Mentor Coach - Head Start Program - Lansing, MI

Capital Area Community Services, inc.; Lansing (MI); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Capital Area Community Services, Inc. seeks an Early Childhood Coaching Specialist to strengthen teaching practices and support positive outcomes for young learners. The role uses the Practice Based Coaching model, providing mentorship, collaboration, and data-driven feedback to staff across sites.

The position emphasizes professional development and reflective practice, helping educators grow, improve program performance, and align classroom practices with school readiness goals.

Qualifications

• Two to five years of related and progressively more responsible experience in classroom or home-based teaching.
• Supervisory experience in Early Childhood is preferred.
• Active or willingness to obtain Infant/Toddler and Preschool C.L.A.S.S certification is required or pursued.

Responsibilities

• Travel between sites to coach and support educators.
• Provide opportunities for coaching and focused observations, planning, and reflection.
• Align feedback with school readiness goals and program performance.
• Oversee mentorship programming and data-informed progress reviews.
• Collaborate with Partnership Specialist to monitor coaching outcomes.

Skills

Coaching

Mentoring

Data-informed feedback

Education

Bachelor's Degree (Mentor Coach I)

Master's Degree (Mentor Coach II)

Tools

Childcare Certifications

C.L.A.S.S certification

Great Start to Quality Approved Assessor

MiRegistry Approved Trainer

Job description

Early Childhood Coaching Specialist: Empowering Educators, Inspiring Young Learners

Under the direction and guidance of the Partner Specialist, this role empowers early childhood education teams by using the research-based Practice Based Coaching model to strengthen effective teaching practices and support positive outcomes for children. Through certifications, coaching, assessment, mentorship, collaboration, and data-informed feedback, the Coach helps staff build their skills, align practices with school readiness and program performance goals, and grow within a supportive, collaborative relationship. With a focus on professional development and meaningful reflection, this work helps create stronger classrooms, more confident educators, and better learning experiences for young children.

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree (Mentor Coach I)
• Master's Degree (Mentor Coach II)

Experience:

Two to five years of related and progressively more responsible experience in classroom or home-based teaching. Supervisory experience in the area of Early Childhood is preferred.

Position Duties/Responsibilties

• Have active, or be willing to obtain, Infant/Toddler and Preschool C.L.A.S.S certification.
• Have, or be willing to obtain, Great Start to Quality Approved Assessor status.
• Have, or be willing to obtain, MiRegistry Approved Trainer status.
• Have, or be willing to complete, training in Creative Curriculum; Pyramid Model (Infant/Toddler/Preschool); Practice Based Coaching.
• Must be able to travel between sites.
• Meet periodically with Partnership Specialist to review operational data; coaching logs, observations and concerns, and evaluate the progress of the coaching program.
• Implement Practice Based Coaching which is a research-based, coordinated coaching strategy for education staff.
• Assess all education staff to identify strengths, areas of needed support, and determine which staff would benefit most from coaching.
• Provide opportunities for coaching to those education staff identified through the assessment process, including opportunities for focused observations, action planning, strategy implementation, reflection and feedback, while modeling effective teaching practices directly related to program performance goals.
• Provide opportunities for education staff not identified for intensive coaching to receive group coaching opportunities.
• Support the implementation and monitoring of CACS Mentorship programming.
• Align feedback with the program's school readiness goals, curricula, and other approaches to professional development. Oversee the strength and needs assessment process; use this data to inform coaching strategies aligned with program performance goals. Provide ongoing communication and collaboration between relevant staff based on the Practice Based Coaching implementation model.

Capital Area Community Services, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer