Teaching Staff Definitions

Many terms are used to classify the teaching staff who work directly with children in early care and education programs. For example, the terms teacher, lead teacher, master teacher, assistant teacher, teacher aide, caregiver, child care provider, and floater are commonly used to classify positions of varying responsibility. For the purpose of NAEYC Accreditation, only two titles are used to represent teaching staff—Teacher and Assistant Teacher/Teacher Aide. Whatever title teaching staff are assigned in a program, staff members whose assigned roles are Teacher or Assistant Teacher/Teacher Aide must meet the requirements for those positions as outlined by NAEYC's accreditation performance criteria.

Teachers are defined as the adult with primary responsibility for a group of children. For the purposes of NAEYC Accreditation a group or classroom of children is defined by the criteria for maximum group size for children of different ages/developmental levels. The teacher must spend the vast majority of time with one group of children who attend at the same time, rather than dividing time between classrooms or floating between groups. Primary responsibility for multiple groups of children, who attend at the same time, cannot be assigned to any one or single teacher.

Assistant Teachers (or Teacher Aides) are defined as adults who work under the direct supervision of a Teacher. Assistant Teachers/Teacher Aides can work independently in a teacher's absence, but for the vast majority of the time, the assistant teacher/teacher aide works directly with the teacher in the same space with the same group of children.

ONLY Program Administrators, Teachers, Assistant Teachers/Teacher Aides or staff who are at least as qualified may be left alone with a group of children. A group or classroom refers to the number of children assigned for most of the day to a teacher or a team of teaching staff who occupy an individual classroom or well-defined space that prevents intermingling of children from different groups within a larger room or area.

1. 1. All individuals with the role of teacher and assistant teacher/teacher aide are expected to meet the qualifications set forth for these roles as defined above. If two or more teaching staff work as a team with one class, and all are counted to meet teacher-child ratios, one must meet the requirements of Teacher, and the others must meet the requirements for Assistant Teacher/Teacher Aide.
   
   
2. ONLY Teachers, Assistant Teachers/Teacher Aides may be used to meet teacher-child ratios set forth by NAEYC Accreditation EXCEPT during nap times. When only one person is needed to meet teacher-child ratios, the person would need to be the teacher or assistant teacher/teacher aide. When two or more adults must be present during naptime, at least one of the adults present must be a teacher or assistant teacher/teacher aide. The other adults may be staff who function at a different staffing level.
   
   
3. Ancillary professionals with appropriate specialized credentials may be left alone with children for planned activities and experiences (e.g., therapeutic consultants, music teachers, gym teachers, speech/language therapists, librarians). Professionals working in this capacity must have the required orientation described in criterion 6.x for substitutes and volunteers.

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