Requirements ● Early Childhood classroom experience ● Interest in Montessori philosophy ● Excellent references ● Satisfactory outcome of Washington OSPI-sanctioned fingerprinting background check.
Preferred Qualifications (or ability to achieve upon job acceptance) ● Verified experience working in an educational setting with students in the age range for which you are applying. ● Possess Montessori assistants training from a reputable facilitator ● Food handlers card ● CPR/First Aid certified ● Training in recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect.
Privately owned Montessori School is looking for a caring and positive Teacher’s Assistant. We are a small school with twenty-five 3-6 year old students. We offer preschool and kindergarten in the same classroom community. Our school operates on the same schedule as Spokane Public Schools calendar and is open from 8am-4pm Monday through Friday. This job is based on a 10 month school schedule (roughly September through June).
The schedule for this position will be full time hours. For example, schedule would look like the following: M-F 8 – 4pm M-F from September through June Virtually attend a one-hour long staff meeting each week Candidates will be required to complete a 30-hour Child Care Basics online course prior to employment. Candidates must love working with children and be willing to learn Montessori pedagogy through on-the-job training as well as professional development courses.
Major Responsibilities and Duties: The following outlines the general purpose and responsibilities and should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions that may be assigned or skills that may be required.
Curriculum - Assists in implementing a Montessori approach to learning ● Assists the guide as directed to protect the children's engagement in purposeful activities and support the child's independence ● Supports the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of each child as directed by the guide ● Regards each child without prejudice or favoritism ● Maintains confidentiality of each child and family ● Shares objective observations of the children, both oral and written, with the guide ● Leads small group and large group activities as requested by the guide (e.g. reading books, singing, storytelling, games) ● Prepares a snack that follows school guidelines and protects children with allergies ● Supports lunch time with procedures established by the guide ● Assists staff to supervise crossing to/from outdoor spaces and to lead a safe and engaging outdoor play time
Care for the Environment - Assists in preparing the environment for the students ● Assists in preparing the classroom environment to be clean, orderly, and beautiful ● Attends to daily needs of sanitizing the class dishes, washing laundry, and bathroom tidiness ● Supports the children's participation in care and maintenance of the environment ● Contributes to communal upkeep to enhance the beauty, functionality, and tidiness of the entire school environment ● Assists in making materials for the classroom as directed by the guide.
Classroom & Playground Management - Assists in supporting the safety and relationships of children in both the classroom community and during outside supervision of children ● To be fully present when on duty with students, limits cell phone use to emergencies ● Protects the guide's lessons from interruption when possible ● Supports guidelines for use of materials as instructed by the guide ● Communicates and manages behavioral standards appropriate to each child's abilities ● Supports children's skills of behavioral self-regulation. Uses positive phrasing and positive attitude when sharing expectations. ● Offers children language, modeling, and tools to support their life skills of positive peer relationships, collaboration, and conflict resolution ● Uses established protocol for tracking children's attendance ● Uses breaks rather than student supervision times to engage in conversations with other adults to be fully present to the students ● Reports to the Director or Lead Guide any accident that occurs in the class or play areas and completes any necessary accident/incident report form.
Relationships with Parents ● Represents the classroom community positively and professionally at drop off and pick up times, and at classroom and community events ● Assistants may be in a position to answer some housekeeping type questions for parents, but mainly refers all questions, comments, or messages from parents to the director or lead guide ● Adheres to professional protocol and school policies in all interactions with parents. Maintains professional boundaries, demonstrates awareness that one's conduct is a reflection of the school environment, and uses good judgment when forming social connections with parents outside of the professional relationship.
Community Relations ● Works with a positive and professional attitude when fulfilling staff responsibilities and implementing school policy ● Communicates directly with the appropriate person any concerns or problems and adheres to all policies governing CHMS and outlined in the Staff Handbook ● Attends all scheduled staff meetings and scheduled in-service meetings ● Is prompt for scheduled work hours, all scheduled meetings, events, and activities ● Contributes to fundraising efforts and activities that support the school community ● Maintains a professional appearance ● Checks work email every work day Professional Development ● Reads the Staff Handbook and Parent Handbook and agrees to adhere to all CHMS Montessori School policies ● Completes all relevant professional development each calendar year ● Reads educational materials and seeks out development opportunities for the purpose of expanding themselves as a resource to the children ● Participates in staff meetings and peer observations as requested and helps create an atmosphere of respectful collegiality ● Shares and receives suggestions and feedback with colleagues Evaluation and Reporting ● The Director supervises this position. The Director will meet with the assistant to help set professional goals and discuss performance twice a year ● Director makes all final decisions regarding employment ● Classroom Assistant takes instruction and evaluation with appropriate professional demeanor ● All duties and responsibilities for this position are performed under the purview of the Montessori Guide/Teacher. This position will require a transparent and collaborative relationship with the Director and Montessori Guide/Teacher.
Physical Demands: While performing the duties of their job employees are required to stand for long periods of time, walk, stoop and kneel. We eat lunch with the children; spend time outside each day rain or shine. Benefits include paid holidays, sick days, and a job you will love! Salary begins at $17/hr. Please submit your resume with references, and a letter of introduction.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Equal employment opportunity and respect in the workplace are fundamental principles at CHMS. CHMS prohibits and does not tolerate harassment, intimidation, bullying, discriminatory, or retaliatory behavior. All aspects of employment are based upon personal capabilities and qualifications.