Contents
Structure, Responsibilities, and Supervision
The Center for Early Childhood Education is a department of Smith College; the Office of the Provost/Dean of the Faculty oversees the Center for Early Childhood Education (CECE) and the director of the CECE reports to the Associate Provost.
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) licenses the program. The EEC program number is 2911756. The telephone number of the EEC is 413-788-8401.
The administration of the program includes the director, assistant director, level coordinators, and office coordinator. The teaching staff includes classroom, visual arts, and music supervising teachers, teachers (rotating and classroom), and student classroom assistants. Job descriptions for all positions are available on Moodle.
Please see the Fort Hill Family Handbook for additional details on the program structure and contact information. Please see the Smith College Staff Handbook for details of the policies and employee benefits associated with employment at Smith College.
Reporting Relationships
The organizational chart of Smith College is available on the Human Resources website. The organizational chart for the Center for Early Childhood Education is below.
Generic Fort Hill Reporting and Organizational Structure January 2020
Organizational Structure and Responsibilities
The seven classrooms at Fort Hill are organized into two levels: Infant/Toddler and Preschool. The infant/toddler level includes four classrooms (North, South, East, and West) and the preschool level comprises three classrooms (Groups S, B, and A). A team consisting of a supervising teacher and two to four teachers, depending on enrollment, teaches each of the classrooms. Co-supervising teachers teach the largest preschool classrooms, Groups B and A. Rotating teachers provide support for planning time and absences.
The school also includes two studio programs, the Visual Arts Studio and the Music Studio. Supervising teachers teach the studios in the morning and assume the responsibilities of the level supervising teacher in the afternoon. The music studio also includes a teacher to support the studio.
A supervising teacher at each of the levels serves as the Level Coordinator. The level coordinators communicate with the director to facilitate program quality and cohesion. They are also responsible for developing an agenda for each of the level meetings; ensuring that minutes are submitted to the assistant director and director promptly after level meetings; coordinating the developmental screening process in the fall; supervising studio supervising teachers and teachers; mentoring classroom supervising teachers, and, determining purchases for the school and reviewing supervising teacher requests for classroom materials.
The rotating teachers teach in classrooms during staff absences and provide classroom support on a rotating basis. The rotating positions are regular teacher positions; every teacher may be assigned either to a classroom team or to a rotating position. The assistant director and office coordinator maintain calendars in a binder for rotating teachers to review each morning to determine their schedule for the day. The binder is located on the peninsula in the office.
Smith College students participate as researchers, observers, and teaching assistants (student workers through the Office of Student Employment). Students may never be alone with children, even for a few moments. The supervising teachers in the classrooms are responsible for supervising the student workers.
The custodian is a member of the Facilities department and works at Fort Hill from approximately 3:30 – 11:00 pm.
Volunteers: We do not currently accept volunteers working in classrooms for extended periods of time. The following guidelines are in place if there is an exception to this policy:
- Volunteers receive appropriate orientation, supervision and training
- The program document the dates, hours of service and responsibilities of each volunteer used by the program
- Volunteers are under the direct visual supervision of an EEC qualified educator at all times; and
- The program complies with EEC Background Record Check regulations regarding volunteers.
Summaries of Position Responsibilities
Supervising teachers are considered exempt administrative staff and teachers are considered non-exempt administrative support staff. Please see the Smith College Staff Handbook for more information on employment categories.
The following are brief summaries of the responsibilities associated with each of the positions in the Center for Early Childhood Education. Full job descriptions for each of the positions is available on the department Moodle site. Details of the administrative responsibilities are available on Google Drive.
Director
Oversee all aspects of the program: Facility, program, personnel, budget, legal
- Oversee EEC licensing standards and processes
- Oversee departmental budgets and fiscal responsibilities
- Oversee program growth and development
- Oversee personnel management
- Oversee facility management
- Supervise administrative team
- Oversee referrals and coordination of outside services for individual children
- Liaison with campus and community
- Oversee professional development and staff training
Plan for Temporary Absence of Administrator
The following chain-of-command is in effect to ensure that the responsibilities associated with the program administrator are assumed at all times. The responsible persons are identified by name on a chart on the bulletin board in the office.
- Director
- Assistant Director
- Level Coordinator
- Studio Supervising Teacher by seniority
- Classroom Supervising Teacher by seniority
The following protocol is established for planned and unplanned short term absences:
- The Director, Assistant Director, and Level Coordinator avoid planning overlapping absences.
- If the level coordinator or a supervising teacher assumes the administrator responsibilities, s/he remains in the classroom as scheduled and works from the office during planning time.
- The Office Coordinator plans a substitute for the substitute administrator to manage situations as they arise.
- The administrator-in-charge communicates her departure and return to the person assuming her responsibilities.
- The administrator substitute communicates by email or telephone pertinent information.
- In the event of a significant event, the administrator substitute contacts the director immediately by telephone.
Absence of Administrator over 2-Weeks
When the Director/Assistant Director is absent for more than two consecutive weeks a fully qualified substitute administrator must assume administrative responsibility. This individual is identified by the Director/Assistant director in collaboration with the Associate Provost. Arrangements for this substitute administrator will be made in advance of this absence when possible.
¨ The substitute administrator assumes non-teaching responsibilities and is assigned administrative projects by the Director/Assistant Director or Associate Provost. The substitute administrator remains available to assist and/or advise with program issues that may arise.
Assistant Director
Direct daily on-site administration of the program
- Assume duties of director in her absence
- Maintain fiscal responsibility for purchasing, library, instructional supplies and publications
- Manage facility to meet EEC regulations and school philosophy
- Manage admission processes
- Manage and coordinate PTO
- Oversee and support EEC licensing standards and processes
- Manage food program
- Manage libraries
- Manage electronic communication from school to families
- Supervise student workers, rotating assistants, studio supervising teachers, preschool supervising teachers
- Manage planned and unscheduled staffing and substitutes
Office Coordinator
Manage school-wide systems
- Manage tuition, accounts payable and accounts receivable
- Maintain children’s files and classroom records
- Coordinate repair and maintenance of facility
- Manage office and consumable supplies
- Coordinate and document emergency drills
- Maintain enrollment and admission data
- Maintain daily attendance records for children and staff
- Coordinate research projects
- Coordinate communication among families, teachers, and the school
- Manage unscheduled staffing and substitutes
- Substitute in classrooms as needed
Plan for Temporary Absence of Office Coordinator
The daily responsibilities of the office coordinator are shared during her absence. The responsibilities of coordinating staffing will be assumed as follows:
- If possible, the assistant director will arrive by 8:00 to assume the morning responsibilities and will communicate to and coordinate with the level coordinator, or next in the chain-of-command, to ensure that an individual is identified as the substitute administrator for all times of the day.
- The assistant director will plan for a rotating teacher or student to assume the reception duties from 4:00 -5:00 pm, if the assistant director leaves at 4:00.
Level Coordinators
Coordinate level (preschool or infant/toddler) classrooms
- Manage the all-school events
- Manage preparation for the opening of the school year
- Oversee the screening process and maintain records
- Serve on search committees and meet with visitors from other schools
- Develop level meeting agendas, chair the meetings, and print and upload minutes
- Supervise level supervising teachers (Level Coordinator only)
- Determine purchases for the school and review supervising teacher requests for classroom materials
- Assume all responsibilities associated with supervising teachers
Supervising Teachers
Manage classroom, provide school-wide leadership
- Oversee classroom health and safety
- Oversee curriculum development, implementation, and communication
- Maintain a classroom environment and experiences consistent with the school philosophy
- Supervise child interactions and assessments
- Oversee parent/family and team relationships
- Mentor new employees
- Supervise students and teachers
- Participate in administrative team meetings
- Manage Classroom budget
- Maintain classroom to meet all EEC licensing requirements
- Coordinate with assistant director to manage classroom staffing schedule
Classroom Teachers
Teach in assigned classroom and in other rooms as needed
- Maintain classroom health and safety
- Participate in curriculum development and implementation
- Maintain a classroom environment and experiences consistent with the school philosophy
- Engage in child interactions and participate in assessments consistent with the school philosophy
- Maintain positive parent/family and team relationships
- Maintain classroom to meet all EEC licensing requirements
Clarification of Supervising Teacher and Teacher Responsibilities
Supervising teachers are solely responsible for performing a number of the duties associated with the supervising teacher position; they seek input from teachers in a variety of ways. Teachers assume the daily responsibility of overseeing the classroom when the supervising teacher is absent; the long-term responsibilities remain with the supervising teacher.
The following describes some of the responsibilities and distinctions between the two positions.
Supervision
Supervising teachers conduct formal supervision activities and provide ongoing supervision and support to student workers and teachers.
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- Teachers may guide student workers in immediate classroom responsibilities when the supervising teacher is absent.
- Teachers make day-to-day decisions in the absence of a supervising teacher.
Written Reports, Portfolios, and Formal Conferences
Supervising teachers are solely responsible for writing reports and portfolios and meeting with parents at a minimum of three times each year to discuss children’s development and experiences. They also meet as needed when concerns arise or either party requests. Supervisors communicate the outcome of the meetings to teachers as appropriate.
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- Teachers document and share their observations of children’s development and experiences to inform the supervising teachers’ communications.
- Teachers read all written assessments of children and offer feedback.
- Teachers may participate in meetings as appropriate and availability allows.
- Teachers conduct screenings of children’s development as appropriate
- Supervising teachers communicate the results of the screenings.
Email, Face-to-Face Meetings, and Impromptu Conversations
Supervising teachers communicate with families about a variety of topics and are solely responsible for writing emails, conducting meetings, and communicating with families about concerns.
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- All teachers document day-to-day information that may affect a child’s day in a notebook in the classroom to provide team members with necessary information about individual children.
- Teachers communicate routine experiences with parents at the beginning or end of the day. They refer anything beyond routine information to the supervising teacher.
Curriculum Planning, Implementation, and Documentation
Supervising Teachers plan, document, and communicate the curriculum and changes to the classroom environment. These responsibilities include, but are not limited to, bulletin boards, blogs, Friday documentation, curriculum planning notebooks, etc.
Supervising teachers are responsible for ensuring that curriculum and set-up is planned, documented, communicated, and readily available in a curriculum planning notebook in advance at all times to facilitate smooth operation of the classroom in the event of an unanticipated absence.
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- Teachers provide input during staff meetings to inform curriculum development and changes to the environment.
- Teachers assist in gathering curricular materials and preparing environments based on the plans.
- Teachers implement the curriculum with children on a day-to-day basis and share their observations with the supervising teacher.
Rotating Teachers
Teach in classrooms during absences and provide additional teaching staff as needed
- Maintain classroom health and safety
- Implement experiences and procedures as designed by classroom team, consistent with school philosophy
- Maintain a classroom environment and experiences consistent with the school philosophy
- Engage in child interactions consistent with the school philosophy
- Maintain positive parent/family and team relationships
- Maintain classroom to meet all EEC licensing requirements
- Review schedule at the beginning and end of each day
- Coordinate with office coordinator and assistant director daily work schedule
- Assume responsibility for school-wide tasks and maintenance of common areas of school when not assigned to other duties
Student Classroom Assistants
Valuable member of community – guide in learning about early childhood education and care, child development, working in general, part of learning community, relationships with children, families, and teachers
Many become full-time employees
Add Franny’s quote
Not alone with children unless confirmed by assistant director
Supervising teachers mentor and guide
Orientation
Employment office
Look at Fort Hill website and copy info and links
Responsibilities, etc. in Student docs on Drive?
Who supervises
Assist with all classroom and school-wide tasks as assigned and consistent with the school philosophy
- Provide a caring and nurturing adult presence
- Engage with individual children and small groups of children (e.g, read a story, hold an infant, rub a child’s back at naptime)
- Support children’s own capabilities, problem-solving, and interests in indoor and outdoor activities (i.e., avoid drawing for children and doing things “for” children)
- Accompany children on walks, daily strolls, and field trips
- Participate in general set-up and clean-up (wash dishes, clean tables, prepare snacks, set out rest mats, assist with diapering and toileting)