For our blog assignment
this week we have been asked to explore at least three agencies, organizations
and or community of practices that appeal to me. First off I believe being involved in a
variety of organizations that support the line of work I do can only help to
make my job more fulfilling. I love what
I do each day and I guess that is why I have been investing in it for the last
18 years and see myself committed for years to come. Though at this time I am not looking for a
new job title I do like to keep up to date on what is available to help me to
grow professionally and to keep up to date on the early childhood field. I also am a firm believer that anyone who
works with children should continuously keep themselves up to date on what is
happening in the field as well as the changes that we must embrace in order to
continuously offer all children what they need to be successful. Being involved and committed to outside
organizations, agencies and communities not only will help to strengthen my
works in the field but also offers me a support team that I can turn to when I
have questions thoughts and ideas.
Family childcare is near
and dear to my heart as it is what I have done for the last 18.5 years. I believe in taking a stand for family
childcare, therefore, the first organization that I like being a part of and
will continue to belong to for years to come is a local family childcare
organization (PFCEEA). As we roll into
the new year of 2016, we have had a changeover in our board and I have recently
given up the position of Vice President and membership chair and have become
the President. Though I am nervous as
this has been a big jump for me, I look forward to the growth and challenges
that I will face. One of the biggest
things that our association currently focuses on is offering early childhood
training once a month for those that work in the field.
The second organization
that I would have interest in would be a state level family childcare association. Though I am currently a member of the VAFCCA,
http://www.vafcca1.net/. I am not a very
active member. I do hope in the future
that one day I may be able to become more involved in the association. The VAFCCA promotes quality childcare through
conference training, sharing of
educational resources, collaboration with our local associations, working with
the child care industry, and advocacy efforts (VAFFCA, 2013). They
currently have an application available for individuals to join their board and
the positions our on a voluntary basis.
The third organization
that appeals to me is Virginia Early Childhood Foundation http://www.smartbeginnings.org/home/about/about-the-vecf.aspx.
Virginia Early Childhood Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that children our
prepared and ready for school (Virginia Early
Childhood Foundation, 2011a).
They support and assist in the Smart Beginnings statewide collaborative initiative. The Smart Beginnings initiative believes in a
strong, healthy start for young children which requires the commitment of families, schools, child care providers, the faith
community, higher education, business, and other community assets such as
social services, libraries, and museums (Virginia
Early Childhood Foundation, 2011b). Through
Smart Beginnings early childhood facilities and family childcares can
participate in a voluntary quality rating system which shows their commitment
to quality. The program is currently
being revamped and will soon have a new name, new look and new standards that
will be met by facilities to show their commitment to quality (Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, 2011b). The Virginia
Early Childhood Foundation currently has an open
position for the Southwest Virginia for a trainer to train early care and
education providers to improve nutrition, physical activity, screen time
and breastfeeding support practices in early care programs over the next 12
month (Virginia Early Childhood Foundation,
2011a). In order to be a candidate for this position the person must
meet the following:
Trainer Qualifications
Education:
Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood
Education or related field OR 5+ years related professional experience OR Associates
+ 3 years’ experience OR CDA + 4 years’ experience
Training
Experience:
24 clock hours delivering training,
24 clock hours providing
mentoring/technical assistance/consultation
Field
Experience:
3+ years of early childhood, school-age
care or related field experience
Specialized knowledge of child
nutrition/health an advantage but not required
(Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, 2011c)
The web listing did not share the rate of pay. Though this opportunity sounds exciting and
interesting, I prefer to continue working in my family childcare home.
References
VAFFCA. (2013). The virginia alliance of family child care associations.
Retrieved from http://www.vafcca1.net/
Virginia Early
Childhood Foundation. (2011a). Positions
at the VECF. Retrieved from http://www.smartbeginnings.org/home/about/open-positions.aspx
Virginia Early
Childhood Foundation. (2011b). About
smart beginnings. Retrieved from http://www.smartbeginnings.org/home/about/about-smart-beginnings.aspx
Virginia
Early Childhood Foundation. (2011c). Trainer, early care & education
learning collaboratives project. Retrieved from http://www.smartbeginnings.org/Portals/5/PDFs/ECELC_
Trainer_Position_Description_SW_V2.pdf
Hi Randee:
ReplyDeleteI think its great that you are willing to work with other organizations and I like when you say "childcare is near and dear to your heart." that advocacy is important to you. I like the organizations that you have chosen and enjoyed reading your post. Congrats on your new position :)
Randee,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have worked as a family child care provider for the past 10 years. It is very dear to me. My passions in EC field surround the support of family child care programs. While I am an active member of my local county family child care network, however, I have not gotten involved in any of the state or national chapters of organizations like NAEYC. Thanks for sharing.
Michelle
Randee,
ReplyDeleteThe job posting that you listed sounds incredibly interesting to me. As I continue my career in education I find myself loving training my parents and other people in my organization. I just did a training last week on incorporating technologies into early head start classrooms. My passions center around really helping the families in my classroom. The organizations that you posted about seem very interesting. I really love learning about new organizations and seeing if there are some like that in my area. Wonderful post@
Chelsea
Randee,
ReplyDeleteHow did you find this assignment ? Did it stretch the possibilities of what you can do with your passion for early childhood education? That is how I felt.
You are clearly a very effective leader in our profession, with your successful family childcare services and your new role as president of the local organization.
I feel that you would succeed in any opportunity that you take on, as related to this field.
Good luck in your new role.
Zeina
Randee,
ReplyDeleteIt appears that you have your future plans already in the works! Being a a board will definitely provide you more insights to what is developing in your community. The hard part for me would be allocating enough time to do such. I agree with you with being happy where I currently am but staying abreast to other opportunities. I am planning on staying where I am for an additional 1.5 years to continue to build upon the goals that I currently have for my program. Not only do I have a commitment for my program but also to my staff. I want to leave them in a place I know that they can continue moving the program forward. The position that you posted appeals to me because I am also a child birth educator and enjoy providing knowledge about breastfeeding.
Nikki