Head Start Transportation / Teacher's Aide

General Description: To act in a dual work capacity in providing safe transportation and meeting the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical needs of children.

 Essential Job Responsibilities and Performance Indicators:

Transportation

 ·         Arrives 10 minutes before the route to check messages and perform pre-trip inspections.

·         Maintain a clean & safe bus (i.e., weekly disinfect seats, monthly pressure wash inside and outside, and by-monthly wash windows).

·         Conduct pre/post-trip bus inspections before/after route run daily. (i.e., registration, proof of insurance, first aid, emergency equipment, bus maintenance, etc.)

·         Adhere to bus safety rules as required by program and state standards (i.e., proper shoes, no food, sodas, no thongs, flip-flops, slides, open-toed shoes, coolers, glass containers, CD/Radio earplugs, aerosol cans, etc.)

·         Ensure every child is properly restrained in safety vests.

·         Ensure and be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the walkie-talkie radio daily

·         Be responsible for the use of the fuel card (i.e., maintain and submit gas receipts daily, return fuel card daily, etc.)

·         Document and report all accidents/incidents and mechanical problems to Transportation Manager

·         Ensure that a Bus Policy, Emergency Card, and Parent Release Form on all bus riders are present at all times.

·         Report promptly to the immediate supervisor and/or Family Services any changes to the child’s address and/or family problems observed.

·         Ensure that the bus is attended at all times by an adult (i.e., driver, staff/monitor, or parent) when children are being transported.

·         Ensure that every attempt is made to pick up children and that an authorized person is present when children are delivered home or to a childcare provider.

·         Submit monthly mileage sheets, evacuation drills, a vehicle safety checklist, and/or any other required documents/reports to the Transportation Manager.

·         Develop and maintain regular, functional bus routes.  Ensure that there is an updated route on the bus and at the center at all times.

·         Promote and use positive guidance techniques when supervising children and inform teachers of any behavioral problems observed/occurring on the bus.

·         Check the bus at the end of the AM & PM routes to ensure that “No” Child Is Left Behind.”  The sign MUST be posted in the front window.

·         Other related duties as assigned.

 Teacher’s Aide or Substitute Teacher

 ·         Assist teacher(s) in planning, preparing, and implementing daily classroom group and individualized activities for children (i.e., lesson plans, IEPs, attendance, clean-up, follow-up, and record-keeping as required by state and federal licensing, performance standards, and program standards,

·         Coordinate with the classroom teacher(s) to determine daily tasks.

·         Assist teacher(s) with personal hygiene, health, safety (i.e., tooth brushing, toileting, hand washing)

·         Eat and converse with children during mealtime and encourage them to develop good eating habits and social skills.

·         Share in the responsibility of providing appropriate care for children with disabilities.

·         Assist teacher(s) in tracking attendance, meal count, volunteer hours, in-kind contributions, child sign-in, and sign-out sheets, health checks, child portfolios, assessments, and other information as necessary.

·         Assist in conducting daily observation of children to track their educational and social gains and outcomes and record findings in the child’s portfolio

·         Monitor records and data to determine compliance with required standards.

·         Other related duties as assigned

Qualifications / Skills and Experience:

• HS Diploma/GED or other related fields/ECD Cert./ECD Diploma preferred.
• Commercial Driver License (CDL) with "S" Endorsement (preferred), training provided. Must be able to obtain within the 90-day probationary period if needed.
• Demonstrate effective reading, writing, and typing/computer skills.
• Experience in a preschool program or one year’s training in Early Childhood Development or Transportation experience driving large vehicles (school bus)
•  Ability to pass background checks and health screening.
• Must be able to communicate (verbal and written) effectively and appropriately with others.

Professional and Ethical Standards:

•  Maintain confidentiality following agency policy and legal requirements.
• Attend mandatory training and meetings, and seek out staff development opportunities.
• Work as a team member with all staff and maintain a positive work ethic.
• Be honest, reliable, and dependable.
• Knowledgeable about and sensitive to an individual's values, beliefs, traditions, cultural influences, make-up, and circumstances.
• Demonstrate familiarity with employment policies, performance standards, work plans, and agency goals and objectives.
• Demonstrate commitment to mission, values, and policies in the performance of daily duties.
• Fulfill role as mandated reporter as stated in the Child Abuse & Neglect Policy.

 Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk to or hear individuals in person and over the phone.
• The employee frequently must stand; walk; use hands to handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms.
•  Ability to work outdoors intermittently with exposure to cold and hot weather.
•  Perform physical inventory of equipment and/or supplies.
•   Lift and move heavy and/or bulky objects and/or children weighing up to 50 lbs. (Teacher’s Aid)
• Maintain a clean classroom area, which may require a broom, mop, vacuum, cleaning fluids, etc. 
• Ability to physically interact with children (walk and run quickly, kneel, or sit on the floor, bend, lift, walk over rough or uneven grounds and exposure to diverse weather conditions)
• Ability to assist in setting up classrooms/office areas which require but are not limited to moving tables, chairs, shelves, etc.)
•   Assist with the safety of children through the seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling senses.
•   Performs physical maintenance duty, which requires the use of a broom, mop, vacuum, buffer/stripper, cleaning fluids, etc.