Substitute Teacher

Role: Substitute Teacher

Team: Child Development 

Scope: Individual Contributor

Years of Experience: 2+

Location: Ventura, CA

COVID-19 Vaccinations: Patagonia requires all employees to demonstrate proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of their employment.

The Substitute Teacher is responsible for providing substitute coverage for classroom teachers in the infant, preschool & school age programs. The Substitute Teacher is responsible for all aspects of care for children ages 2 months to 9 years. Daily responsibilities of this role may include: transportation of school age children, stocking center supplies/groceries, physical caregiving; implementation of age appropriate, individualized curriculum; facilitating supportive relationships with children, parents and colleagues; and assisting in classroom parent communications such as newsletters and activity calendars and classroom organization.

What You’ll Do

The responsibilities of this position will include, but are not limited to the following:
 

Create a High-Quality Classroom

• Infuse the classroom with language, songs, games and activities throughout the day.
• Co-create and organize a stimulating and developmentally appropriate learning environment suitable for all of the children enrolled in the mixed aged classroom.
• Ensure visual supervision and child safety at all times.
• Create an instructional curriculum that meets the needs of each child with concern for his/her interests, individual learning style and pace of learning.
• Form relationships with parents, children and co-teachers that are respectful of individual differences, family styles and cultural/socioeconomic diversity. 
• Provide programing that is in accordance with the policies, philosophy, and cornerstones of the Patagonia.
• Create the highest quality program for Patagonia children, employees and teachers.   
• Ensure a structured routine that allows for scheduled meal and rest breaks for the teaching team and maintains a flexible yet consistent daily schedule and routine for the children and parents.

Interact Positively with Children

• Communicate with children, families and teachers in a positive manner.
• Create a language rich environment to foster language skills.
• Treat each child with dignity and respect.
• Guide children in becoming responsible integral members of the group and community.
• Facilitate for children to become actively involved in problem solving in the environment.
• Utilize developmentally appropriate guidance practices for children in a multi-age program.
• Encourage children to be responsible for their actions.

Work with Parents

• Partner with parents to create an easy transition into the classroom.
• Create an environment that embraces communication with parents.
• Work with each classroom team to effectively share &/or address parent concerns or feedback.

Support Positive Staff Relationships and Administrative Functions

• Be courteous and respectful of peers.
• Create an environment that embraces open communications between staff to ensure a high-quality environment for children and families.
• Contribute to classroom administrative tasks as requested such as newsletters, activity calendars, daily information sheets, daily attendance, shopping lists, daily staff-child ratios, etc.) in a timely manner.
• Assist in providing appropriate support and fostering skill development in substitute teachers.
• Provide support &/or work in other age groups/programs based off the centers needs
• Attend and participate in all staff meetings.
• Attend all in-service trainings.
• Direct issues to the appropriate persons in a timely manner.

Transportation of Children

• Responsible for ensuring safe transportation of children in GPCDC/VRCDC vans at all times.
• Responsible for ensuring timely pick up & drop-off of children from designated & approved sites.
• Completion of daily inspection reports.

Physical Requirements

There are significant physical aspects to this job. Before applying, please review them carefully to ensure you are qualified to perform all job duties and that any accommodation issues you have could be addressed.

• Continually able to observe and respond to children’s needs, emergencies and/or conflicts that might occur during the day (inside or outside environment).
• Continually able to lift 1-40 pounds from the floor to a waist high table.
• Continually able to kneel to maintain eye contact at child’s level.
•  Continually able to sit on the floor to work with children.
•  Continually be able to react to a child that is 20 to 30 feet away within 30 seconds.
• Continually able to carry a child (1 to 40 pounds), up to 50-100 feet.
• Continually able to respond to children’s first aid needs (inside and outside) which may include cuts, bruises, blood/bodily fluids.
• Continually able to communicate clearly and calmly to children, parents and co-workers.
• Continually able to deal effectively with the stress involved in working closely with children, parents and co-workers.
• Continually able to do fine and medium hand manipulation.    

Who You Are

• High school graduate.
• Passionate about child development and supporting our company mission to save our home planet. 
• Excellent customer service skills in person, via email, and on the phone.
• Comfortable with team-based work structure; ability to demonstrate flexibility on the job.
• Demonstrates initiative, is conscientious and provides complete follow-through on areas of responsibility.

Experience You Bring

• Two years’ experience working with young children (At least 150 hours working/volunteering with children within the last 6 months).
• Fifteen (15) units in Early Childhood Education (Growth and Development, Child-Family & Community, Infant/Toddler studies, School-age studies, and one other program class).
• Must maintain a current driver’s license & clean driving record.
• Working knowledge of personal computers with experience in the use of such programs as Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Successful completion of the fingerprinting process and or successful transfer of fingerprints from another program. It is a job requirement to have a successful criminal background check as well as clearance from Live Scan that meets State child care licensing requirements.   If you have, or later obtain an exemption from Licensing, please know that you may still not qualify for employment as Patagonia has its own rigorous internal standards and review process given the nature of the work with children.
• Successful completion of the hiring packet.

Preferred Experience

• AA or BA in ECE or related field
• Understanding of Outdoor Classroom Project, Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), Pyramid Model & Learning Stories.
• Fluent in Spanish

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

Patagonia requires all employees who enter a Patagonia owned or operated facility or who physically interact with others as part of their job duties to demonstrate proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of their employment, subject to exemptions for sincerely held religious beliefs, or medical reasons.

Employee Conduct
It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.