2022-23 ACPS Assistant Manual

ACADEMIC PRESCHOOL- ASSISTANT GUIDE

ACADEMIC PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT MANUAL TABLE OF CONTENTS: ARRIVAL AND SET UP PROCEDURES: .................................................................................................................................. 3 DURING CLASS: ................................................................................................................................................................... 3 CENTERS ROOM- IN CLASS EXPECTATIONS:....................................................................................................................3 CIRCLE TIME ROOM AND DANCE ROOM- IN CLASS EXPECTATIONS:...........................................................................4 BASIC TUMBLING SPOTTING TECHNIQUES: ......................................................................................................................4 BATHROOM PROCEDURES: ................................................................................................................................................. 4 BE READY TO TAKE CHARGE:.............................................................................................................................................. 4 USING TODOIST TO KEEP SCHOOL CLEAN AND ORGANIZED: ......................................................................................... 4 TAKING PICTURES IN CLASSES FOR FACEBOOK ALBUMS ................................................................................................. 4 Assistant teachers need to help with documenting classes by taking great pictures and posting regularly into the class Facebook albums. This is the only way parents get to peek in our classrooms, so it’s very important!............................................................................................................................................................................ 4 ASSISTANT PRIORITY ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 A GOOD ASSISTANT SHOULD ALWAYS: ............................................................................................................................. 5 SNACK TIME EXPECTATIONS:.............................................................................................................................................. 5 Allergies .............................................................................................................................................................................5 ENDING CLASS/PICK UP TIME/CLOSING DUTIES EXPECTATIONS: .................................................................................... 5 SUBSTITUTE PROCEDURE ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 6 PROBLEMS & EMERGENCY PROCEDURES........................................................................................................................... 6 REVIEW THE SAFETY SECTION IN THE TEACHER HANDYBOOK: .......................................................................................6 How to help a crying or upset student ...........................................................................................................................6 REVIEW OUR APPROACH TO DISCIPLINE IN THE ACPS PARENT HANDBOOK ................................................................6 REVIEW STUDIO DISCIPLINE POLICY IN THE TEACHER HANDYBOOK .............................................................................6 When a Young Student Needs to Leave the Classroom ..............................................................................................6

ACADEMIC PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT MANUAL As a preschool assistant, we expect you to be proactive and actively helping where needed the entire block. This requires you to be aware of how to best help the teachers and be able to jump in without being asked every step of the day. This manual is to serve as a guide to help you know your responsibilities and the expectations we have for you as a representative of Studio 56 Dance Center. Please let us know if you need further explanation or support! We are so excited to have you join us at preschool! ARRIVAL AND SET UP PROCEDURES: • Always be 10 minutes early to class. o Lead teachers will always be 15 minutes early. • Help teachers with class set up. o Check for handouts in the class bin (book orders, etc). • Attire & Appearance o Casual/comfortable dress is fine. Something you can get down and play with the kids in! o NO phones in the studio! o Be ‘healthy’, awake, in a pleasant mood. There are no ‘bad days’ for teachers/assistants, leave it at the door! • Get to know your students! o Call your students by their names in and outside of class. o It is important for you to get to know their personalities, limitations, medical conditions, etc. o Calling a child by their name makes them feel important. • Drop off: Assistant's main job at drop-off is greeting parents and unloading kids at the pull-through line. Be aware of kids who need a little bit of help separating from a parent and try to help them warm up to you. If a student is timid and shy and doesn’t want to leave her mom, you are the one who needs to help her warm up and feel comfortable! Hold her hand, make eye contact, and try to get her to stand on a dot with you. Earn her trust and be her buddy until she is ready and confident enough to do it herself! • Understand how our preschool time block works! We have different start times for each room. They each have a class name and each start and ends at a different class. The faster you grasp onto the system, the more helpful you can be! • Every morning, ask the academic teachers if there is anything happening that you need to be aware of that day. Sometimes they will need additional hands helping with an important art project, assessments, writing, or math activities. DURING CLASS: • Participate throughout the ENTIRE class. NO sitting or taking a break. The teacher should NEVER have to remind you to be on task. Stay active and engaged the whole time. • Get down and talk to them on their level. o Kneel down, make eye contact o Towering over them may make them feel timid and reserved. • Your first priority in any classroom is class control and class participation! If a preschooler wanders off, you go get her and bring her back. You might need to sit/stand next to them and keep a few busy kids close to you to help them stay focused. • As a general guide, the youngest class is who usually needs the most help. Plan to follow the insect class around to each hour so that you can learn the structure of each classroom. The sooner you learn how each room runs, the more helpful you can be! CENTERS ROOM- IN CLASS EXPECTATIONS: • Interact with the kids, help them explore new things, and assist in creating opportunities for them to interact with each other. • Encourage students to pick up after themselves. • Sometimes you will be in charge of leading a specific center. Help the students with the activity by directing them and letting them do as much of it as they can by themselves.

CIRCLE TIME ROOM AND DANCE ROOM- IN CLASS EXPECTATIONS: • Walk around and encourage, or keep kids focused and on task. Be in tune with where your teacher needs your help. • DO NOT talk over the teacher. She is in charge, you are there to be a silent helper to make sure the class accomplishes as much as possible in the short time we have with them. • Stay aware of where the teacher is working and fill in where she is not. • Use student’s names when giving corrections and feedback • Be prompt to respond to verbal instructions from the teacher o This is a very important skill to learn as an assistant. The teacher won’t always tell you directly what to do. She will usually talk to you through the kids to keep the class engaged. You need to stay on your toes and be aware of where you are needed at all times. o “Ms. Abby is going to help you hold your pencils today.” BASIC TUMBLING SPOTTING TECHNIQUES: • ONLY spot a student when the instructor gives you permission. • SAFETY FIRST! If you are unable/unsure about spotting a specific skill … DON’T DO IT! Be sure to ask questions if you are unsure what the correct way to spot or teach the skill is. Make sure the teacher watches you a few times so you know you are doing it correctly. • If a student is misbehaving or acting in a way that could cause injury to themselves or another student, STOP THEM IMMEDIATELY AND NOTIFY THE INSTRUCTOR! • Be very mindful of HOW your teacher is spotting and breaking down skills. Soak it all in! • No sitting. Even when you are spotting. It is not as effective and sends the wrong message to students and parents who might be watching. • There can be more than one way to spot and execute acro/tumbling skills, and for the consistency of our program, you are required to teach and spot like the teacher you are assisting. BATHROOM PROCEDURES: • Preschoolers might need help in the bathroom from the assistant! • Teachers (other than in emergency situations) should NOT be helping kids with the bathroom. • REVIEW THE BATHROOM PROCEDURES SECTION IN THE TEACHER’S MANUAL. BE READY TO TAKE CHARGE: • At any given moment you may be asked to take over the class. • Pay attention to how each classroom is structured so you can keep things rolling! • Observe how the instructor teaches. It could be your turn to teach sooner than you think! Soak in everything! Your time spent in the classroom as an assistant will be very valuable experience for you when you become a teacher. USING TODOIST TO KEEP SCHOOL CLEAN AND ORGANIZED: • Assistants have a list of scheduled tasks to help keep the studio clean and organized. Please check it every shift and keep items completed when they become due. • During down time you may be needed to help with prepping: paper cutting, cleaning up after an art project, or helping to set up for an activity. Please check with teachers about this. • Help with sorting and filing assessments and portfolios as needed. Teachers will direct you when we need your help with this. • REVIEW THE TODOIST TASKS IN THE ACPS ASSISTANT LIST. TAKING PICTURES IN CLASSES FOR FACEBOOK ALBUMS • Assistant teachers need to help with documenting classes by taking great pictures and posting regularly into the class Facebook albums. This is the only way parents get to peek in our classrooms, so it’s very important! ASSISTANT PRIORITY • Completing tasks in Todoist should not take priority over helping a teacher in the classroom if they need it.

A GOOD ASSISTANT SHOULD ALWAYS: • Recognize student accomplishments! • Be enthusiastic! • Make their experience a positive one that they talk about at home! • Be a role model! You are a HUGE influence on our little impressionable students • Be aware of how children interpret how we treat them. Everyone is different and comes from a different home dynamic. We need to be especially conscious of how we are responding to that one student that rubs us the wrong way- there is always one! SNACK TIME EXPECTATIONS: • Make sure the 1st room has a snack ready to distribute before it’s time for snack. • We use hand sanitizer before snacks, and when kids use the bathroom • After snack time, help the kids clean off their place and the area they were sitting at. • Sweep up the area or vacuum at the end of snack time. • Wipe the tables down with Clorox wipes as needed. • Assistants need to gather unused snacks and put them back in the main snack storage area. We don’t need extra snacks laying around and getting shoved into cupboards that they shouldn’t be in. • REVIEW THE SNACK PROCEDURES SECTION IN THE TEACHER MANUAL. Allergies WE ARE A NUT FREE FACILITY! Please don’t ever serve anything for snack that contains nuts to preschoolers. We have too many allergies and want to keep everyone safe! Lists for Academic Preschool students are posted in all classrooms. Do not ever give out food without first checking the allergy list. If you have a new student and aren’t sure, you can always look up allergies under the students account on Studio Director. Please be knowledgeable and very aware of all allergies within your classes. If someone has extreme dietary restrictions, we’ll request that the parent bring in a small container with snacks just for them. ENDING CLASS/PICK UP TIME/CLOSING DUTIES EXPECTATIONS: • Help students get shoes, jackets, and bags. The younger class will need help at the beginning of the last rotation to get all shoes on before they break out into centers. • Remind teachers to pass out handouts if applicable. • While teachers are loading kids into cars and connecting with parents, you will lead them in singing songs or reading a book to them while they wait on their dots. Keep them engaged as they wait for pick up. • NEVER leave a student alone in the lobby. • Decide with teachers when the best time for you to do clean-up and closing duties is. Sometimes this can be done in the middle of the last class. The more you can help with closing clean-up, the sooner you and the teachers can leave! Preschool closing duties are: o Put away teaching supplies. In the RIGHT place! o Take down tables and chairs. o Roll up the circle time rug. o Go through both bathrooms and flush toilets. o Throw away garbage in hallways, studio, and bathrooms. o GARBAGE- Replace bags when cans are 3/4 full. Take bags to dumpster. o Wipe down anything that needs to be cleaned, and vacuum the hallway if needed. o Sweep the front entry (Bountiful) o Sweep all the preschool room floors. SUBSTITUTE PROCEDURE You must find a substitute if you are unable to make it to your assigned shift. Anyone on the approved substitute list can cover for you. Notify the director when you have a substitute and she will inform the teachers you assist. Fill out the sub-request form on the main website to get it approved. Assistants may be needed to teach a class in case of a last-minute teacher absence. If you are needed to sub for a teacher, we want to have someone take your place as the assistant if possible. It’s hard on everyone to

be down a teacher or an assistant because we need all the helping hands. In the case of an emergency or last resort, teachers must get the director's permission to have the assistant teach their classes. COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS Parents might try to ask you questions. If the teacher is not around to step in and answer for you, your response should be, “I am the assistant and am not authorized to answer questions. I will make a note and have the office contact you.” Please respond professionally and friendly. It would be unfair of us to expect you to always know the answer to everything as an assistant. Even if you think you know the answer you shouldn’t answer. We don’t want parents “shopping around” for an answer they want to hear between teachers, office, and assistants. This guideline will change as you become more familiar with the program and if you are transitioning into a teaching position. There are several pieces of training in the preschool manual about appropriate parent interaction. Be sure to familiarize yourself with our policies and methods as you become more comfortable talking to parents. PROBLEMS & EMERGENCY PROCEDURES REVIEW THE SAFETY SECTION IN THE TEACHER HANDYBOOK: • Emergency Situations o STAY CALM!!! Separate non-injured students from situations or injured students from others o Determine urgency …Is it necessary to call 9-1-1? o Notify the teacher so that they can inform the parent on what happened and fill out an injury report. • Safety • Injuries • First Aid • Touching Students • Emergency Evacuation • Lockdown Procedure How to help a crying or upset student • Try to determine the problem - be sympathetic. • Resolve if possible. Try distracting them by changing their focus to something they like. “Our mom always comes back! Did you know we are going to dance with teddy bears today?” or “Can you help me pick out the stamp for the class?” • Have the child stay with you or sit and watch for a bit. Try to get them involved and participate as quickly as possible. • The teacher or Front Desk will decide if it’s time to call the parent, as a last resort. REVIEW OUR APPROACH TO DISCIPLINE IN THE ACPS PARENT HANDBOOK REVIEW STUDIO DISCIPLINE POLICY IN THE TEACHER HANDYBOOK When a Young Student Needs to Leave the Classroom If a student’s behavior is creating a distraction past the point of quickly getting the class back on track, it might be necessary to remove them from the room until they are ready to participate. We need to maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning, and sometimes removing a child is the way to do that. This should not be your go-to solution. Teachers need to use their best judgment in a disruptive situation. Have you done all you can to maintain the engagement and excitement of that student? If you have, here is our guide for taking a child out of the classroom: • Walk them outside the classroom and talk about what’s going on calmly. Be clear about your expectations in class (keep them age appropriate) and tell them IF they (scream, cry, etc), THEN they will need to (be dismissed, call home, etc.). • If the child is throwing a tantrum and unable to be reasoned with- keep them and others safe from injury by holding them and walking them to the office to avoid disruptions in other classrooms. • If you have an assistant, ask them to lead your class. • Use the three-minute rule: Do your best to connect with them and get them back to the classroom with you in three minutes or less. If it’s longer than three minutes, you’ll need to leave them in the office and the customer care team can supervise them while they calm down for a few more minutes. Worst case scenario: the office staff will decide if it’s time to call home and will also notify management.