Early Childhood Coach

Position Vacancy - Early Childhood Coach

Overview

Bank Street College of Education seeks an Early Childhood Coach to work with teachers and teaching assistants in publicly funded preschool programs across New York City. The position is part of the professional development component of a research study that is designed to improve long-term outcomes for children living in poverty in New York City, starting in early childhood. The study is being conducted by MDRC, a leading social policy research organization, in partnership with a major foundation.

Housed at Bank Street College, the focus of the professional development component of the study is on strengthening instructional quality in preschool classrooms, through:

• A preschool curriculum that boosts early math skills, and
• Ongoing, in-classroom coaching and mentoring for teachers and assistant teachers (on the curricula described above as well as formative assessments) in New York City’s publicly-funded preschool programs, as well as training and support for directors.

The start date for this position is immediately.

Coach Responsibilities:

• Work with teachers and assistant teachers (as opposed to the individual children) to implement the curriculum and increase the quality of math instruction
• Maintain a caseload of classrooms and visit each classroom on a weekly basis to: 1) meet with the lead teacher and assistant teacher in each classroom, and 2) conduct observation and coaching in the classroom
• Help teachers use observation and formative assessment data  to guide teaching practice and promote children’s math skill development
• Perform data entry into a Management Information System developed by MDRC
• Work with teachers and assistant teachers to develop plans and schedules for coaching and training sessions
• Perform related duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in relevant field of study (clinical or social work, early childhood education, educational leadership and administration, or related profession.)
• Knowledge of early childhood development, classroom practices, and early math education
• Supervisory experience
• Experience providing adult education or training
• Experience with and commitment to working with ethnically diverse children, families, and professionals in low-income, urban neighborhoods
• Experience working in complex early childhood settings
• Strong writing, presentation & communication skills
• Bilingual in English and Spanish

In addition, the following characteristics will be considered in reviewing candidates for this position:

• Ability to provide ongoing constructive feedback for teachers and assistant teachers
• Knowledge of child development, classroom practices, and math pedagogy
• Knowledge of the early childhood educational system and the New York City public school and/or center environment context
• Ability to analyze student performance data and apply results to goal-setting and plans for individual classrooms
• Ability to work effectively across multiple teams in a complex project (coaches, classroom teachers, preschool  agencies, program developers, research team)
• Interest in the research process and ability to adhere to  research protocols
• Relationship-building skills: ability to manage diverse opinions/perspectives
• Organizational skills including time management, maintaining records of meetings with teachers, and submitting documents to project staff
• Comfort and proficiency with technology including use of the computers, internet, email, video/audio recorders, PDAs or smart phones
• A schedule that can accommodate visits to classrooms at various times throughout the week and at the end of the school day and cross-site coach calls.
• Flexibility and willingness to accommodate non-traditional work hours (trainings, meetings may need to be scheduled on evenings or weekends in order to accommodate teachers’ work schedules)
• Bilingual English/Spanish-speaker preferred

Other Requirements:

Must be able to travel to child development centers, individual school sites and other local agencies city-wide

Some out-of-town travel may be required (for training sessions with curriculum developer)

Start Date:   Immediately

Salary:       Commensurate with experience

Please send cover letter and resume to:

Sabrina Silverstein, Innovation Policy & Research
ssilverstein@bankstreet.edu