Early Education Center Teacher

Children; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plans

Life Insurance

403(b) retirement plan

11 paid holidays

Job summary

COA Youth & Family Centers is seeking an Early Education Center Teacher to join the Riverwest Center in Milwaukee. This full-time, year-round position focuses on day-to-day classroom programming, ensuring compliance with state licensing, HS/EHS, and NAEYC standards while delivering engaging early education experiences.

You will implement weekly lesson plans, document progress, and build strong relationships with families. Benefits include PT, health plans, retirement, and holidays.

Qualifications

• Must meet DCF, HS/EHS, and NAEYC requirements.
• High school diploma/GED required.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day programming in the classroom.
• Ensure curriculum delivery with fidelity using Creative Curriculum.
• Maintain licensing and quality standards.
• Engage with parents through daily communication and conferences.
• Attend professional development, staff meetings, and trainings, including some weekends.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Cultural competency

Trauma-informed care

Social-emotional learning

Organization

Education

HS Diploma

DCF/HS/EHS/NAEYC requirements

Level 12 on The Registry or Infant Toddler Credential

Tools

Word

Excel

Job description

Description

COA Youth & Family Centers Job Description

Early Education Center Teacher

Department: Early Education Center

FLSA Status: Non Exempt

Reports to: Senior Early Education Center Manager

Direct reports: None

Driver Status: N/A

Primary Location: Riverwest Center, 909 E Garfield Avenue, Milwaukee 53212.

Mission: COA Youth & Family Centers nurtures children, supports families, and builds strong and resilient communities - one child, one family, one community at a time.

Summary

This position is a member of COA’s Early Education team.

This position is responsible for the day-to-day programming within the classroom. This includes complying with all applicable standards such as State of Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) licensing, Head Start/Early Head Start (HS/EHS) policy standards, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation.

This is a full time year-round position eligible for benefits.

Benefits include generous paid time off, health plans (medical, dental, vision), life insurance, Employee Assistance Program, 403(b) retirement plan, 11 paid holidays and a great working environment.

Main Job Responsibilities

Child Development

Goal: appropriately manage child behavior.

• Use active supervision at all times.
• Engage positively, using redirection and positive reinforcement.
• Get on child’s level to interact, play and talk.
• Follow expectations on positive physical contact.

Goal: ensure curriculum is delivered to fidelity.

• Create and implement developmentally appropriate weekly lesson plans using Creative Curriculum.
• Follow ASQ process to monitor progress.
• Update child portfolios per 4 checkpoints throughout the year.
• Enter eight anecdotal records/observations into Teaching Strategies GOLD per child per month.
• Use plan time and down time appropriately.

Classroom Management

Goal: ensure a safe, fun place to learn and grow.

• Use set routines and daily room schedules.
• Maintain overall physical classroom environment; cleanliness, organization, decorations, and structure as per licensing and other standards. Oversee classroom inventory.
• Maintain accurate and timely recordkeeping:

1. Intake forms, attendance tracking, food count forms.
2. Incident and medical logs.
3. Child referrals.

Relationships with Parents

Goal: professional and trusting relationships with parents.

• Communicate with parents on a daily basis regarding positive thoughts; concerns and incidents in a calm and professional manner.
• Perform parent-teacher conferences and home visits.
• Represent the program to parents.
• Support family engagement events.

Other

• Role model appropriate behavior at all times. This includes developing and maintaining appropriate professional relationships with youth, colleagues, parents, facilitators, community members, etc.
• Represent the program and the agency appropriately.
• Attend professional development, staff meetings, and conferences, trainings (including weekends and Saturdays) to retain current in industry knowledge and fulfill continuing education requirements.
• Support other areas within the building (e.g., reception) as needed.

Qualifications

Education/Knowledge/Experience

• Minimum age of 18 and high school diploma/GED
• Must meet DCF, HS/EHS, and NAEYC requirements.
• Highly preferred: Level 12 on The Registry or Infant Toddler Credential.
• Knowledge of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, EHS, etc. preferred.
• Proficient in Word and Excel plus accurate typing skills.
• Experience working with urban youth and families.

Pre-hire: background check, drug screen and fingerprint.

Skills/Personal Qualities/Attitude

• Embody COA values with a passion for serving others.
• Philosophical compatibility with COA mission and strength based child development methods.
• Strong early childhood management skills; familiarity with social emotional learning and trauma informed care.
• Good organizational and administrative skills; detail oriented.
• Effective interpersonal skills to develop strong working relationships. Cultural competency. Respect for diversity of all types.
• Excellent time management skills for consistent attendance and punctuality.

Physical Requirements/Working Conditions

The physical requirements are the ability to:

• Sit and stand for long periods of time.
• Lift and carry up to 35 pounds throughout the day.
• Actively engage with children in various activities (e.g. physical movement, dramatic play, on-the-floor play, etc.)
• Move quickly in order to safely evacuate children from the Center within certain time limits.

The work environment is an active environment with urban youth and families in a variety of settings. This requires the ability to respond quickly to changing situations and be able to move around the COA site as needed. This position also requires evening and weekend work.

These characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while preforming the essential job functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

The above is intended to describe the general content and requirements of this job. It is not meant to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements. In other words, other duties as assigned.