Teacher NM 4Y Pre-K (2025-2026) SY

Roswell Independent School District

Job Description

Job Title: PREK EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER

Reports To: PRINCIPAL

General Job Description:

Under the supervision of the principal the Early Childhood teacher will provide an educational program for students and other programs as assigned.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Child growth development and learning: Foundations for all learning are established during early childhood. Biologicalphysical social cultural emotional cognitive and language domains are inherently intertwined in growth and development. Early childhood professionals must understand this process of development and the adults role in supporting each childs growth development and learning.

1. Incorporate understanding of developmental stages processes and theories of growth development and learning into developmentally appropriate practice.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the interaction between maturation and environmental factors that influence physical social emotional cognitive and cultural domains in the healthy development of each child.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the significance of individual differences in development and learning. Demonstrate knowledge of how certain differences may be associated with rate of development and developmental patterns associated with developmental delays and/or specific disabilities.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the similarities between children who are developing typically and those with special needs.
5. Provide a variety of activities that facilitate development of the whole child in the following areas: physical/motor social/emotional language/cognitive and adaptive/living skills.
6. Apply knowledge of cultural and linguistic diversity and the significance of sociocultural and political contexts for development and learning and recognize that children are best understood in the contexts of family culture and society.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of the many functions that language serves in the cognitive social and emotional aspects of development in the formative years.
8. Demonstrate knowledge of the developmental sequence of language and literacy including the influence of culture and home factors.
9. Demonstrate knowledge of how children acquire and use verbal nonverbal and alternative means of communication.
10. Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship among emotions behaviors and communication skills to assist children in identifying and expressing their feelings in appropriate ways.
11. Use appropriate guidance to support the development of selfregulatory capacities in young children.

1. Health safety and nutrition: Early childhood professionals promote physical and mental health and appropriate nutrition and provide an emotionally and physically safe environment for young children in partnership with their families. Sound health safety and nutritional practices provide the foundation for development and learning. Good nutrition and eating habits. A safe environment prevents and reduces injuries for young children who are only beginning to recognize dangerous situations.

1. Recognize and respond to each childs physical health intellectual and emotional wellbeing and nutritional and safety needs.
2. Appropriately plan maintain and facilitate the use of the indoor and outdoor learning environments to promote each childs physical and emotional wellbeing.
3. Use appropriate health appraisal and management procedures and makes referrals when necessary.
4. Recognize signs of emotional distress child abuse and neglect in young children and use procedures appropriate to the situation such as initiating discussions with families referring to appropriate professionals and in cases of suspected abuse or neglect reporting to designated authorities.
5. Establish an environment that provides opportunities and reinforcement for childrens practice of healthy behaviors that promote appropriate nutrition and physical and psychological wellbeing.
6. Provide a consistent daily schedule for rest/sleep as developmentally appropriate.

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Roswell Independent School District

PREK EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER (CONTD)

1. Implement health care and educational activities for children and families based on health and nutritional information that is responsive to diverse cultures.
2. Assist young children and their families as individually appropriate in developing decisionmaking and interpersonal skills that enable them to make healthy choices and establish healthpromoting behaviors.

1. Family and community collaboration: Early childhood professionals are committed to familycentered practices. They maintain an open friendly and cooperative relationship with each childs family encouraging family involvement and supporting the childs relationship with his or her family. The diverse cultures and languages representative of families in New Mexicos communities are honored.

1. Seek and maintain a collaborative relationship with parents guardians families community agencies and other professionals to meet the needs of each child.
2. Create and maintain a safe and welcoming environment for families and community members.
3. Establish frequent contact with parents and guardians through a variety of communication strategies including communication in the home language of each child to provide ongoing relevant information to families about child growth development and learning.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of and respect for variations across cultures in terms of family strengths expectations values and childrearing practices.
5. Demonstrate understanding of the complexity and dynamics of family systems.
6. Demonstrate understanding of the effects of family stress on the behavior of children and other family members.
7. Demonstrate the ability to incorporate the families desires/goals for their children into classroom and/or intervention strategies.
8. Develop partnerships with family members to promote early literacy in the home.
9. Involve families and community members in contributing to the learning environment.
10. Establish partnerships with community members in promoting literacy.
11. Demonstrate ability to communicate to families the programs policies procedures and those procedural safeguards that are mandated by state and federal regulations.

1. Developmentally appropriate content: Early childhood professionals demonstrate knowledge of child development and learning as well as content knowledge both in terms of academic discipline and interdisciplinary integration. Their approach to curriculum content emerges from multiple sources such as play and exploration and is appropriate for the ages and developmental levels of the children with whom they work. Content includes but is not limited to the arts literacy mathematics physical education health social studies science and technology. Childrens initial experiences with these content areas form the foundation for later understanding and success.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of relevant content for young children and developmentally appropriate ways of integrating content into teaching and learning experiences for children from birth through age eight.
2. Demonstrate the integration of knowledge of how young children develop and learn with knowledge of the concepts inquiry tools and structure of content areas appropriate for different developmental levels.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of what is important in each content area why it is of value and how it links with earlier and later understandings within and across areas.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the reading and writing components of literacy at each developmental level.
5. Develop implement and evaluate an integrated curriculum that focuses on childrens development and interests using their language home experiences and cultural values.
6. Adapt content to meet the needs of each child including the development of individualized family service plans (IFSP) and/or individualized education plans (IEP) for children with special needs through the team process with families and other team members.
7. Provides and uses antibias materials/literature and experiences in all content areas of the curriculum.

1. Learning environment and curriculum implementation: Teaching and learning with young children is a complex process embedded in relationships. These teaching and learning relationships provide the scaffold for jointly constructing meanings about self others and the world. Early childhood professionals use their child development knowledge their knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices and their content knowledge to design implement and evaluate experiences that promote optimal development and learning for all children from birth through age eight. In addition their use of observations is grounded in a

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Roswell Independent School District

PREK EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER (CONTD)

thorough understanding of childrens families cultures and communities. Early childhood professionals encourage young childrens problem solving critical thinking and academic and social competence within a supportive and challenging learning environment. These challenging teaching and learning experiences build childrens confidence in themselves as competent learners.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of varying program models and learning environments that meet the individual needs of all young children including those with special needs.
2. Create environments that encourage active involvement initiative responsibility and a growing sense of autonomy through the selection and use of materials and equipment that are suitable to individual learning developmental levels special needs and the language and cultures in New Mexico.
3. Demonstrate knowledge and skill in the use of developmentally appropriate guidance techniques and strategies that provide opportunities to assist children in developing positive thoughts and feelings about themselves and others through cooperative interaction with peers and adults.
4. Create and manage learning environments that provide individual and cooperative opportunities for children to construct their own knowledge through various strategies that include decisionmaking problemsolving and inquiry experiences.
5. Demonstrate understanding that each childs creative expression is unique and can be encouraged through diverse ways including creative play.
6. Plan blocks of interrupted time for children to persist at selfchosen activities both indoors in out.
7. Demonstrate understanding of the influence of the physical setting schedule routines and transitions on children and use these experiences to promote childrens development and learning.
8. Use and explain the rationale for developmentally appropriate methods that include play small group projects openended questioning group discussion problem solving cooperative learning and inquiry experiences to help young children develop intellectual curiosity solve problems and make decisions.
9. Create and manage a literacyrich environment that is responsive to each childs unique path of development.
10. Use a variety of language strategies during adultchild and childchild interactions and facilitate dialogue of expressive language and thought.
11. Demonstrate a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional strategies that facilitate the development of literacy skills.
12. Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate uses of technology including assistive technology.
13. Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively with educational assistants volunteers and others to individualize the curriculum and to meet program goals.
14. Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills when working with children families and early care education and family support professionals.

1. Assessment of children and evaluation of programs: Early childhood professionals must develop knowledge of diverse assessment approaches including observational skills. They use appropriate ongoing documentation and report information to families and professionals. Appropriate early childhood assessment is responsive to cultural and linguistic differences. It includes information from multiple sources e.g. observations checklists interviews and both formal and informal standardized measures in diverse settings for making educational decisions about children. The assessment data gathered from multiple sources that has a major impact on children should be made by a team of family members teachers and other professionals. In addition early childhood professionals engage in systematic ongoing evaluation of their programs.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of assessment and evaluation practices that are valid and appropriate.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of maintaining appropriate records of childrens development and behavior that safeguard confidentiality and privacy.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the educators role as a participating member of the assessment process as described and mandated by state and federal regulations for individual family service plans (IFSP) and individual education plans IEP).
4. Demonstrate understanding of the influences of environmental factors cultural/linguistic differences and diverse ways of learning on assessment outcomes.
5. Involve the family and as appropriate other team members in assessing the childs development strengths and needs in order to set goals for the child.
6. Share assessment results as appropriate with families in clear supportive ways.

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Roswell Independent School District

PREK EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER (CONTD)

1. Involve all stakeholders in program evaluations.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of techniques and procedures to evaluate and modify program goals for young children and their families.
3. Develop and use formative and summative program evaluation to ensure comprehensive quality of the total environment for children families and the community.
4. Use both self and collaborative evaluations as part of ongoing program evaluations.

1. Professionalism: Professionalism is built upon individual integrity responsibility and ethical practices that demonstrate a profound respect for all children and their families. Early childhood professionals embrace a multicultural perspective that is responsible to individuals in culturally diverse communities in New Mexico. Professionals make decisions based upon knowledge of early childhood theories and practices that recognize diversity of ability developmental level and family characteristics. Early childhood professionals advocate for excellence in early childhood programs and participate in ongoing professional development to enhance their knowledge and skills.

1. Consistently adheres to professional codes of ethics and conduct.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of federal state and local regulations regarding programs and services for children birth through eight years of age.
3. Demonstrate understanding of conditions of children families and professionals; current issues and trends; legal issues; and legislation and other public policies affecting children families and programs for young children and the early childhood profession.
4. Articulate a personal philosophy of appropriate early care and education that responds to practices that support inclusion and cultural and linguistic diversity through actions and attitudes.
5. Demonstrate critical reflection of ones own professional and educational practices from community state national and global perspectives.
6. Demonstrate understanding of the early childhood profession its multiple historical philosophical and social foundations and how these foundations influence current thought and practice.
7. Demonstrate a commitment to advocacy for excellence in programs and services for young children and their families.
8. Demonstrate knowledge of other professions that provide related services for young children and their families.
9. Participate in professional organizations and in ongoing professional development to enhance knowledge and skills in working with young children and adults.
10. Demonstrate knowledge of basic principles of administration organization and operation of early childhood programs including supervision of staff and volunteers.
11. Maintain confidentiality with sensitive matters.
12. Be flexible and able to prioritize tasks.
13. Report to work on time and work no less than 7.25 hours per day.
14. Ability to deescalate students/parents; listening/visiting with them about their concerns prior to them meeting with administrators.
15. Other tasks as may be deemed appropriate and necessary by your immediate supervisor.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

1. May supervise educational assistants practicum students student teachers and high school civic leadership
2. Students in your charge.

Qualifications:

1. Bachelors or Masters degree
2. Current New Mexico Teaching license with Endorsements appropriate for the position applying
3. Hold an Early Childhood License(250)
4. Valid Drivers license and Car Insurance (if traveling from site to site)

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Roswell Independent School District

PREK EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER (CONTD)

Physical Requirements:

Sitting standing lifting and carrying (up to 40 pounds) climbing stairs reaching squatting kneeling having full mobility of fingers/hands and moving light furniture may be required unless ADA accommodations have been mutually agreed on and does not create an undue hardship upon the district.

Safety and Health:

Knowledge of universal hygiene precautions (blood borne pathogens body fluids etc.)

Equipment/Material Handled:

Must know how to properly operate or be willing to learn to operate multimedia equipment including current technology as needed.

Work Environment:

Must be able to work within various degrees of noise and temperature. Interruptions of work are routine. Flexibility and patience are required. Must be selfmotivated and able to complete job assignments without direct supervision. After hours work may be required. May work under stressful conditions on occasion.

Terms of Employment:

Salary and work year to be established by the Board.