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

One site that I looked at is called Access Quality Education. The mission of the National Access Network is to provide comprehensive, up-to-date, nation-wide information regarding efforts to promote equal educational opportunity, especially in regard to the financing of public education, and to promote meaningful educational opportunities for all children, especially those low-income and minority children currently being denied this opportunity.

I like this program because it does what I would love to do and that is to reach out to all students to help them receive equal and quality education. 

Their link led me to the NC School jobs link (http://schooljobs.dpi.state.nc.us).  Here I was able to look at potential jobs.  One job that I found of interest was a counselor job in Alamance County.  With this job you would be required to assist students with school, home, and beyond school issues.  At this time I would not qualify for this position because it requires you to have a NC Teacher’s license. 

Resources - National Education Organizations is a site that takes you to many links that you choose upon preference.  The links are all education related and have in-depth descriptions of organizations and programs that are working for the better success in schools and with teachers.  Once at this site I clicked on the link for Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.  This site opened up doors to discuss different curriculums that teachers and schools could use and how they could help students of all backgrounds become more successful learners. 

I did not find a job at this site but it did direct me to how to start a Professional Interest Community.  These communities help to develop the whole child while guiding the teacher into continuous training.  I would like to be a part of that community so that I continue to learn and reach out to my community in an effort to give the children all that I have so that they can learn with success.

National School Boards Association allows you to contact or join your local school board.  This will give you the opportunity to encourage positive changes within the state.  The board works together to ensure that the schools in their district are receiving high quality of care.  The board in Orange County, NC consists of 7 members that serve four-year terms.  The only opportunity they currently have is for a superintendent.  This isn’t a position that I would like to apply for, however, I would love to be a part of the board.  This would give me the opportunity to serve my community and try to build the foundation for equality in the classroom.

References:

Access Quality Education: National Advocacy Organizations.  Retrieved: March 29, 2013.

            www.schoolfunding.info/advocacy/adv_nationalorg.php3.

National School Boards Association.  Retrieved: March 29, 2013. www.nsba.org/. 

NC School jobs link.  Retrieved: March 29, 2013. (http://schooljobs.dpi.state.nc.us). 

Resources - National Education Organizations.  Retrieved: March 29, 2013.     www.capso.org/resources/resnatedorg.html

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Three local or state organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me are:

-NAEYC.  This is an organization that helps teachers receive resources to deal with many different aspects of teaching.  From offering assistance and training on special needs children to offering workshops on how to make your classroom run more efficiently.  This organization reaches out to teachers everywhere to make sure that teachers have a voice in their careers.

-Childcare Services of NC.  This service offers a lot of assistance the staff members at NC schools.  They offer assistance with tuition reimbursements, bonuses for staying at your school for longer than 6 months, and information on finding affordable health insurance.  This was important to me because sometimes as a teacher I feel that we are the last to be considered when changes are made.  Most people don’t think about how much a teacher is making or if she can afford the simple things in life that may be offered to others.  This program opens up doors for the teachers and allows them to have a resource that can help them expand their goals.

-Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health.  This organization reaches out to families that have children, parents, or siblings with mental health issues.  It is a resource that offers assistance in finding proper care and information that will make the home life easier.  This resource can be used for staff members at schools as well as a tool that will help students become more successful inside of the classroom.

            Job opportunities that are of interest to me would be:

-Working as a Kindergarten teacher in a public school.  In order to be able to work at this job I would have to go back to school (again) and receive my licensure from NC (Employment).  This would require me to practice inside of a classroom for a period of months while completing more class work.

-Working with Childcare Services doing Statewide Contracts (Child Care Services Association).  This position would help teachers choose curriculums that are best suited for their students and their programs.  This job would offer me the opportunity to reach out to many teachers and schools and help them choose curriculums that would help their students learn, play, and grow.  In order to receive this job I would have to be willing to travel more than what I am able to do at this time.

            I am confident that I will be able to find a job or organization that will suit my needs once I have finished my degree.  I have had the opportunity to reach out and expand my resources of contact people.  Throughout my learning process I have met and talked with many people about changes that they wanted to see in the early childhood program.  I am optimistic that I will be able to build a team of people together that would want to see quality education for all students.  This is my goal for the future.

References:

Child Care Services Association.  Retrieved: March 11, 2013.

www.childcareservices.org/.

Early Childhood - Get Connected.  Retrieved: March 11, 2013.

www.tapartnership.org › Communities of Practice › Early Childhood.

Employment - Public Schools of North Carolina.  Retrieved: March 11, 2013.

www.ncpublicschools.org/work4ncschools/employment/.

National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC.  Retrieved: March 11, 2013.  www.naeyc.org/.