The CenterPointe Academy Application Process
Hello and welcome to The CenterPointe Academy! We are always excited when new persons approach us to apply for one of our open job positions. We provide an overview of our expectations herein so that you can decide if you have the ability and willingness to meet these expectations before your interview, so that we, you and our manager, can determine the best fit for you in our company.
This first page will explain the process. You must completely fill in the information requested below. Please do not leave any line blank, entering the letters “n/a” where an answer may otherwise have been entered. All responses are held in confidence until you give permission for us to contact employers/references.
The steps are as follows:
1. Complete this application. If you are providing a resume with your application, you still need to repeat that information on these pages since this is a separate document, filed separately to be available for State of Virginia licensing representatives to review.
2. We will review your application and schedule an interview with you. If your qualifications fit the position we are trying to fill, and you are unconditionally willing to meet the expectations found below and in our Job Description document, we may offer you a position. Should we have multiple applicants with qualifications that fit our position, we will select the person we feel is best suited for the job. To help us determine who may best fit the position, we may ask you to spend time in one of our classrooms, during which time we will observe how you interact with children and the teachers in that room. For jobs other than teaching, these steps will be modified as deemed appropriate.
3. If we offer a job to you, you must complete the requirements for background checks, drug screens and TB tests before you begin work. We will coordinate the schedule to complete these tasks with you.
4. Once you have met the state’s requirements to begin work, we will coordinate the date for you to begin work.
5. You may expect to spend time during your first days completing forms and undergoing an orientation.
6. You will be assigned to a classroom and may begin to make every day special for every child, by planning for appropriate activities and how you interact with each child during your time on duty!
Thank you for applying for our position!
Summary of Requirements for Satisfactory Performance and Hourly Wage Increases
The job description covers all of the requirements, our expectations for your continued employment and wage increases at The Centerpointe Academy, but perhaps a short list would be helpful to you in deciding if this is the right place for you to work.
1. ATTENDANCE: We expect you to come to work every day for which you are scheduled, arriving in time to be in place in your classroom (or other assigned area, such as the kitchen) at the scheduled start time.
We expect you to schedule doctor appointments and other errands outside of your scheduled hours, but if that is not possible, we expect you to request the time off and have it approved by your supervisor. Time off for any reason must be requested in advance except in a legitimate emergency, and must be approved by your supervisor, using the form provided in the office.
Failure to come to work without approved time off will be considered abandonment of your job and employment will be terminated.
2.COMMUNICATIONS: We expect you to communicate positively to all parents at all times. Every parent must be greeted with a cheery smile and hello, whether their child is in your class or not.
Comments to parents about how great the day has been are always received happily, but statements about problems during the day should always be tempered with some happy statements to maintain a balance. No parent should hear that their child had a “bad” day; there may be one or more incidents that were not happy, but for the rest of the day, all was well, and that must be told as well.
More serious problems should be taken to the Center Director, so that he/she may also participate in the discussion.
Discussions with fellow staff should never take place in front of parents. Many conversations can be very disturbing for parents to overhear.
3. LESSON PLANNING: We expect you to lead appropriate learning activities for the entire day, not just a few hours during the morning. You should be interacting in activities with the children for the entire day, not simply standing or sitting while they play. Even during free-play time, there are so many skills that can be developed when you ask reasoning questions to each child as they play. (A reasoning question is one that causes the child to think, such as “what do you think will happen if you keep stacking more blocks on your tower?”) It is so easy to keep children involved with you instead of you being a babysitter. Language art time can start at the drop of a hat with a story, as an example.
4. ROOM APPEARANCE: We expect you to keep your room clean and neat at all times. This does not mean you don’t have toys or learning materials scattered around while kids work with them, but it does mean that you lead your children to tidy up your room before you leave for snacks, lunch or other activity outside the room. You are responsible for cleaning tabletops, counters, everything above the floor. If you are the last person to leave the room for the day, you are responsible to vacuum the floor.
During the day, if a mess happens from a spill or other source, you are expected to clean it or to ask the office for help to clean it, remembering that your first priority is your children.
Decorating the room is the responsibility of the lead teacher in each room, using attractive displays such as art.
6. FURNITURE & TOYS: We expect you to take proper care of the toys and materials in your room and in the center as a whole. These items are the basis for learning activities, and when they go missing or are broken or damaged, they must be replaced. You simply notify your director for anything that is covered in this paragraph.
7. PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE/DRESS CODE: We believe your appearance sends a message to parents, so we expect you to adhere to our dress code. We will provide shirts; you should wear khaki shorts, skirts or slacks.
You should review the entire Job Description, but these basic items are the foundation for successful employment in our center!
If you do not know how to meet these explanations, i.e., starting employment as an aide and you do not have enough education or experience to meet them, you will be given training as appropriate. Start now by discussing your questions with your potential supervisor as you participate in the interview process.
If you are willing to strive to meet these requirements, please proceed to complete the application below: