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

A national Community of Practice that appealed to me was Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. Zero to Three is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals, and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development. Their mission states, “Our mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life” (Zero to Three, 2015). This Community of Practice has always been appealing to me because they provide a lot of resources for early childhood professionals, as well as families. I often look to them for additional resources for the trainings I conduct and I also recommend them to other early childhood professionals. I especially like how Zero to Three does a lot of advocacy work and research briefs around issues regarding to the field.

The Office of Head Start is another Community of Practice that appeals to me. This federally funded organization promotes the school readiness of young children from low-income families through local agencies. They promote the mental, social, and emotional development of children from birth to age five (Head Start, n.d.). I have always appreciated the work Head Start does and how they encourage families to take an active role in their child’s development. They recognize that parents are their child’s first and most important teacher so the programs build relationships with families that support positive parent-child relationships, family well-being, and connections to peers and community (Head Start, n.d.).

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is probably one of the most recognized Community of Practice in the early childhood field. It is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age eight. Their mission states, “NAEYC promotes high-quality learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children” (NAEYC, n.d.). NAEYC is my go-to resource when I need information on early childhood policies, as well as their position statements (I use them ALL of the time).

As I looked through the job opportunities on Head Start’s website, a job positing that piqued my interest was for an Infant/Early Childhood Ed. Program Manager. This position entails planning, developing, and providing training and technical assistance in implementing developmentally appropriate practices and early childhood services in Head Start, ECEAP, and Early Head Start (Head Start, n.d.). This position is of particular interest to me because my passion lies with training and professional/program development. The qualifications for this position include:

• Bachelor’s degree in child development or early childhood education; Master’s degree and/or teacher’s certificate preferred.
• Experience with staff development training and/or Child Development Associate (CDA) process.
• Experience working with low-income families, diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds.
• Two year’s supervisor experiences in early childhood education; Head Start experience preferred.
• One year’s experience working with infants, toddlers and pregnant mothers preferred.
• Experience working on a management team preferred.

Another job opportunity I found was on NAEYC’s website. They have a position available for a Director, Quality Improvement and Program Support. This would be an idea position for me because this is the work that I love to do. This position entails leading the program support efforts related to NAEYC Accreditation Programs for Young Children. The Director is responsible for managing the quality improvement and program support components of accreditation with attention to program recruitment and retention, high quality customer support, training, and technical assistance (NAEYC, n.d.). It is too bad that this position is only available in Washington D.C., not Washington State because I would apply for it immediately! The qualifications for this positon include:

• Strong knowledge of early childhood education content, current issues, and professional development needs and strategies.
• Extensive instruction experience and ability to deliver content through a variety of channels including training, technical assistance, coaching, peer to peer communities, and multimedia resources.
• Ability to positively influence, motivate, and engage staff and other stakeholders.
• Strong experience in program implementation support.
• Minimum 3 years supervisor experience leading staff, contractors, and/or volunteers.
• Demonstrate capacity to recruit, onboard, support, and evaluate staff.
• Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree a plus.

References

Head Start. (n.d.). An office of the administration for children and families early childhood learning & knowledge center. About us. Retrieved from http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about

NAEYC. (n.d.). National association for the education of young children. About NAEYC.  Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc

Zero to Three. (2015). National center for infants, toddlers, and families. About us. Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/