Exploring Roles in the Early Childhood Education Community: Local and State Levels

Exploring Roles in the Early Childhood Community: Local and State Levels

After looking online for three local or state communities of practice or organizations I have chosen three that were appealing.  The first organization is Virginia Cross-Sector Professional Development Team  at www.vcpd.net.  I chose this organization due to their mission to promote coordination in professional development for programs working with young children in Virginia.  The mission is to also evaluate professional development through implementation development and planning.  The program looks at characteristic in early childhood such as fair wages for high standards of credentials and licensure.  Providing access early childhood educators to gain understanding of what they do in the area of development and knowledge that supports using practices based on evidence ("Virginia Cross-Sector Professional Development Team", 2013). It is important to help new and seasoned teachers understand the importance of what they do including the importance of continued education. 

The second organization I chose was Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education at www.vaece.org.  This organization seeks to support programs or groups working with young children in Virginia.  The program works to promote professional development to support the growth of educators through resources and ways to improve the quality of education for children.  The program also advocates for decisions in public policies to and get information out that support children and families ("Virginia Association For Early Childhood Education", n.d.). I chose this organization because they work to promote the need for early childhood educators to seek professional development in order to increase quality in their programs.

The last program I selected was Tidewater Association for Early Childhood Education at www.taece.org.  This is a local organization that works to get early childhood professionals on the goal of providing development that is ideal for children living in the Tidewater area.  The program also provides training to early childhood educators to support improvements in quality care ("Tidewater Association For Early Childhood Education", n.d.).  I selected this program because it is local and works to provide information to early childhood educators on the need for continued professionals development in order to ensure high quality and standards of practice in the field.  I can use all of these programs to share information with teachers in my child care program.

After learning about some communities of practice and organizations that support the need for professional development I browsed the internet for job positions available to early childhood professionals that support what I would like to do in the field.  I selected a position that is no longer available on line for an adjunct professor at Norfolk State University ("Indeed Job Search", n.d.). I chose to complete my master’s degree in adult education and training so that I could teach adults interested in working in the field of early childhood education.  I quickly realized that I must continue to work on my professional development by striving for my PhD in education.  I have not yet found any positions available for someone with a master’s degree, but I will keep looking.

I also found a positon for a child care licensing specialists.  After reading over the minimum qualifications, I learned that I am qualified for this position by having my bachelor’s degree in child development.  I have had the required minimum of working for two years as an administrator ("Indeed Job Search", n.d.).  I currently work as a trainers of adults and one of the duties of this job is to provide trainings for technical assistance for providers of child care.  I would also have to travel by completing on-site visits.  This would be very similar to what I am doing now minus the traveling.

The last position I would like to apply to is similar to my time as a teacher working for the public school.  The job is early head start home based family consultant.  This positions minimum requirement is to have a bachelor’s degree with a preference for a master’s degree ("Indeed Job Search", n.d.).  I have to have skills in home visits for a minimum of a year.  This is something that I used to do when I worked for a program called Bright Beginnings.  We were required to complete one home visit a year.  This position is appealing because I would get to work with families by providing playgroups for their children and parent education.  I need to continue to work on becoming bilingual as a form of professional development to meet the needs of child and families I may come in contact with. 

  

References

Indeed job search. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.indeed.com

Tidewater association for early childhood education. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.taece.org

Virginia association for early childhood education. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.vaec.org

Virginia cross-sector professional development team. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.vcpd.net