puckett Work Opportunities ∙ Page 1

Job purpose:

In keeping a tradition of excellence, the purpose of the ARI Pre-Kindergarten position is to provide assistance in the instruction of basic skills and to assure each student the opportunity to take advantage of all available resources in the classroom.

Duties and responsibilities:

• All teaching staff (teachers and assistant teachers) and program administrators complete at least fifteen contact (15) hours of professional development annually for program instructional staff specific to the education of pre- kindergarten children. 

• Direct any activity that will free the supervising teacher for instruction

• Meet and instruct assigned classes at the assigned school and at times designated by teacher and principal

• Participate in daily and long-range lesson and classroom activity planning

• Guide small groups of students in independent study, enrichment work, and remedial work to reinforce material initially introduced by the supervising teacher

•  Guide children in working and playing harmoniously with other children

•  Keep desks, books, papers, materials, and supplies in order and use educational media

•  Alert the teacher to special needs of individual children

•  Provide assistance and escort to children as necessary

•  Help maintain individuals records for each child

•  Foster good eating habits and table manners in children

•  Assist teacher in maintaining neat work and study areas

• Check notebooks, correct papers, and help supervise makeup work and testing as assigned by the supervising teacher: (the assistant teacher will not assign grades or confer with parents concerning grades)

• Assist with the supervision of children during regular play periods

• Collect and display suitable material for educational displays

• Participate in staff development to be equipped with the skills required to assist teachers in carrying out district initiatives

• Maintain and accept responsibility for any district owned fixed asset item assigned to employee and ensure appropriate use by following district policies for acceptable use

• Undergo periodic evaluations according to state and board policy procedures

• Maintain confidentiality

• Regular, dependable, punctual, in person attendance is an essential function of this position

• Perform such other and not specifically enumerated duties as may be requested by the Board of Education, superintendent, administrator, director or established by district policy 

Qualifications:

Education Level: Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood or higher from an accredited college, or Associate’s  Degree or 60 college credit hours and 12 early childhood college credit hours OR completion of an early childhood program, or high school diploma/GED and verification of WorkKeys scores and 12 early childhood college credit hours OR completion of an early childhood program. 

Physical Demands:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, use hands for fine manipulation, handle or feel and reach with hands and arms using equipment such as a keyboard and video display terminal. The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, reach, crouch or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and move up to 35 pounds and occasionally up to 75 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.    

Work Environment:

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The work environment is not a standard office setting; but rather encompasses the entire active school campus both inside and outside the facilities. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate and occasionally high.

Terms of Employment:

Salary, days and work year as established by the Rankin County Board of Education 

Evaluation:

Performance of this job will be evaluated in accordance with the provisions of the Rankin County School Board policy on Evaluation of Employees.