Job Summary MaKayla's Promise Children's Center is seeking compassionate, dependable, and engaged Early Childhood Educators who believe that caring for children is both a responsibility and a privilege. At MaKayla's Promise, we believe every child deserves a place where they feel seen, heard, protected, nurtured, encouraged, and loved . Our educators create safe, consistent, developmentally appropriate classrooms where children can learn, build relationships, develop emotional and social skills, and experience the security of caring adults. As a childcare ministry of Grace Place, our center serves families from a variety of circumstances, including children whose families may be experiencing transition or instability. Educators are expected to approach every child and family with dignity, compassion, consistency, and respect while maintaining high professional standards. The Early Childhood Educator is responsible for the daily care, supervision, safety, education, and development of the children assigned to their classroom while maintaining compliance with Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) childcare licensing requirements and MaKayla's Promise policies and procedures. Duties Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesChild Safety and Supervision Maintain active, attentive supervision of children at all times. Classroom Environment Create and maintain a classroom that is welcoming, organized, clean, developmentally appropriate, and emotionally safe. Prepare learning centers, materials, and activities that encourage exploration, creativity, language development, problem-solving, movement, and social interaction. Maintain classroom materials and equipment in safe working condition. Identify and report damaged equipment, maintenance concerns, hazards, or needed supplies. Maintain classroom organization and cleanliness throughout the day. Follow required cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, diapering, toileting, handwashing, and food-safety procedures. Curriculum and Child Development Implement the center-approved curriculum with consistency and enthusiasm. Prepare and carry out developmentally appropriate lesson plans and learning experiences. Adapt activities to accommodate children's individual abilities, developmental levels, interests, and needs. Provide opportunities for cognitive, language, physical, social, emotional, and creative development. Observe children regularly and document developmental progress as required. Participate in developmental screenings, assessments, conferences, and referrals as directed by center leadership. Recognize potential developmental or behavioral concerns and communicate observations appropriately without diagnosing children. Support school readiness while recognizing that play, relationships, exploration, and emotional development are essential components of early learning. Social-Emotional Development and Conscious Discipline Learn, practice, and consistently implement the principles and strategies of Conscious Discipline . Model calm, respectful communication and healthy emotional regulation. Help children identify emotions and develop appropriate ways to communicate needs. Teach conflict resolution, problem-solving, empathy, responsibility, and self-regulation. Establish clear, developmentally appropriate expectations and boundaries. Use positive guidance techniques rather than humiliation, threats, harsh punishment, or inappropriate physical discipline. Seek assistance from leadership when a child's behavior presents ongoing challenges or safety concerns. Participate in creating individualized strategies when additional behavioral or developmental support is needed. Relationships with Children Greet children warmly and help each child feel welcomed and valued. Respond to children's physical and emotional needs promptly and appropriately. Engage children through conversation, play, reading, music, movement, and intentional learning experiences. Respect each child's personality, developmental stage, family background, culture, and individual needs. Provide consistency and predictable routines that help children feel safe. Recognize that some children may have experienced significant transition or instability and respond with patience, appropriate boundaries, and trauma-informed care. Family Communication Build respectful, professional relationships with parents and caregivers. Communicate regularly regarding children's experiences, accomplishments, routines, and needs. Share concerns with families professionally and in accordance with center procedures. Protect confidentiality and discuss information about children and families only with authorized individuals who have a legitimate need to know. Refer significant parent concerns, complaints, developmental concerns, or sensitive situations to the Director or Assistant Director when appropriate. Partner with families while maintaining professional boundaries. Health, Nutrition, and Personal Care Follow all center procedures regarding meals, snacks, bottles, food allergies, dietary restrictions, and safe food handling. Encourage healthy eating habits and positive mealtime experiences. Follow safe sleep practices for infants and other age groups as applicable. Assist children with diapering, toileting, handwashing, dressing, feeding, and other personal-care needs in a respectful and developmentally appropriate manner. Maintain sanitation and hygiene standards throughout the classroom. Observe children for signs of illness or injury and follow center procedures for documentation and parent notification. Follow all applicable health plans and allergy precautions for children assigned to the classroom. Documentation and Licensing Compliance Maintain complete, accurate, and timely classroom records. Complete attendance, incident reports, accident reports, meal records, developmental documentation, daily reports, and other required records. Maintain confidentiality of child, family, and employee information. Participate cooperatively in DHS licensing visits, inspections, assessments, and quality-improvement initiatives. Maintain required training, certifications, background checks, and professional-development hours. Understand and follow applicable Tennessee childcare licensing regulations and center policies. Immediately notify leadership of any situation that could create a licensing, safety, or compliance concern. Teamwork and Professionalism Arrive on time and prepared to begin work at the scheduled time. Maintain dependable attendance and communicate absences according to center policy. Work collaboratively with co-teachers, floaters, leadership, and other center staff. Provide appropriate classroom information during shift changes and staff transitions. Accept coaching, feedback, observation, and corrective guidance professionally. Participate in staff meetings, training, professional development, and center events as required. Assist in other classrooms when needed while maintaining appropriate ratios and quality of care. Help maintain shared spaces and contribute to the overall cleanliness and operation of the center. Communicate disagreements professionally and avoid gossip, negativity, or behavior that undermines the team. Model the center's values in interactions with children, families, coworkers, volunteers, and visitors. Know the location and activity of every child assigned to your care. Maintain required staff-to-child ratios and group sizes in accordance with Tennessee DHS licensing requirements. Complete accurate attendance and child counts throughout the day and during all classroom transitions. Follow established procedures for arrival, dismissal, playground use, transportation, emergency situations, and transitions between areas. Never leave a child unattended or release a child to an unauthorized individual. Follow all center policies related to child protection, mandated reporting, emergency response, illness, injury, medication, allergies, and incident reporting. Immediately report safety concerns, injuries, suspected abuse or neglect, licensing concerns, or other significant incidents to appropriate leadership. Qualifications Candidates must meet all applicable Tennessee DHS requirements for childcare employees.

Preferred qualifications include:

High school diploma or equivalent required. CDA, Technical Certificate, Associate Degree, Bachelor's Degree, or coursework in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Education, or a related field preferred. Previous experience working with young children strongly preferred. Ability and willingness to complete all required background checks, health requirements, orientation, and training. Current CPR and First Aid certification or ability to obtain certification within the required timeframe. Willingness to learn and implement Conscious Discipline. Understanding of child development and developmentally appropriate practices. Strong communication, teamwork, organization, and problem-solving skills. Ability to remain calm and responsive during challenging behaviors or emergency situations. Dependability, integrity, patience, flexibility, and genuine enjoyment of working with children. Physical Requirements The Early Childhood Educator must be able to perform the physical responsibilities necessary to safely care for young children, with or without reasonable accommodation, including: Frequently standing, walking, bending, kneeling, sitting on the floor, reaching, and moving throughout the classroom and playground. Lifting and carrying children and classroom materials as required for the assigned age group. Responding quickly to children and emergency situations. Participating in indoor and outdoor activities in varying weather conditions. Performing diapering, toileting, feeding, cleaning, and other routine childcare responsibilities. Maintaining visual and auditory awareness necessary for active supervision.

Pay:

From $16.00 per hour Expected hours: No more than 40.0 per week

Work Location:

In person