Federal Work Study - Community Service Alaya Preschool

Position Title: Federal Work Study - Community Service Alaya Preschool

# of Positions to Fill: 1

Department/Program: Financial Aid 55000

Work Location Authorization: 100% On-Site

Campus Location: Alaya Preschool

Reports to: Financial Aid Counselor

FLSA Classification: Non-Exempt/Hourly

FTE: 50% (20 hrs/week)

Compensation: $18.00 per hour

Application Deadline: 3/1 or until filled.

Job Summary

For over 45 years Alaya Preschool, founded by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, has been providing contemplative early childhood education in Boulder. As a division of Naropa University we support students to have a direct experience in a contemplative early childhood classroom. Teachers practice to develop genuine presence and facilitate the children's learning through embodied direct experiences with their world. This work study role will provide support to the teaching staff at Alaya. This position is hired by and ultimately supervised by the program director; it is directly supervised by, and reportable to, the teachers and head teacher in each classroom.

Work study students support the teaching staff in providing a grounded and nurturing learning environment and supervision for the children served. This assistance in the classroom decreases staff-child ratios and increases the individual education experiences offered to the children.

Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Works with young children ages two years to eight years under the supervision of the classroom teacher.
• Provides joyful, grounded care and supervision for children in the classroom and on the playground and ensures the safety of children at all times. Discipline and delight go hand in hand.
• Treats all children with dignity and respect; considers the individual needs of children in relationship to their cultural and social-economic background.
• Helps the teachers implement a daily program that meets the developmental, social and emotional skills and is developmentally appropriate for each child.
• Takes responsibility, as part of a teaching team, for the ordered arrangement, appearance, décor, and learning environment of the classroom and assumes a share of the joint housekeeping responsibilities of the staff.
• Actively participates in professional development opportunities as they arise, including feedback skills and the capacity for ongoing self-examination, as well as learning opportunities associated with Naropa University's JEDI initiative (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Prior relevant professional experience required:

• CBI, FBI, Trails and Out of State Background Checks.
• Colorado Professional Development System Training Requirements:

o Recognition and Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect.

o Preventing Shaken Baby and Abusive Head Trauma.

o Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Childcare Providers (FEMA Training).

o Standard Precautions

o Recognizing the Impact of Bias on Early Childhood Professionals

o Introduction to the Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Programs.

What Naropa Requires…

• Student must be awarded federal or state work study hours by the Financial Aid office in order to fill this position.
• High degree of emotional intelligence, critical thinking and assertive communication skills.
• Able to create and maintain a positive team environment and behave professionally with everyone encountered in the course and scope of the job duties.
• Reliable and punctual.
• Able to always follow teacher direction concerning children.
• All job candidates must demonstrate an appropriate level of understanding of and appreciation for the values of Naropa University and the capacity to demonstrate an integration and embodiment of these values as evidenced in work, communication, collaboration styles, and other general workplace behaviors.

What We'd Like You to Have…

• Experience working with young children.
• Students seeking a degree in Early Childhood Education or those who have taken coursework in Early Childhood Education.
• CPR and First Aid Certifications.

Physical Requirements & Environmental Conditions

During regular daily activities, employee must be able to do the following with or without reasonable accommodation: lift up to 25 pounds, stand, walk, sit, run, handle/finger, bend at the waist, reach above shoulder level, kneel, crouch crawl, interruptions/distractions, heat/cold, dust and dampness.

Naropa recognizes the following holidays throughout the year: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Fall Break, 4th Thursday and Friday in November, and Winter Break, the last two weeks in December encompassing the Christmas holiday as well as New Year's.

Naropa's health and welfare benefits include the following: medical, dental, vision, FSA, HSA, employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, employer-paid life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment, an employer-sponsored pre-tax retirement savings plan, which includes up to 2.5% employer matching, and a variety of voluntary, employee-paid supplemental insurance plans.

A comprehensive benefits package is available to full-time employees who work a minimum of 30 hours each week. Employees who work 20 - 29 hours each week are eligible for only the employer-paid short-term & long-term disability, employer-paid life insurance & accidental death and dismemberment, and the retirement plan, which includes up to 2.5% employer matching.

Employees who work fewer than 20 hours per week are eligible to participate in Naropa's retirement plan only, which includes up to 2.5% employer matching.

All regular full-time and part-time faculty and staff, including student workers, accrue sick leave benefits. Full-time and part-time staff positions accrue vacation and personal time. All leave accrual rates vary based on the position, hours worked, and years of service.

The University recognizes the importance of including its employees in its organizational mission and values and welcomes employees into the classroom to "touch the magic." Specifically, regular employees are provided generous tuition remission opportunities for themselves and their family members.

Naropa University participates in the Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP). CIC-TEP is a network of CIC colleges and universities willing to accept, tuition-free, students from families of full-time employees of other CIC participating institutions (full-time as designated by the employer/institution). Additional information can be found here: https://www.cic.edu/member-services/tuition-exchange-program.

Naropa University is an equal opportunity, non-discriminatory employer and Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual and relationship violence. This law applies to all students, faculty, and staff.