There are many Careers in child care to choose from Lead Teacher to Float to Daycare Provider. One or many might be the right path for you. Click on the different positions below to learn more about each career opportunity, their qualifications, and day-to-day responsabilities.
- Lead Teacher
- Assistant Teacher
- Aide
- Director
- Assistant Director
- Cook
- Float Staff
- Substitute
- Volunteers
- Family Child Care Provider
Lead Teacher
While the specific job duties for a Lead Teacher can vary from center to center, the state of Minnesota does require specific education and training in order to qualify for this position. A center can sometimes request a Variance, which is an exception to the education or experience requirements.
Lead Teachers are typically in charge of their own infant, toddler, preschool, or school-age classroom and may have one or more Aides or Assistant Teachers who work directly under them to support the classroom. A Lead Teacher makes lesson plans and lead in the education of the students in the classroom, assign duties to the Aide or Assistant Teacher, handle parent communications and conferences, manage aspects of the classroom such as organization and layout, and ensure that Rule 3 is followed in the classroom.
Assistant Teacher
An Assistant Teacher is someone who has some higher education and experience, and might be building upon that in order to qualify for a Lead role or is very happy not taking on those lead responsibilities and maintaining a career as an Assistant Teacher.
Usually, an Assistant Teacher is partnered with a Lead Teacher and assigned to a specific classroom. The Assistant Teacher’s duties vary from center to center and even classroom to classroom within a center. This person may be the opener or closer, in charge of performing cleaning tasks and prep work as assigned by the Lead Teacher, and many other supporting duties that ensure the children are well cared for and the classroom operates effectively.
Aide
In many child care centers, an Aide is an entry-level position and can be someone interested in learning more about child care, wanting the experience of working with children before obtaining a formal education, and might be a high school, college student, or retiree looking for after-school work or a person may find that the Aide career path is the perfect fit for them!
An Aide typically must be supervised by a Lead Teacher, and typically cannot work in a classroom alone. For this reason, many child care centers prefer their Aides explore education of some sort in order to qualify to possibly open or close the center and to help support the center’s needs with flexibility in staffing.
Director
Most child care centers have a Director. This person may or may not work on-site, may be the owner of the business or work under an owner or CEO, but typically is the one who ensures the center as a whole is operating well, following MN Rule 3, and following company standards. The Director usually handles hiring, terminations, mentoring, and initial and ongoing training, and ensures the overall quality of the center.
Being a Director is a very demanding and fast-paced job, and usually, the person has adept people skills and great attention to detail. They understand each of the roles in the center and typically have worked in a Lead Teacher position or is Lead Teacher qualified.
Assistant Director
Currently, there are no formal requirements for an Assistant Director. A center sometimes utilizes this position as a support for the Director, Teacher, and staff, and typically performs support tasks for the Director.
Cook
A child care center provides meals and snacks in three ways. (1) A licensed commercial kitchen with a cook to prepare food, (2) Food catered, (3) Children bring bagged lunches from home. If the center has a commercial kitchen and serves meals, they have a Cook.
Be aware, the commercial kitchen operates under a separate license from the child care center, through the MN Dept of Health. The Cook must be trained in and follow those standards, including obtaining ServSafe and Food Manager certifications, and menu planning in adherence to Minnesota State Mandated Guidelines. To help staff flexibility, many Cooks are also typically Aides or Assistant Teachers to help out where needed in the center, and possibly to obtain full-time hours if their role as Cook does not fulfill it.
Float
Some child care facilities may opt to employ a Float staff. The duties for this position can vary widely from center to center; for example, a center may require a to be Lead Teacher qualified so they can step in for any teacher who may be out sick or on vacation. The Float may be responsible for ensuring staff receive their breaks, assist teachers in transitions (for example, helping a group of children get their winter gear on and go outside), help out where needed around the center including upkeep and cleaning, and performing light administrative duties (such as filing, scanning, making phone calls, organizing), or other duties as needed. Not all facilities employ a Float staff. There is no formal requirement for the Float, as each center utilizes the position differently.
Substitute
Having one or more reliable Substitutes is essential in maintaining a healthy child care center. A Substitute can be a Stay at Home Mom who would like to work on occasion, a Retiree who wants to stay active, or anyone in between who wants to provide a very essential service to child care centers. A Substitute is usually called in on that day and is expected to be able to step into any role, with flexibility and an understanding of the variety of roles of a center. A Substitute may work for one or many centers and may have few or many hours in a week. In order to provide the most flexibility, a Substitute is usually Lead Teacher qualified and can step in for any role in the center.
Volunteer
Volunteers who have direct contact with or access to children must be supervised by a Director, Lead Teacher, or Assistant Teacher. many volunteers come to read to the children, rock babies, help on the playground, or assist at meal time.
Family Child Care Provider
Family Child Care is often in the home of the Provider and typically provides care to a mixed age group, which can be infants through school age. They are a self-employed business person and wears all of the hats from Director to Teacher to Cook. As a Provider, there is flexibility in the number of and ages of the children you are working with, within state regulations. Annual training is required for family child care providers.