Explore the MANY Perks of being an HS4KC Employee!
Tuition Reimbursement Make a Difference Excellent Insurance Flexible Fridays Staff Workgroups Mentorship Program Wellness Initiatives
23-24 School Year Employment Initiative
To welcome you to our agency, full-time new employees hired after January 1st, 2024, will receive a $500 Retention Incentive after staying on our team until the end of the 23-24 school year.
Must remain full-time status until the conclusion of the 23-24 school year. Not applicable to substitutes. Not to be paired with our 2023 sign-on initiative.
You’ll find a wide variety of reasons to work at Head Start for Kent County.
Staff Appreciation
At least twice per year, employees may be able to sell up to 40 hours of unused sick time at a double rate, thus potentially earning an additional 160 hours (1 month) of pay for the year.
As part of a comprehensive compensation plan, HS4KC tries to annually recognize returning employees to a new academic year. The award is typically 1-3% of gross pay and is paid out at in the last quarter of the calendar year.
As part of a comprehensive compensation plan, HS4KC wishes to recognize the contributions made by our employees through their years of service with our agency. As of September 2021, the payment levels are based on the following years of service increments:
- 5 years = $50.00
- 10 years = $100.00
- 15 years = $150.00
- 20 years = $200.00
- 25 years = $250.00
- 30 years = $500.00
As part of a comprehensive compensation plan, HS4KC wishes to recognize employees who have not missed any unscheduled time from their job during the year. Award levels and amounts are based on year increments:
- 1 year = $100.00
- 2 years = $200.00
- 3 years = $300.00
- 4 years = $400.00
- 5+ years = $500.00
Outstanding Benefits Package
Available after 30 days of employment
- Ability to ensure eligible family members
- $1,000 single deductible; $2,000 family deductible
- Low prescription copays
- Up to 78% Employer-paid premium
- Coverage provided through a Priority Health HMO Plan
- Ability to ensure eligible family members
- $2,500 benefit maximum per person per calendar year
- Diagnostic, preventative, and basic services covered 100%
- Up to 78% Employer-paid premium
- Coverage provided through Principal
- Ability to ensure eligible family members
- Up to 78% Employer-paid premiums
- Low monthly cost
- Coverage provided through Principal (VSP)
- All eligible employees covered by a $50,000 policy
- Ability to purchase additional life insurance up to $200,000
- Ability to purchase life insurance for spouse and children
- Coverage provided through Principal
- Employees are able to purchase insurance to cover serious illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, major organ failure, stroke, etc.
- May choose benefits up to $100,000
- Insurance may be purchased for spouses, up to $50,000
- Children automatically covered for 25% of employee benefit amount
- Coverage provided through Principal
- Employees are able to purchase insurance to cover accidents that may result in medical injuries such as burns, concussions, coma, fracture, etc.
- Payable benefits up to $15,000
- Coverage provided through Principal
- Provided at no cost to eligible full-time employees
- 66% of your base weekly wages up to $500 per week
- Benefits are payable up to 26 weeks
- Coverage provided through Principal
- Employees have the ability to put money away on a pre-tax basis to pay for incurred medical, dental, vision, and/or dependent care expense through flexible spending accounts (FSA)
- FSA’s are offered through a Section 125 (cafeteria) plan
- We offer two different types of FSA’s:
- Medical FSA
- Dependent Care FSA
- Employees contribute money via 18 payroll deductions
Premier-level Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering the following benefits to all staff:
- Counseling
- Coaching
- Online learning programs
- Smoking cessation assistance
- Legal, Financial, and ID Theft assistance
- Member website
- Resources for childcare, elder care, discounts, and more
A Healthy Workplace Culture
Our Core Values guide what we do at HS4KC and how.
- Integrity
- Competence
- Professionalism
- Humanitarianism
- Commitment
- Respectfulness
- Our work environment is one of mutual trust, respect, and dignity for every employee
- We realize that our staff are our greatest asset
- Our workplace is brimming with cross-cultural awareness, with honest and tactful communication
- As an HS4KC team member, you are encouraged to share your thoughts and feedbacks with your supervisor, and should your concerns not be handled satisfactorily, you are encouraged to approach a member of our HR department, or any other member of the HS4KC leadership team
- We want to hear from you, even if the feedback provided may be difficult to hear, and we pride ourselves in our open environment
- Should you not feel comfortable approaching someone in person, you are encouraged to reach out to them via phone or email, whichever communication method you are most comfortable with
Our staff have the opportunity to join focus groups with the goal of shaping our program delivery, policy, and approach. Staff are encouraged to sign up for the focus groups and to share their feedback and ideas. These opportunities are offered throughout the year.
Some of our focus groups include:
- Curriculum
- Safety Committee
- Time & Attendance Policy
- Professional Development
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Staff Wellness
HS4KC is invested in the holistic wellness of our staff, and our Wellness Committee meets on a regular basis to discuss the ways we can support the wellness of our staff. Some of our programs are:
- “Hold it for the Holidays”– healthy weight management program
- All Employee Wellness Event – Meeting scheduled for all staff on a Friday during late Summer/early Fall where we encourage staff to play outdoor games, exercise, and spend time with their coworkers
- “Orange Frog Workshops” – Training provided to all staff on how to choose happiness and positivity in life
- Jeans stickers – Staff are able to purchase stickers, which allow them to wear jeans once a week on a day other than Friday
- Wellness challenges – Various activities throughout the year focused on promoting healthy habits
- Financial wellness – Helping staff by providing various PD and resources
All staff are encouraged to wear casual clothing on Fridays
During the program year, all staff are scheduled to work a half day every Friday, which we believe lends itself to a great work/life balance!
- 9 – 9.5 hrs M-Th
- Position-dependent
- Breaks not included
- 4 hrs Fri
Staff employed over the summer are scheduled with four ten‑hour days and get nice three‑day summer weekends!
Our employees are eligible to collect unemployment pay during their summer break, which amounts up to $362 per week (as of September 2021)
HS4KC is dedicated to hiring the best candidate for each position, and historically employee referrals have been an opportunity to recruit highly-qualified candidates and long-lasting employees.
If one of the qualified referrals is interviewed for a position, the employee will be rewarded with movie tickets. Should that referral get hired, the employee will receive cash rewards as decided on an annual basis.
- If the agency is closed due to inclement weather, employees have the ability to work from home on that day
- Employees are expected to work 5 hours from home and would receive their full day’s pay
- Should the employee choose not to work on that day, they have the ability to utilize their PTO for that day
- Up to 13 paid holidays for full-time staff
- 10 paid holidays for 9-month staff
- 11 paid holidays for 10.5-month staff
- Staff are eligible for holiday pay immediately upon hire
Training and Support
- All new employees attend a week-long orientation in which they learn about our agency, our culture, and our expectations before they begin their work
- The orientation week consists of meetings, classroom learning, and job-shadowing, thus allowing our staff to learn from a variety of learning styles
- Depending on positions, additional onboarding plans in place which outline the onboarding plan for the first 90 days of employment
- Ongoing PD opportunities provided during the program year
- Content based on the staff feedback collected during the Performance Appraisal process
- In addition to the regularly scheduled PD activities, our staff are able to access other “on-demand” PD activities during the year
We want to encourage our staff to continue their education in order to achieve increased responsibility and growth in their careers. Our Tuition Reimbursement policy allows staff to apply for tuition assistance, and if approved, HS4KC will pay for unreimbursed tuition and book expenses as follows:
Associate Degree
- $1,000 per semester to a maximum of $2,000 per year
Bachelor Degree
- $1,500 per semester to a maximum of $3,000 per year
Master Degree
- $2,000 per semester to a maximum of $4,000 per year
- Individual new hire onboarding support for classroom staff
- Monitoring and support with classroom documentation
- Individual classroom support plans
- Classroom environmental checklists and coaching support to maintain a high quality learning environment
- Curriculum fidelity observations and coaching to ensure strong fidelity
- CLASS observations and coaching to support optimal adult-child interactions
- Formal practice-based coaching model used to help implement research-based effective teaching practices
- Fall classroom visits by Behavior Specialists to support behavior guidance and classroom resources
- Specials needs resource and referral support
All job openings are posted internally, and our staff are encouraged to apply for promotional opportunities.
We encourage staff to pay attention to any job opening announcements and to apply for any position for which they are qualified and are interested in.
Research shows that mentorship programs provide a more engaged workforce, job satisfaction, and inclusion of traditionally marginalized employees. This mentorship program is designed to work for all individuals to identify steps that they can take to pursue advancement opportunities.
This program is available to staff who identified an interested in advancement at HS4KC on their annual performance appraisal or through our Employee Portal, and who have not had significant performance counseling.
