Employees are required to renew certain documents and certifications as part of their employment at First Circle, and fulfill specific health requirements. These requirements are:
Every employee needs an updated health assessment with a healthcare provider every 2 years.
Each educator must register annually with the EEC Professional Qualifications Registry. You must enter your information online, update it regularly, and provide a printed confirmation to the Director. Please go to eec.state.ma.us/PQRegistry/ to complete the required forms and print your confirmation. You may use the computer in the staff room or complete it at home.
We value education and learning at First Circle, and believe that process begins with staff. We provide you with many opportunities and resources for growth and enhancement of your professional skills. Some workshops and training sessions are mandatory, some are optional.
State licensing requires us to provide a specific amount of training for all staff members throughout the year. You are required to complete this training. This includes the “EEC Essentials” training, 12 modules on topics that early education staff need to know about, such as health, safety, and child development. Training hours are calculated from January to December of each year. EEC requires that staff members attend the following amount of training hours (including online training required by EEC):
Staff meetings are mandatory and are held every month on either the second, third, or fourth Tuesday immediately following the workday. Dinner is provided by First Circle. You must attend staff meetings unless the director approves your absence. All staff are paid for staff meeting time at their regular hourly rate.
Indigenous People’s Day, Patriots Day, and Cleaning Day (the Friday before Labor Day) are our scheduled days for mandatory staff training. Staff training days are important and cannot be missed unless approved by the Director. All staff are paid at their hourly rate for time in staff training.
Each employee is responsible for maintaining a current First Aid certificate to be renewed every 3 years. All teachers must maintain a current CPR certificate to be renewed either every year or based on the date indicated on the card. Group First Aid/CPR training sessions will be conducted by First Circle on a yearly basis; employees needing certification or recertification are expected to attend. First Circle pays for 100% of employee First Aid/CPR and compensates employees for their time at their hourly rate of pay. If current employees do not attend the provided, scheduled First Aid/CPR training, they are responsible for arranging and financing alternate training within 30 days.
If an employee begins employment at First Circle before the annual First Aid/CPR training session and can’t provide current certification, we may ask that they arrange for certification on their own. First Circle will reimburse the employee for the cost of the First Aid/CPR training session and compensate the employee for their time if the training has been pre-approved.