The Early Learning Champion will engage families and educators with evidence-based practices that support the learning and growth of children, birth to five years old. The Early Learning Champion will serve directly with families and educators to implement research-based language and learning programs in home and childcare environments.
Service Activities
Service Position Summary:
The Early Learning Champion will engage families and educators with evidence-based practices that support the learning and growth of children, birth to five years old. The Early Learning Champion will serve directly with families and educators to implement research-based language and learning programs in home and childcare environments.
Essential Functions (Primary Responsibilities):
Become trained to provide the LENA Home curriculum to families
Provide training to families and educators to promote interactive talk and learning in the home and childcare settings.
Deliver three sessions of 13-week LENA trainings to multiple families in the home setting.
Provide training and develop materials and curriculum in childcare settings.
Outreach to community via stakeholder meetings.
Track progress and collect data for Performance Measures and other evaluation tools.
Communicate with the regional Team UP AmeriCorps team, and represent Team UP and Serve Colorado in the community and on social media.
Attend trainings and participate in Days of Service
Marginal Functions (Secondary Responsibilities):
Support United Way of SW Colorado, San Juan BOCES/Every Child Enters School Ready to Learn, and Team UP AmeriCorps team as appropriate and necessary;
Schedule meetings and trainings with stakeholders
Maintain and monitor documentation of program data
Create and organize curriculum and materials for the program.
Community Need Addressed
Children are arriving at kindergarten with readiness deficits on DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) data. Only 36% of children in Montezuma County are meeting the expected benchmarks. The Early Learning Champion will works towards the goal of "Every Child Enters School Ready to Learn."
Position Outcomes
The Early Learning Champion will aim to increase language/literacy for children by providing a home visitation program to support families in increasing interactive talk with their children ages 0-3. This program, call LENA, is research-based, evidence-informed, and has been developed through working with thousands of children and families.
Benefits
Childcare assistance if eligible, Education award upon successful completion of service, Health coverage, Living allowance, Training
Team UP AmeriCorps members receive significant training and experience in community engagement, project implementation, leadership, diverse populations, and more. Up to 20% of total hours served may be spent in applicable, approved trainings.
Education Benefits
GED/High School Diploma
Competencies You Will Develop
Communication
Demonstrate sensitivity and empathy, Listen to and consider others' viewpoints, Maintain open lines of communication with others, Speak clearly, in precise language and in a logical, organized and coherent manner, Turn taking, Write cleary and effectively
Creativity & Problem Solving
Able to identify and define the problem, Capable of generating possible solutions, Provide relevant expertise
Teamwork
Derive consensus, Develop constructive working relationships and maintain them over time, Establish a high degree of trust and credibility with others, Interact professionally and respectfully with supervisors and co-workers, Stay positive and outcome oriented
Decisions
Accepts responsibility, Anticipate the consequences of decisions, Identify and prioritize the key issues involved to facilitate the decision making process, Involve people appropriately in decisions that may impact them, Quickly respond with a back-up plan if a decision goes amiss
Tools
Carefully consider which tools or technological solutions are appropriate for a given job, Operate tools and equipment in accordance with established operating procedures, safety standards, and ethical guidelines, Seek opportunities to improve knowledge of tools and technologies that may assist in streamlining work and improving productivity
Planning
Able to prioritize various competing tasks, Create environment of contribution, Create plan of action, schedule tasks so that work is completed on time, Demonstrate the effective allocation of time and resources efficiently, Drive decision making, Effectively delegate tasks, Facilitate group planning, Set goals
Service
Be pleasant, courteous, professional and respectful when dealing with internal and external customers or clients, Evaluate customer or client satisfaction, Honor the privilege of being able to work with and for those being served, Provide personalized, prompt, and efficient service to meet the requirements, requests and needs of customers, Recognize the importance of maintaining privacy and confidentiality of those being served, Understand and anticipate the needs of others, Understand the importance of one's role in the functioning of the organization, Understand the significance of maintaining a healthful and safe environment