work. Utilize documentation to revisit the children’s experiences, processes, hypotheses, planning, use of strategies and discoveries
• Documentation will be accessible to the children and examples be both at their eye level and their parents, be a reflection of emergent curriculum, development of the children, reflect measures of DRDP’s, and be revisited with the children
• Ensures documentation reflects emergent curriculum, and align with the assessment tool, the DRDP’s
• Use documentation with the classroom teacher to Design (plan & guide), Document (extend) & to have Discourse (between/with children and parents

Environment and Classroom Set-up (15%)

• Routinely check for health and safety of the children both in looking for areas of concern and for supervision of all children in sight and sound
• Follow consistent daily, planned and visible schedule of routines and activities with children and assists guiding student workers to do
• Assist in the organization and arrangement of an intentional classroom environment with materials and areas that invite exploration, problem solving, and extend children’s interests and knowledge
• Assist in creating a psycho-social environment that maintains a nurturing ambient tone to foster and develop a positive sense of self/identity & the child’s social self as part of a group and community
• Assist in the rotation of materials in the classroom to reflect changing curriculum, to accommodate new interests, to expand and extend learning. Change classroom materials when the interest or topic is driven by a balance of Teacher and/or child interests as the children change
• Confer with teacher to ensure materials reflect diversity in books, photos, & daily journals
• Assist twice a year in the arrangement & set-up of the multi-purpose room; post updates with photos & captions as a display for colleagues and parents

Communication (15%)

• Effectively communicate to ensure working collaboratively with the teacher to assign, monitor, follow-up and give feedback on work given to the student child care workers and practicum students as needed.
• Communicate with parents, as partners, to request and give information, get input, share concerns, such as challenging behaviors and makes aware of the UMCDC resource and referral process as needed.
• Communicate to ensure working collaboratively as a team member
• Communicate with children to express warmth through behaviors such as physical affection, eye contact, tone of voice, interactions and responsiveness to provide a sense of trust, security and relationship.
• Use descriptive language when communicating with children avoiding “value laden” words such as “good job; to increase vocabulary & understanding routinely use “self” and “parallel” talk”.
• Communication to children is sensitively, reciprocally, and is responsive to differing needs, temperaments, activity level, arousal state, social, cognitive, motor development, developmentally appropriate and aware of children’s ZPD, Zone of Proximal Development).
• Recognizes that diversity in perspectives & perspective taking, problem-solving, deep listening, and the hearing of multiple points of view enrich and can lead to improvement and better solutions.

Safety/ Health Compliance (10%)

• Establish and maintain safe and healthy practices and procedures to include health and safety checks as outlined to meet MN DHS Licensing compliance, MDE and Accreditation standards, and ongoing face-to-name child counts, in safety drills and follows the Center’s Risk Reduction Plan
• Maintain & secure the confidentiality of information and records regarding staff, children and families as mandated by the University, e.g. FERPA, UMCDC, MN DHS Licensing, MDE, and NAEYC standards
• Establish and maintain a commitment to the University’s goals that encourage equity and diversity