What does a head start teacher do?
A head start teacher is responsible for organizing lectures and monitoring classroom operations for students with financial difficulties. Head start teachers have the same roles as regular teachers, such as preparing lesson plans, conducting assessments to test the students' knowledge, documenting their progress, and planning group activities to observe their personal and social behaviors. They also coordinate with the students' parents to share the child's difficulties and strategize methods to enhance capabilities. A head start teacher must have excellent communication skills, especially in attending to students for their needs and encouraging them to reach their maximum potentials.
Head start teacher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real head start teacher resumes:
- Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
- Participate in the IEP, IFSP, and/or IIIP process for serving children with special needs and implementation of appropriate planning.
- Hold CPR and basic emergency first aid certification.
- Obtain trainings as needed to keep CDA current.
- Assist teacher in the full implementation of IEP's and inclusion of children with disabilities and special needs.
- Plan IEP, administer ASQ and ESI screenings, weekly home visits, implement technological approaches to subject material.
- Develop a collaborative approach with special needs staff to benefit all children in the classroom and meet IFSP specify needs.
- Design and implement lessons for morning opening, literacy, math, Spanish, social/cultural studies, play groups and science.
- Develop extensive lesson plans that include all areas of literacy, math, social and emotional, physical and cognitive development.
- Implement music and movement into the Montessori curriculum.
- Provide 3rd grade students with additional assistance in literacy and mathematics
- Create custom mathematics and economics curriculum for alternative high school students.
- Develop and collaborate with local school district to transition children into kindergarten.
- Develop innovative, informative and inspirational lessons for students in the chemistry and math curriculum.
- Prepare children for kindergarten by introducing concepts they will explore further in kindergarten and elementary schools.
Head start teacher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 46% of Head Start Teachers are proficient in Kids, Math, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Organizational skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Head Start Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Kids, 46%
Supervised 30 kids' ages 3-5 years of age at North Bend Head start with Autism.
- Math, 35%
Designed and implemented lessons for morning opening, literacy, math, Spanish, social/cultural studies, play groups and science.
- CPR, 2%
Maintain state required training including First Aid, CPR, Child Abuse Awareness, Communicable Disease Prevention and ODJFS required orientations.
- Child Development, 2%
Implemented a comprehensive and integrated research-based curriculum aligned to the Head Start Child Development and relevant to state early learning guidelines/standards.
- Classroom Environment, 1%
Designed a developmentally appropriate classroom environment and formed positive relationships with parents in an inclusive preschool setting.
- Performance Standards, 1%
Prepared required Federal reports and performed ongoing monitoring of Federal performance standards in accordance with agency policy groups and governing boards.
"kids," "math," and "cpr" are among the most common skills that head start teachers use at work. You can find even more head start teacher responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a head start teacher to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what head start teachers do because "preschool teachers must plan lessons that engage young children." Additionally, a head start teacher resume shows how head start teachers use creativity: "teach students, parents meetings, prepare students for kindergarten transition, head start program tests, creative curriculum"
Organizational skills. Many head start teacher duties rely on organizational skills. "teachers need to be organized to plan lessons and keep records of the children.," so a head start teacher will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways head start teacher responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "reviewed organizational governance policies and procedures to make sure the organization was in compliance with the head start performance standards. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of head start teachers is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday head start teacher duties, as "preschool teachers must understand children’s emotional needs and be able to develop relationships with parents, children, and coworkers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assist children in academic and personal/social growth through interpersonal, organizational, and conflict-resolution skills. "
Physical stamina. A big part of what head start teachers do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to head start teacher responsibilities because "preschool teachers should have a lot of energy, because working with children can be physically demanding." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical head start teacher tasks: "create an enthusiastic classroom environment favorable to learning and suitable to the physical, social, and emotional growth of students. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in head start teacher job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what head start teachers do. Head start teacher responsibilities rely on this skill because "preschool teachers need good writing and speaking skills to talk to parents and colleagues about children’s progress." You can also see how head start teacher duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "provided family services to 8 families of high needs and high risk through monthly home visits and daily communication. "
Patience. Another skill commonly found on head start teacher job descriptions is "patience." It can come up quite often in head start teacher duties, since "working with children may be stressful." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day head start teacher responsibilities: "demonstrated patience and understanding while managing difficult behaviors to maintain conducive learning environment in the classroom. "
The three companies that hire the most head start teachers are:
- WCCA - Wright County Community Action
80 head start teachers jobs
- Save the Children US54 head start teachers jobs
- Ymca Of Metropolitan Atlanta43 head start teachers jobs
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Compare different head start teachers
Head start teacher vs. Teacher associate
A teacher associate is responsible for assisting the teacher in classroom operations and providing teaching support for the students. Teacher associates develop learning materials according to the instructions of the headteachers, helping them to track students' progress and observing class behaviors. They also take class responsibility if the teacher is away, ensuring to keep activity records and attendance for reference. A teacher associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling students' difficulties and working with the teacher to develop techniques to address those challenges.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, head start teacher responsibilities require skills like "kids," "help support," "performance standards," and "professional development." Meanwhile a typical teacher associate has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "mathematics," "language arts," and "behavior management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Teacher associates tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $32,745. In contrast, head start teachers make the biggest average salary, $38,680, in the education industry.teacher associates tend to reach similar levels of education than head start teachers. In fact, teacher associates are 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Head start teacher vs. Teacher aide
Teacher aides help lead teachers in managing the classroom. They assist teachers in conducting classroom sessions by setting up the classroom in advance, sourcing materials needed for class activities, helping in presentations, and guiding students during class activities. Teacher aides are also responsible for maintaining classroom cleanliness and helping clean up after the children. They also help manage the students during breaks and during classes. They help the lead teacher keep the students'students' attention. They also assist the students in any other tasks that they may need.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real head start teacher resumes. While head start teacher responsibilities can utilize skills like "kids," "help support," "math," and "child development," teacher aides use skills like "mathematics," "art projects," "administration policies," and "class rooms."
On average, teacher aides earn a lower salary than head start teachers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, teacher aides earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $35,388. Whereas head start teachers have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $38,680.teacher aides earn lower levels of education than head start teachers in general. They're 6.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for head start teachers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Diana Jones
Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University
Head start teacher vs. Early childhood teacher
An early childhood teacher specializes in handling and teaching young learners as they prepare for their formal schooling stage. Their responsibilities revolve around addressing and meeting the needs of students, organizing recreational activities for learning processes, and devising strategies to help the learners with their interpersonal and emotional growth. Furthermore, as an early childhood teacher, it is essential to monitor the children's progress and provide updates to their parents, all while maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from head start teacher resumes include skills like "help support," "performance standards," "child care," and "parent conferences," whereas an early childhood teacher is more likely to list skills in "ece," "public schools," "work ethic," and "parent-teacher conferences. "
When it comes to education, early childhood teachers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to head start teachers. In fact, they're 3.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Head start teacher vs. Substitute teacher
Substitute teachers are responsible for filling in the role of regular teachers who will not be able to come to school. They may be engaged short-term or long-term, depending on the need. Substitute teachers should have a deep understanding of the topics that are related to the subject matter and are appropriate to the learning level of the student. They should be able to advance the lessons while the regular teacher is unavailable. At times, they are required to create their own lesson plans. Substitute teachers should have the skills of regular teachers. They should also be flexible and adaptable.
Types of head start teacher
Updated January 8, 2025
