Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

Three national/federal organizations that appeals to me is:  The National Association for the Education of Young Children, Zero to Three, and High Scope. I chose these three because in the State of Georgia, these are well-known organizations with many valuable resources and information that will help you in the early childhood world, and also our pre-k program uses the High Scope Curriculum. I also explored the “Voices for America’s Children” website because the title caught my attention for being voice for young children. Below is a list of the organizations and what they stand for on the behalf of young children and their families.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children- http://www.naeyc.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world’s largest organization working on the behalf of young children. Their mission is to serve and act on behalf of needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources.

Zero to Three- http://www.zerotothree.org

Zero to Three is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.  Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. According to Zero to Three, early experiences will set a course for a lifelong process of discovery about ourselves and the world around us.

High Scope- http://www.highscope.org

High Scope Educational Research Foundation is an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization. High Scope’s mission is to lift lives through education. They envision a world in which all educational settings use active participatory learning so everyone has a chance to succeed in life and contribute to society.

Voices for America’s Children- http://www.voices.org

Voices for America’s Children are the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations. They lead advocacy efforts at the community, state, and federal levels to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, and their families.

Job Opportunities

The job opportunities I found interesting that fosters the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field was a Senior Technical Assistance Specialist that provides technical assistance to state and territory Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Administrators, Head Start Leaders, and their partners to support building integrated professional development systems and effective workforce initiatives. For this position, I must have a Master’s Degree in early childhood, in which I will soon obtain, expertise needed to promote coordination of high quality early childhood development services and early childhood system reform. I must be able to establish and maintain positive ongoing relationships with assigned states/territories and Regions. I also found a job opportunity for being a Program Coordinator for NAEYC. They are seeking a Program Coordinator to support the work of our early childhood program Accreditation System. I must have experience in the field of early childhood education and a sound understanding of its practice, 1-2 years clerical/administrative experience, and experience handling a high volume of calls.

References:

High Scope. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org.

Voices for America’s Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.voices.org

Zero to Three. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org

 

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

Three national/federal organizations that appeals to me is:  The National Association for the Education of Young Children, Zero to Three, and High Scope. I chose these three because in the State of Georgia, these are well-known organizations with many valuable resources and information that will help you in the early childhood world, and also our pre-k program uses the High Scope Curriculum. I also explored the “Voices for America’s Children” website because the title caught my attention for being voice for young children. Below is a list of the organizations and what they stand for on the behalf of young children and their families.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children- http://www.naeyc.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world’s largest organization working on the behalf of young children. Their mission is to serve and act on behalf of needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources.

Zero to Three- http://www.zerotothree.org

Zero to Three is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.  Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. According to Zero to Three, early experiences will set a course for a lifelong process of discovery about ourselves and the world around us.

High Scope- http://www.highscope.org

High Scope Educational Research Foundation is an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization. High Scope’s mission is to lift lives through education. They envision a world in which all educational settings use active participatory learning so everyone has a chance to succeed in life and contribute to society.

Voices for America’s Children- http://www.voices.org

Voices for America’s Children are the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations. They lead advocacy efforts at the community, state, and federal levels to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, and their families.

Job Opportunities

The job opportunities I found interesting that fosters the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field was a Senior Technical Assistance Specialist that provides technical assistance to state and territory Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Administrators, Head Start Leaders, and their partners to support building integrated professional development systems and effective workforce initiatives. For this position, I must have a Master’s Degree in early childhood, in which I will soon obtain, expertise needed to promote coordination of high quality early childhood development services and early childhood system reform. I must be able to establish and maintain positive ongoing relationships with assigned states/territories and Regions. I also found a job opportunity for being a Program Coordinator for NAEYC. They are seeking a Program Coordinator to support the work of our early childhood program Accreditation System. I must have experience in the field of early childhood education and a sound understanding of its practice, 1-2 years clerical/administrative experience, and experience handling a high volume of calls.

References:

High Scope. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org.

Voices for America’s Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.voices.org

Zero to Three. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org

 

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Three State early childhood organizations that appeals to me is:

Georgia Department of Education- http://www.doe.k12.ga.us

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) oversees public education throughout the state. It ensures that laws and regulations pertaining to education are followed and that state and federal money appropriated for education is properly allocated to local school systems. GaDOE also provides education-related information to students, parents, teachers, educational staff, government officials, and the media.

Bright from the Start:  Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning- http://decal.ga.gov

Bright from the Start is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families. Their mission delivers exemplary early care and education programs that improve the quality of early learning experiences, increase school readiness, and improve overall school performance. Their vision is to increase the number of Georgia’s children and families who have access to quality early care and learning programs. More of Georgia’s early care and learning programs will achieve and maintain higher, measurable, research-based standards.

Georgia Association on Young Children- http://www.gayconline.org

Georgia Association on Young Children has worked independently and collectively with local, state, and national organizations to move Georgia closer to meeting and improving early care and education for young children. Efforts includes support of appropriate early learning standards and assessments for young children, accreditation of child care and early education programs, professional development opportunities for those who work with young children, early detection and support of children with special needs and family support programs. Their vision is a world in which all young children have the learning opportunities they need for healthy development, supported by early childhood educators who have education, financial support, and the recognition of their community. Their mission is to encourage and support healthy development in young children by working with others (1) to increase public awareness of the importance of early childhood education (2) to improve the quality of programs for young children through learning opportunities for early childhood educators.

Job opportunities

The job opportunities I found interesting and that I have a passion to work as an early childhood educator was an Early Childhood Program Manager, Director, and Administrator. I will be responsible for day to day management of the programs. I will plan, direct, implement and evaluate a developmentally appropriate program that supports the mission, values and goals of the program. I will also develop and monitor the budget for the program. The Program Director is responsible for setting up a system to monitor day to day compliance of funded programs, assist with staff hiring, scheduling of training for the program and day to day supervision of all program delivery staff.  The education and experience I will need for these positions is a Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s degree in education or related field preferred; comprehensive understanding of pre-k-12 education; significant experience in pre-k-12 education; knowledge and experience developing and delivering professional learning; and knowledge of Georgia Performance Standards and curriculum design.

References:

Georgia Department of Education (2013). Retrieved from http://www.doe.k12.ga.us

Bright from the Start. (2013). Retrieved from http://decal.ga.gov

Georgia Association on Young Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.gayconline.org

 

 

 

Early Childhood Wordle

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Reflecting on Communication in the Early Childhood Field

To Dr. Darragh and my colleagues in the course of Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field:

I would like to thank each one of you for all the information, insights, and support we shared throughout this course. I have gained more knowledge and understanding about effective communication skills that can be used in both my professionally life in the early childhood field, as well as personally. Also, I have learned how to build great teamwork and collaboration in various situations that will be beneficial to help foster the well-being of young children and their families that I serve.

As we get ready to enter into our specialization courses, I wish you the best of luck as you continue to strive to reach your goals and visions in the early childhood field. Through my blog, I would like for us to continue to stay in touch, encourage, and support each other as we continue on this journey. Once again, thanks for all you have done to contribute to my knowledge and understanding in the Early Childhood Field.

Team Building and Collaboration, Part 1

This week in “Team Building and Collaboration”, we learned about the five stages of team development:  forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. These stages are an importance for the team to grow where they will be functioning together effectively and achieve success.

For this blog assignment, I will focus on the “adjourning” phase when the team has completed a project and is getting ready to leave each other. I believe all groups are hard to leave when you have established a good team that has worked effectively together. The group I participated in was our group of pre-k team teachers last year. Some of us have been together 16+ years and have established a close bond. Due to the budget cuts for pre-k, our group was split up because some of the pre-k teachers couldn’t afford to take a cut in pay, which forced them to resign from pre-k and move up to other grades or retire. Breaking up a team can be very stressful for all involved. At the end of last school year, during our post planning, the team had their last luncheon together where we shared tears and many memories together as we are getting ready to depart and go our separate ways in the early childhood field.

I anticipate that I will experience sadness as well as joy when I adjourn from the group of colleagues that were formed while working on my master’s degree. I will experience sadness because some of us have been together from the first course, and I hope we will continue to keep in touch as we go on our journey in the early childhood field. We have shared many stories, ideas, and insights that created closeness even thought we don’t know each other personally. The joy I will experience will be because obtaining my master’s degree will be another stepping stone I have accomplished in my careerJ.

I think adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because the group will get a chance to analyze all the ups and downs they have shared in that team, and use this information in other groups in the future to help build effective teamwork.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

For this week's blog, our assignment was to think about any disagreements, or conflicts we have experienced and share the strategies we learned that might be helpful and effective in managing and resolving conflict more productively.

I can recall an disagreement that happened my at my job concerning our Christmas pre-k party. It was time for us to have our Christmas parties, and we were making preparations to send home newsletters to the parents about what to expect concerning the parties. Some of our teachers wanted the parents to attend and some didn't. We have always had parents attend our Christmas parties, but this year some teachers had a change of mind due to us having an early release day. I was unaware of this change until a parent asked me why we wasn't having a Christmas party for the pre-k children.

Since pre-k is an important time in a child's life, I feel like parents should have every opportunity to be involved in their child's learning experience and extra curriculum activities, so I wasn't in agreement with the other co-workers about not having parent to attend the Christmas parties. Therefore, in order for me to approach the other teachers about this conflict, I had to come up with a strategy and quick.

In the text, "Real Communications", when we engage in conflict by debating the issue at hand, we exchange more ideas, reach better decisions, and foster stronger, healthier relationships (O'Hair & Weimann, 2009, p. 214). The strategy we always use is cooperative strategy, that way we can produce a solution that will benefit everyone. Also, the 3Rs are used in order to be an effective communicator in resolving the conflicts. We have to be mindful to be respectful, reciprocal, and responsive to each other differences through communication.

As educators, we have learned how to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolutions by calling team meetings to discuss certain issues we may have concerns about. This has allowed our pre-k program and staff to be successful and one big happy "family".

Reference:
O'Hair, D., & Weimann, M. (2009). Real communication. New York:  Bedford/St. Martin's.