National Organizations

NAEYC- National Association for the Education of Young Children

http://www.naeyc.org/

This organization appealed to me because it is probably the most widely known in the early childhood field. It is a great resource for early childhood professionals, teachers and families with children. "The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research" (NAEYC, n.d.). On the NAEYC website there is a link for job openings in the association. Currently, there are a few director positions that would manage programs within the organization, a couple of positions in the accounting department, and an editor position. None of those interest me at this time.

NECPA- National Early Childhood Program Accreditation

http://www.necpa.net/necpastandards.php

This organization creates standards and offers an accreditation program for early childhood programs to demonstrate high quality. "The NECPA has a heritage of supporting the profession of early care and education by encouraging the availability of high quality, affordable child care and preschool programs for children, families and communities" (NECPA, 2015). The website also has a page with resources that would be helpful to ECE professionals. I didn't see any jobs listed on the website but there is a link to apply to become a certified verifier. A member of the certified verifier team gets to visit programs going through the accreditation process to observe, document, and gather information related to the quality standards. I think that job would be so much fun. I would love to see what other quality programs are doing around the state.

The Ounce of Prevention Fund

http://www.theounce.org/who-we-are/why-investments-in-early-childhood-work?gclid=CLXr78vrjcgCFURlfgodhXgH9Q

This organization helps fund programs that work to provide quality early experiences to infants and young children, especially those living in poverty. The organization works together with other advocacy programs, they use research to help design quality programs for families and children, and they advocate for additional funding to support children and families. "Since 1982, the Ounce of Prevention Fund has persistently pursued a single goal: that all American children—particularly those born into poverty—have quality early childhood experiences in the crucial first five years of life" (Ounce of Prevention Fund, 2015). The website has a link for careers which lists many job openings ranging from teachers to web designers to research associates. I would be interested in becoming a "parent, family, and community engagement coordinator." I am currently not qualified but the job sounded challenging and interesting.  It entails working with Early/Head Start in developing, supporting, and providing training in the area of parent, family and community partnerships. 

Personal characteristics, qualities, and skills that would be necessary to work for these organizations include:

-Professionalism

-A strong understanding of the NAEYC Code of Ethics

-Leadership skills

-Organization skills

-Confidence

-Public speaking skills

-A strong background in the early childhood field

-strong skills in writing

-self-motivated

-cultural competency

References:

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). About NAEYC. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc

National Early Childhood Program Accreditation. (2015). History. Retrieved fromhttp://www.necpa.net/history.php

The Ounce of Prevention Fund. (2015). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.theounce.org/archived%20pages/about-us-archive

"Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels"

After researching local and state organizations, I found the following that I would like to share information about:

Rotary Club

"Rotary provides an opportunity to connect with others in your community—and worldwide—who share common values: united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and working to help build goodwill and peace in the world" (Roseburg Rotary Club, 2013). The Roseburg Rotary Club does annual fundraisers to benefit local children, and is very organized. By becoming involved in a rotary club it opens up a large network of people and resources. I have some friends that choose to participate in a program that rotary organizes that connects them with other members around the world. Currently they are spending a month in Sweden in the homes of Swedish Rotary members. The opportunity to learn and share knowledge with people from all over the world appeals to me.

Douglas County Early Childhood Planning Coalition (DCECPC)

The DCECPC "provides many different opportunities and resources for our parents in our community" (Metzler Media, 2012). One of the main opportunities they provide for the community is free parenting education courses. They work to teach parents about child development and provide support on some of the challenges of parenting (Metzler Media, 2012). This organization interests me because I believe that all parents want the best for their children, but sometimes they need help knowing how to handle situations and knowing what children really need.

The Oregon Community Foundation

The Oregon Community Foundation has the vision "of making sure that all Oregon children arrive at school ready to learn"(Oregon Community Foundation, 2015). Within the foundation they have multiple programs and goals they work towards focusing on quality child care, helping pay for education of early childhood professionals, and research for the early childhood field (Oregon Community Foundation, 2015). The foundation and the programs involved interest me because the topic I chose for my capstone project is school readiness, and I strongly believe that if we can help children be more prepared for school we can help them be more successful and overcome poverty in their futures.

Currently, I feel that I have my dream job. I am passionate about what I do and feel that I am very lucky to be teaching high school students about child development. I teach ECE courses to high school students, and I am the director of the on-campus child development center. I am the teen parent coordinator at the high school also. What I do is important and my students appreciate me! It is wonderful. If I were to ever think about changing jobs, I may be interested in teaching at the college level, being a home visitor or family worker, or being a parent educator. In order to be successful at any of these careers it would require a broad knowledge base of child development and education along with certain characteristics that I am listing below:

-positive communication skills
-organization skills
-collaboration skills
-leadership skills
-dependability
-cooperative
-motivational and
-personable.



References:

Metzler Media. (2012). Douglas County early childhood planning coalition. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Ou0hMeFOc

Oregon Community Foundation. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.oregoncf.org/grants-scholarships/grants/ready-to-learn

Roseburg Rotary Club. (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.roseburgrotaryclub.org/

Project Topics

This week I am starting the final course in the Walden program. I am working to decide a focus for my final project. Topics that are interesting to me and spark my passion for children include: changing demographics, access to quality childcare, school readiness, the importance of play, and the challenges of teaching diverse populations.