THIS IS A 12 MONTH GRANT FUNDED POSITION

Position Title: Kindergarten Readiness Ambassador           

Employee Type:  Full-time, Exempt    

Supervisor Title: District Save the Children Site Supervisor

Summary

Kindergarten Readiness Ambassador (Ambassador) is responsible to implement Kindergarten Readiness program to support kindergarten readiness for children ages 3-5 years throughout the community through increased family and community engagement in early learning.

Although this position is funded through a Save the Children sub grant, the Ambassador is an employee of the school district and directly supervised by district staff. The Save the Children Kindergarten Readiness Lead Associate will provide training, technical assistance, and support to the Ambassador regarding program implementation.

Essential Duties, Responsibilities, and Impact

Implementation of Kindergarten Readiness program elements for Family Readiness, including:

• Recruitment: 40 children ages 3-5 years and parents/caregivers into the program. Identify the number of children who are eligible to attend kindergarten in the coming year who are not participating in any preschool experience as target program participants.
• “Play and Learn” Groups: Hold a minimum of 3x per month (at least 1 a week per community depending on size of group). Groups provide the setting for practicing engaging with young children in ways that set the stage for brain development. The goal is to increase opportunities in the home to support Kindergarten readiness.
• “Parent Academy Workshop”: Hold a minimum of 1x per month (at least 1 a week per community depending on size of group). Monthly workshops are designed to bring a group of adults together with a skilled facilitator for sharing and knowledge acquisition aimed to equip those in attendance with valuable insights on transition-related topics and aptitudes that promote their child's Kindergarten preparedness.
• Bookworm Program: Support access to early learning resources and materials through monthly distribution of Building Home Library books and literacy enhancement activities.
• Home Visiting: Facilitate a minimum of 1 individualized “home visit” per month with 20 children. Children will be selected based on age, pre-assessment screening(s), and/or need. Children enrolled in the Home Visiting portion of the program will receive Family Conference topics during their home visits throughout the year.
• Family Conference: Hold a minimum of 4x per year (1x per quarter) individual check-ins with each enrolled caregiver not receiving home visits.
  • Conferences Consist Of: (1) Listening __ Check-in on family well-being, engagement, and goals; (2) Thinking Together – Offer information on child development, with an emphasis on parent-child engagement, routines, and self-care; (3) Share resources and ideas for interactions to support child’s development; (4) Summarize and plan together to support goals.
• Screening and Assessments: Conduct the following assessments with all enrolled caregivers/children per program guidance (Ages and Stages-3 and Environmental Screening Questionnaire)
• Kindergarten Transition Support: Provide information and support to program participants on local kindergarten readiness expectations, and support kindergarten transition through individual Transition Planning Conferences. 

Conduct Kindergarten Readiness program elements for Community Readiness to increase the availability of and access to early learning opportunities for families with young children throughout the community through awareness, engagement, and collaboration, including:

• Locally driven efforts to strengthen early learning at home and in community settings, e.g., awareness campaigns, mobile programming, community events, kindergarten readiness local partnerships, etc.
• Create/actively support efforts to promote partnerships that bridge the gap from home to school and facilitate Kindergarten transition. 
• Participate in early childhood community collaborative groups (when available) and/or connect with other local community resources, coalitions and initiatives that support overall kindergarten readiness and transition.  

Participate in activities to support program implementation, professional development, and collaboration, including:

• Actively partner with the ESSS Early Childhood Coordinator, Community Engagement staff and other providers of early childhood services to integrate and sustain efforts in the community.
• Participate in training and technical assistance to support program implementation. 
• Ensure high-quality and timely data collection that captures program implementation outcomes. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Highly motivated, flexible, individual who is eager to learn and able to work independently.
• Associate degree in related field, bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of early childhood development and family engagement.
• Experience working with children ages birth to five, and families in rural areas.
• Strengths-based and non-judgmental approach to engaging and working with parents and caregivers.
• Strong cultural knowledge of the targeted communities and understanding of the critical challenges and assets available to families in rural communities.
• Experience or demonstrated interest in leading parent-child groups and coordinating community-based activities.
• Competency with computers including previous experience with Windows programming and use of the Internet (Ability to use social media is advantageous).
• Available and reliable vehicle, and willingness to travel locally for training and program activities (mileage reimbursed).
• Ability to keep and maintain accurate records.
• Ability to collect accurate data, participate in program evaluation activities, and comply with child safeguarding and data protection requirements.