For our blog assignment
this week we have been asked to explore at least three national organizations
or federal agencies. With this in mind
the first organization that I would like to share would be National Association
for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
This organization promotes high quality early learning for children
birth to eight (NAEYC, n.d. a). They
have a strong membership with over 70,000 individual members and 300 regional
affiliate chapters (NAEYC, n.d. a). Their accreditation system sets high
standards for high quality care that programs must meet in order to become
accredited. When a program is accredited parents can be sure their children are
participating in a program that is of high quality. NAEYC also holds three
annual events for early childhood professionals including educators,
administrators, and advocates. They are:
·
NAEYC Annual Conference and Expo
·
National Institute for Early Childhood
Professional Development
·
NAEYC Public Policy Forum. (NAEYC, n.d.a).
Beyond these events, they play a major role in
influencing local, state, and federal legislation. Here is a link if you are interested in
becoming a member of NAEYC Membership Page.
Currently,
NAEYC has nine job positions available, none which I am interested in, but, I am
sharing the link for any that may be interested in checking out the positions
that they have to offer. https://naeyc.applicantpro.com/jobs/
. The position that I may be interested
in would be a Professional Learning Specialist.
Qualifications:
● Experience or degree in early childhood education, child development, elementary education, or developmental psychology as well as experience or degree in teacher training both in person and online.
● Minimum of 3 years of experience working in the education field either as a teacher, or in developing professional training, or professional development supports and materials.
● Excellent oral and written communication skills.
● Expertise in developmentally appropriate practice for children birth through age 8, and professional development for early childhood educators.
● Knowledgeable about trends and current research in early childhood education, teacher training, adult learning principles, instructional design, and online learning.
● High proficiency in learning and using digital software and platforms (e.g. learning management systems, webinar platforms, content authoring software, online communities, etc.) is highly desired.
● Experience or degree in early childhood education, child development, elementary education, or developmental psychology as well as experience or degree in teacher training both in person and online.
● Minimum of 3 years of experience working in the education field either as a teacher, or in developing professional training, or professional development supports and materials.
● Excellent oral and written communication skills.
● Expertise in developmentally appropriate practice for children birth through age 8, and professional development for early childhood educators.
● Knowledgeable about trends and current research in early childhood education, teacher training, adult learning principles, instructional design, and online learning.
● High proficiency in learning and using digital software and platforms (e.g. learning management systems, webinar platforms, content authoring software, online communities, etc.) is highly desired.
Salary: $55-60K,
with excellent benefits and work environment
(NAEYC, 2016 b)
The
second organization on the national level that I have chosen to share is National
Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).
I chose this organization because it focuses on family child care, which
is the field that I have been working in for the last 18.5 years. This nonprofit
organization is dedicated to promoting quality child care by strengthening the
profession of family child care (NAFCC, n.d.a). This organization represents
providers all over the United States as well as providers on United States Military
bases that are internationally located (NAFCC, n.d.a).
Like NAEYC, they have an accreditation
system, but, NAFCC is strictly for family childcare providers and accredited
family child care providers meet high standards in child care and set the
benchmark for quality (NAFCC, n.d.a). If
you are interested in learning more about their membership you may follow this
link http://www.nafcc.org/Providers-and-Advocates
They also hold an annual conference formerly known as NAFCC annual conference that
was renamed effective 2016 Family Child Care Institute. This year it is being
held in San Diego California July 6th -9th and is titled Family
Child Care Strengthens America: Red, White, and You! (NAFCC, n.d. b). I searched
all over the website and was unable to locate job postings.
The third organization that I explored
was Zero to Three which provides parents, professionals, and policyholders with
the knowledge that lets them know how to nurture early development. They place a strong emphasis on making sure
everyone knows the importance of early experiences (Zero to Three, 2014a). Their mission is to ensure that all babies
and toddlers have a strong start in life (Zero to Three, 2014a). With their missions and commitments being so
strong, I believe that it would be an awesome organization to work for.
While exploring their job opportunities
on their website I learned that they offer a multicultural and diverse working
environment and they encourage the exchange of ideas and innovation thrives (Zero
to Three, 2014b). They offer competitive
salaries, comprehensive benefit package and a pleasant wok environment (Zero to
Three, 2014b). They currently have 18
position posted that are open for applicants to apply. Out of these job the I thought that the Sr.
Subject Matter Expert – Preschool Specialist would be something I may be
interested in, however, after reading more detail I do not think I would be as
happy in this particular position as I am now in my current position of a
Family Day Home Owner/Director. If I were
to decide to apply for this position I would need to have my Masters in Early
Childhood and the following Skills and
Experience
· 10 years minimum
experience in early childhood professional development systems work · Strong knowledge of early
childhood development birth to five, with particular focus and experience with
services to preschool aged children ; ·
Strong knowledge of CLASS Pre-K observation tool and other program, teacher and
child-level assessment tools commonly used in early childhood preschool
programs · Strong knowledge
of Head Start program development, the Head Start Program Performance
Standards, Head Start Outcomes Framework, and HS technical assistance
resources; · Strong knowledge
of CCDF and Public Pre-K programming trends and regulations in states and
territories · Excellent
conceptual, written and oral skills; ·
Experience with organizing, developing and providing technical assistance
resources to a variety of audiences; ·
Ability to work with a team as well as independently; · Strong oral, written and computer
skills; · Strong
interpersonal skills; and · Ability to read,
analyze and interpret complex documents. ·
Reliable CLASS Pre-K observer preferred
Essential Qualities
· Encourages and
practices critical thinking · Is
self-reflective and empathic · Recognizes the
influence of workplace relationships on outcomes and results · Maintains a respectful and
accepting approach to others · Awareness of the
influence of the larger context on individual behavior · Collaboratively and creatively
supports the work efforts of colleagues at all levels and in all areas of the
organization (Zero to Three, 2014c). If you click on the following link you
will be able to read the full details on this position http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/careers/jobs/senior-subject-matter-expert-pre-k-specialist-nc-ecdtl.pdf If you would like to read more about other
job opportunities that Zero to Three has to offer you may find the details of the
other jobs they offer at this link http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/careers/jobs/.
References:
NAEYC.
(2016 a) About NAEYC. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc
NAEYC.
(2016b). Professional learning specialist.
Retrieved from https://naeyc.
applicantpro.com/jobs/335832.html
NAFCC.
(n.d. a). About us. Retrieved from http://www.nafcc.org/About-Us
NAFCC.
(n.d. b). Family child care institute (previously
NAFCC annual conference). Retrieved
Zero
to Three (2014a). Zero to three’s fact sheet.
Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/
about-us/zero-to-thees-fact-sheet.html
Zero
to Three. (2014b). Available jobs. http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/careers/jobs/.
Zero
to Three (2014c). Job posting.
Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/about-
us/careers/jobs/senior-subject-matter-expert-pre-k-specialist-nc-ecdtl.pdf
