Hello! I've been working at Head Start as a Pre-K classroom aide for 3 years and I absolutely loved my job, the 3-5 year olds and the teacher and assistant I worked with! However. I needed something full time and year round, and I got news that I'll be working as a Pre-K Teacher Assistant at an Early Learning center! Very excited and nervous all at once. My question is are Early learning centers like Head Start, or completely different? Any tips or advice from switching up from aide to assistant? Thank you!
Where I worked in ECE, the distinction was that teachers/coteachers/teacher assistants had specialized training, and we counted towards ratio. Also, we had diapering training, so we could do that part of the job. Most of us had our CDA or bachelor's degree. We also had aides. They would help with classroom management, passing out materials, clean up, reading one on one to kids, etc. But, they were not licensed for diapering, and did not count toward ratio. They typically floated from room to room. (One aide was licensed, and he made a little more money, and also provided coverage for breaks for teachers.) I'm not sure if that's true everywhere, but that was the distinction in the area where I worked.
Head Start is pretty different than normal preschools and daycares. They are meant for low income families so they do a lot more activities for parents and try to involve them and educate them more. Is your new position at a tuition based school or public school or is it part of a daycare?
Then it will be very different from Head Start! I went from wealthy daycare to Head Start and it was a whole different world
Ive only been here for two weeks and it's like a breath of fresh air! At head start, there were kids with severe behaviors, disrespectful, etc. Here the kids are well mannered, polite, and while there are some with behaviors it's very mild. Head Start kept me on my toes for the past 3 years(and I was just the aide), and it was time for a change !
Ive only been here for two weeks and it's like a breath of fresh air! At head start, there were kids with severe behaviors, disrespectful, etc. Here the kids are well mannered, polite, and while there are some with behaviors it's very mild. Head Start kept me on my toes for the past 3 years(and I was just the aide), and it was time for a change !
It's quite marginal. Teacher Aide: does clerical tasks, works with students as needed, helps facilitate lessons Teacher Assistant: more direct with instruction, more involved in teaching lessons
I absolutely hate Head Start. I can't stand it and I am tired of it. They are all the same. I feel stuck. I don't want to teach Kdg. I don't want to do State Pre-K in the public schools. The child care centers don't pay enough. But all the Head Start centers are downright dangerous. There is no support for children with special needs. The kids are constantly hitting and kicking the teachers and one another. There's good supplies and materials, but the kids break everything as soon as I put it out. The coaches and coordinators preaching all these NAEYC standards, but won't stick around when the kids are acting up. I can't do it anymore. I last six months tops. The parents are threatening, the staff is uneducated and lax, and the administration gives me no support. I keep getting trapped by this $40k + carrot in my face, and nothing else to keep my sanity. If your program is housed in an elementary building, you will get all the benefits and follow the schedule of the school district. They are designed for children at risk, and there's usually a high population of learning and physical disabilities. The kids will either transition to regular kdg, or follow a special ed. program. A room full of teachers, therapists, and aides, and very small class size. These programs are great. And I hope it works out for you.
In my parts an aide doesn't need/ require a certification (which usually requires at least a 2 year degree) and a TA does. To be a TA in NYS you NEED to pass the certification exams and go through a lot of the same steps as a teacher. In fact, many TAs *ARE* certified teachers, but for whatever reason can't (or don't want) teaching jobs. Usually here aides are 1:1 and are assigned to help an individual student, usually with completing tasks, escorting them from a to b, dealing with behaviors, etc. But in the Pre-K classrooms they are helping with a lot of the Pre-K behaviors / needs, etc. A TA takes on more of the instructional role in the classroom and can/does help with teaching the lessons, as needed, small group instruction, etc. It's like teaching, but you don't have to deal with all of the mess and stress of it (lesson planning, grading assessments, etc.). I'm sincerely considering being a TA so I can make $, work with kids, and then just go home at the end of the day. There's also a huge difference in pay between an aide and a TA.
