At Easterseals of Chicagoland and Greater Rockford, we are committed to two – often interconnecting - pillars of work……early learning and disability. Through these pillars, we transform the lives of early learners and individuals of all abilities through access to expert educational, family, and community support. As an affiliate of America’s largest nonprofit health care organization, we have proudly served the communities and families of Chicagoland and Greater Rockford since 1936.

For more information about our organization, please visit us online at www.eastersealschicago.org.

The Teacher Coordinator implements research-based curriculum and coordinated coaching strategies within Early Head Start/ PI and Head Start/ PFA classrooms, ensures review and analysis of education, disabilities, and mental health data to inform planning, and supports the referral and inclusion of children with suspected and/or diagnosed disabilities. This role provides supervision to assigned group of teachers, teachers aides, and teaching assistants and spends the majority of time in classrooms providing classroom support, instructional coaching & coverage for teachers’ breaks and paid time off. 

 $3,000 Signing Bonus offer extends until the end of April 2023. 

This position is located at  Easterseals Early Learning Center- Hickory Hills at 8020 W. 87th St., Hickory Hills, IL 60457. 

MAJOR FUNCTIONS/ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Provide staff supervision, development, and coaching:

• Provide ongoing supervision, training and support assigned teachers, teacher aides, and teacher assistants, including performance evaluations and professional development plans.
• Recruit, retain and motivate a team of collaborative and engaged classroom staff. Provide timely praise and corrective feedback as needed.
• Provide coverage for classroom staff breaks and time off.
• Implement reflective and relationship-based practices including reflection meetings with direct reports.
• Assess education staff using a variety of tools, including self-reflections, to identify strengths, areas of needed support, and staff that would benefit from intensive coaching.
• Use assessment data to drive coaching strategies, and align coaching with program’s school readiness goals, curricula, and other approaches to professional development.
• Provide opportunities for intensive coaching to identified education staff, including observation opportunities, feedback and modeling of effective teaching practices.
• Facilitate peer learning, reflecting on implementation of teaching practices and how optimal climate in the classroom impacts how children work and play together and maximizes learning and growth.
• Provide intensive CLASS coaching to identified classrooms, resulting in improvements in teacher-child interactions, CLASS scores, and child outcomes.
• Provide coaching and modeling to teachers on effective parent/teacher conferences and parent-child activities.
• Assist Education and Inclusion Leadership to provide ongoing training related to Education and Disabilities for teaching staff as needed.

Implement research-based curriculum:

• Facilitate lesson-planning meetings.
• Collaborate with staff, develop plans, and implement systems to ensure high-quality child-development services in all HS and EHS classrooms in accordance with Head Start Performance Standards. 
• Participate in regular meetings to assess progress and planning for education and disabilities content areas.
• Create partnerships with local education organizations, community schools, education services, and disabilities services.
• Assist teaching staff to ensure child assessments, parent/teacher conferences and other requirements are completed within designated time frames.
• Assure all enrolled children receive developmental screening, all education and disabilities information data is complete in the Chicago Cares database and in Teaching Strategies Gold, and all child portfolios, anecdotal child observations and education folders are maintained.
• Work with site manager and teaching team to review and analyze child outcome data, home visits, parent/teacher conferences, and screenings to inform individual child and program planning.

Support children with suspected disabilities and social emotional concerns and ensure the full inclusion of all children in the program:

• Attend IEP conferences and School District meetings with parents of children with disabilities to support the families and to advocate for the children. Assist parents in understanding their rights and special education law.
• Work with site to implement an annual and ongoing outreach and recruitment plan for identifying and enrolling children with disabilities. 
• Attend play dates for children with special needs at site and collaboratively work with parents and staff to plan transitions into and out of the program.
• Assist teachers in modifying curriculum and individualizing lesson plans for children with disabilities based on IEP goals.  
• Assist Social Emotional/Inclusion Coordinators to provide ongoing training related to Education and Disabilities for all programs, as needed.
• Support children with social emotional concerns through implementation of the Pyramid Model.
• Collaborate with social emotional specialists to implement behavior intervention plans and to model strategies.
• Provide CSEFEL coaching to identified classrooms.

Complete all requirements as part of the program:

• Monitor EHS/HS classrooms to assure that classrooms are safe, nurturing and engaging learning environments for children.
• Participate in regular meetings to assess progress and planning for education and disabilities content areas.
• Assist site manager/ teaching staff with compliance and implementation of performance standards.
• Participate in Enrollment/Recruitment Campaign and annual self-assessment and PIR.
• Ensure screening results are shared with parents and that re-screenings, referrals, and follow-ups are conducted as needed.
• Ensure timely referrals to the LEA and Early Intervention.
• Attend relevant workshops and trainings. Share information from workshops and trainings with parents, teaching staff, and other team members.
• Assist with entering data into Chicago Cares database/ChildPlus system as needed.
• All other duties as assigned.

 Education/Certification:

• Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE) or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Gateways IT level 5 for those supervising infant toddler classrooms/ teachers
• Certified CLASS Pre-K and Toddler Observer within 12 months of hire, including annual renewal.

Experience/Knowledge:

• 3 years teaching in an early childhood classroom, including working with children with disabilities. Head Start/Early Head Start preferred.
• Supervisory experience and experience coaching teachers strongly preferred. 
• Bilingual language skills (English & Spanish) a plus
• Experience working with Teaching Strategies Gold, ChildPlus, and Chicago Cares systems a plus
• Knowledge of Head Start/ Early Head Start program operations and performance standards, CLASS, ITERS and ECERS, Teaching Strategies, Creative Curriculum, Pyramid Model, ExceleRate, and NAEYC a plus.

Vehicle/Transportation Requirements:

• Valid driver’s license and auto insurance, safe/ reliable vehicle

Skills/Abilities:

• Ability to multi-task in a high stress environment. 
• Ability to interact with diverse personalities.
• Ability to problem solve.
• Intermediate computer knowledge including Microsoft Office programs.
• Ability to complete a minimum of 15 hours of continuing education per year.

ADA: Easterseals will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act of 1990. Unless exempted by the Americans with Disabilities Act, all persons hired for this position are required to possess the ability to perform the physical tasks necessary to treat clients, i.e., bending, floor-sitting, etc., as well as to have the ability to lift up to 50 pounds frequently.