Teacher Assistant - Preschool Laboratory

POSITION SUMMARY

Preschool Teaching Assistant: The Grinnell College Preschool Laboratory provides a high-quality preschool program for the greater Grinnell community and a research space for Grinnell college students and faculty. Grinnell College Preschool partners with families to develop each child’s optimal learning in a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment, where children construct their own knowledge through play, build community, respect, diversity, solve problems, and develop school readiness skills.

Reporting to the Preschool’s Director/Lead Teacher, the role of the Teaching Assistant is vital to the Preschool fulfilling its mission within the college and greater community. The ideal candidate will be passionate about early childhood education and be able to effectively implement a guided-play curriculum for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. The teaching assistant will assist with the overall operation of the preschool laboratory. To be successful, this candidate will need to effectively communicate, partner, and collaborate with faculty, staff, and college students, with families of the enrolled preschool children, and with other members of the greater Grinnell community. The candidate will need to effectively supervise and mentor college student teaching assistants.  This role will help plan and implement curriculum, be prepared and certified to operate the preschool program when the director/lead teacher and/or preschool teacher are not on the premises.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist with the supervision and implementation of daily preschool instructional and care activities, including but not limited to, aiding children’s transition to school, preparing snack foods, assisting children with curricular goals, conducting large motor activities
• Assist with the gathering curricular materials
• Assist with greeting families upon daily student arrival and departure
• Assist with supervision of and model professional conduct for college student workers within the classroom
• Maintain professional demeanor in interactions with others that involve the preschool facility and/or program
• Attend and/or with assist preschool family home visits
• Attend and/or assist with parent-teacher conferences
• Assist with the effective and professional communication with preschool student’s parents/guardians
• Assist faculty and college student researchers with the implementation of their work

*This role operates 10 months out of the year, 1300hours (August - May)

Minimum Qualifications

• Associate’s degree or equivalent from two-year college or technical school
• Three years or more of relevant work experience
• Ability to utilize interpersonal skills to collaborate across all levels of campus and community constituency
• Demonstrated ability to plan, organize, and efficiently manage daily work demands
• Ability to adapt to the varying challenges within the work environment
• Ability to communicate effectively utilizing verbal and written modes of communications
• Ability to work effectively within a team environment
• Champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field
• 2 years of experience implementing an early childhood education program
• Experience implementing curriculum based on Iowa Early Learning Standards (IELS), Creative Curriculum (CC) and/or National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guidelines.
• Must have or willing to meet Iowa Department of Human Services teacher licensing requirements, including but not limited to Iowa Teacher’s License (can be obtained on the job), certification in CPR and First Aid (can be obtained on the job), and satisfactory criminal record check (obtained prior to employment)