Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community:
National/Federal Level
1. The National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a national organization that interests
me due to their focus on improving professional practice and working conditions
in early childhood education as well as efforts to achieve a high-quality
system of early childhood education. Although no employment opportunities are
available I could benefit from becoming a member to receive reduced
registration fees for NAEYC sponsored conferences and training opportunities,
voting rights in NAEYC elections to help shape the future of the early
childhood profession, and access to members only area of the website which
features exclusive digital benefits and content.
NAEYC Mission Statement is to serve and
act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with
primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and
resources.
2. Race to the top: Early Learning
Challenge (RTT-ELC) challenges states to deliver better coordination, clearer
learning standards, and meaningful education and training for early educators.
This program represents an unprecedented opportunity for states to focus on
early learning and development systems in their states and build a more unified
approach to supporting young children and their families. The overarching goal
of the Early Learning Challenge is to make sure that more children, especially
those with high needs, enter kindergarten ready to succeed. I am interested in
working with this community of practice because of the focus on building
high-quality, accountable programs that align and raise standards for existing
early learning programs, including Head Start, public pre-K, childcare, and
private preschools, as well as provide information to parents about the quality
of programs.
3. The National Education Association
(NEA) which supports Strong Start for America’s Children Act would promote
high-quality learning opportunities for children from birth the age 5. This
vital legislation would help states fund high-quality prekindergarten for
4-year olds from low-income families; encourage states to support prekindergarten
from moderate-income families; and encourage learning opportunities for even
younger children-for example, through partnerships with Early Head Start
programs. Being a part of this community of practice interests me because the
president of the NEA believes that high-quality early childhood education and
full=day kindergarten are fundamental to a student’s long term success and
shouldn’t be determined by their parent’s income….and promotes research which
shows that providing a high quality education for children before they turn 5
yields significant long-term benefits.
Towanda,
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in learning more about the Race to the Top challenge and will be looking into it more later tonight. I like the idea of it offering training for early educators but my concern is the type of training that will be offered. Will these seminars teach early educators to focus on academics or will they be helping these educators provide age appropriate lessons that incorporate play and academics?
Towanda,
ReplyDeleteYou chose good organizations. I had not thought about the National Education Association as a resource. They have a good website with a lot of information. Also Race to the Top is something I intend to look into further. Thanks for the ideas.
Your selection of Early childhood organizations reflects a commitment to high quality early childhood education and, a healthy, stable and quality start for young children irrespective of their social-economic status.I would definitely like to see myself in such Community of Practice. NAEYC is a great organization, offering a lot of professional benefits, I would also like to be a member too. Thans for sharing
ReplyDelete