Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent

About two years ago I made the decision to go back to school to pursue my Master’s, a goal that I had set as a long term goal with one of my first classes going into my Bachelor’s degree.  It has been quite a journey but I am so proud of myself.   I want to thank each of you….colleagues and professors.   Your guidance, experiences, and support have helped me along the way. 

I set out to increase my knowledge in regards to child development.  With the knowledge that I have gained I feel that I can be a better teacher and advocate.  This journey has helped me to see my areas of opportunity, I have acknowledged my biases, and I have grown personally and professionally.

I walk away from this journey with words such as…Integrity, passion, partnerships, anti-bias, commitment, growth, and inspire. 

So it is time to set another goal.  I want to be able to inspire others to realize their passion and reach for the stars.  I hope to one day be in a position in which I am training / teaching others in the field.  I think that the next week will be nice to have a break but I know that I will be looking to further my education.  I can see myself pursuing my Doctorate at some point.

Best of luck to each of you and may all your dreams and goals be reached.

“Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”

 -Sitting Bull

Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux Chief

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

SAVE THE CHILDREN

Currently hiring: Family Services Specialist, Head Start

Acts as a support to Head Start families by helping families to learn and use community resources.  Helps parents with goal setting, parent involvement and taking part in their child’s education.

Requirements

•        Associates in Social Work or a related Family / Human Services Field

•        3 years experience in position relating to Family Services

•        Strong communication and organizational skills

•        Pass criminal check including fingerprinting

With my volunteer experience I have experience in managing caseloads. I find this position interesting in that I would be assisting families with goal setting and parent involvement with their child’s education.

UNICEF

Currently hiring: Staff Counselor

UNICEFstaff members are exposed to high amounts of stress. This position will both develop and implement a stress management program on a global level for both staff and families.

Qualifications:

•        Preferred  Advanced degree in Counseling and will provide training

•        Bachelors with experience and agree to pursue advanced degree

•        Minimum 8 years experience national / international experience

Although I do not qualify for this position I find it to be very interesting.  I feel like majority of jobs in today’s economy are subject to stress and it would be extremely rewarding to help develop a program to aid in relieving some of this stress on the job.

FHI 360

Project Director, Comprehensive Center on Great Teachers and Leaders

The Project Director will oversee programmatic and management of The Center (national technical center supported by the US Department of Education under the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education).  Centers goals are to improve educational outcomes for students.

Qualifications:

•        10 – 15 years related experience

•        Master’s degree in education, public policy or administration, or social sciences

Although I do not meet any of the Specific requirements I do meet general knowledge requirements.  I feel like this would be a very interesting position in regards to improving the overall results of student performance.

Much like the job search for positions on a national level I was not qualified for many positions on an international level; however, with time and continued experience it is nice to see that my options are wide open.

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

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

·         National Institute for Early Education Research

Currently hiring a Project Coordinator

            Requirements

            BA in Social Science field such as Psychology, Sociology, or human development

            Experience in Early Childhood Research, curriculum development, and or professional

            Development

            Classroom experience is also a requirement

Although I meet several of the requirements for this opportunity I would lack a significant requirement, experience in Early Childhood research.  I think that this would be an amazing opportunity to work alongside of research professionals developing both curriculum and other professionals within the field to better help preschool programs.

·         HighScope

Currently hiring a Post-Doctoral Research Associate/Research Scientist

            Requirements

            PhD in a field related to educational psychology

            3-5 years grant writing experience

The research associate will both help in planning and implementing research and grant writing.

·         Annie E Casey Foundation

Is not currently hiring

A position that I would like seek when available is a grant writing position. The foundation’s mission is meeting the needs of at risk children and families.

They accept applications from all and look for a diverse team.

As  I searched for opportunities on a National level I feel like many required research experience. I do see myself eventually looking to seek out opportunities on a national level as I continue to advocate and strengthen the ECF.

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

·         National Institute for Early Education Research

Currently hiring a Project Coordinator

            Requirements

            BA in Social Science field such as Psychology, Sociology, or human development

            Experience in Early Childhood Research, curriculum development, and or professional

            Development

            Classroom experience is also a requirement

Although I meet several of the requirements for this opportunity I would lack a significant requirement, experience in Early Childhood research.  I think that this would be an amazing opportunity to work alongside of research professionals developing both curriculum and other professionals within the field to better help preschool programs.

·         HighScope

Currently hiring a Post-Doctoral Research Associate/Research Scientist

            Requirements

            PhD in a field related to educational psychology

            3-5 years grant writing experience

The research associate will both help in planning and implementing research and grant writing.

·         Annie E Casey Foundation

Is not currently hiring

A position that I would like seek when available is a grant writing position. The foundation’s mission is meeting the needs of at risk children and families.

They accept applications from all and look for a diverse team.

As  I searched for opportunities on a National level I feel like many required research experience. I do see myself eventually looking to seek out opportunities on a national level as I continue to advocate and strengthen the ECF.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week as I was reading each of the discussion posts I came across a few web links that interested me in regards to the topic of Quality, my area of focus for my Capstone Project.  The link had originally taken me to a website for another state that I was then able to locate similar resources that were more local for me in the State of Virginia. 

Three organizations that really appeal to me are:

United Way Smart Beginnings – This is a Community of Practice that is made up of private and public organizations, businesses, and citizens within the community that work together to make certain that children enter elementary school school ready both mentally, physically, and emotionally. The groups focus is quality for early childhood programs and the benefits that the community as a whole will profit from.

http://www.yourunitedway.org/smart-beginnings

Virginia Infant and Toddler Specialist Network

Goals for the Network include:

·         Improve the quality of care and education for both Infants and Toddlers

·         Increase the educational level and competencies of caregivers / directors

·         Increase community awareness in regards to available resources that support the overall care for Infants and Toddlers

http://www.va-itsnetwork.org/

Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children TACSEI

This is a 5 year grant made possible by the US Dept. of Education and Office of Special Education Programs.  The website provides many FREE resources and products that ECP can put to use as best practices for topics such as Challenging Behaviors, Bullying, Autism, Etc.

http://www.challengingbehavior.org/index.htm

Job Opportunities that I found that are of interest to me include:

VA Department of Social Services: Licensing Specialist

Currently there is not an open position at this time but I have several professional connections that keep in touch with me and notify me of opportunities that come available. 

Position requires Bachelor’s Degree and experience in Early Childhood programs and knowledge of VA state licensing.

VA Head Start - Infant & Toddler Specialist

Qualifications: Master’s degree from an accredited institution in infant and toddler or early childhood education, or child development, human services, social work, or related field preferred.

Experience: Knowledge of infant and toddler education and early care programs experience, significant experience preferred, or any combination of training and experience which provides the required skills, knowledge, and abilities. Demonstrated expertise in infant and toddler development, experience with child care or other early care settings.

Candidate will assist in designing and implementing trainings, evaluate, and professional development as to deliver high quality services to Infants and Toddlers

Early Childhood Development Teacher Community College

I would be interested in joining the faculty at one of the local community colleges.  I strongly believe that as professionals we can have a very positive impact on the teachers that work in the ECF as well as the quality of our programs if we start to require more education and credentials for those that are working in the classroom.

Reflecting on Communication in the Early Childhood Field

Week 8

It is amazing to me how each 8 weeks go by so quickly. Personally so much has happened.  I have changed jobs, had my third child, lost my grandmother to cancer and yet I keep on moving forward with this journey. I have learned so much from the course material and even more from each of you. I know that to really be an effective communicator one must also be an active listener.  I learned that I needed to be a better listener.  As a director and as a mother I feel that I am constantly multitasking but to really be able to listen I need to stop sometimes and really LISTEN. 

Each week we have had the opportunity to expand our knowledge in the field and enhance our learning by sharing our views and personal experiences.  I hope that I have been able to share with each of you as much as I have gained.  This course is the last of this section before we move on to our specializations.  I wish you all best success and I look forward to continuing with those of you have chosen the specialization of Teaching Adults in the Early Childhood field.

Thank you.

Week 6 Blog

Of the five stages of team development the adjourning stage is when the project is wrapping up and the members of the team begin to go in different directions (Abudi, 2010).  As I think back about projects that I was a part of and recall this part of the stages of team development I think about times that the team was a well-functioning team and times in which the team didn’t work so well together.  I would have to say it was the teams that worked well together and had high emotions involved that made it hardest to say good bye.  My greatest memory from a team that I became a part of was the preschool that I worked at in my hometown.  I had only been a part of the team for about a year.  During that year our director had left and I had become the acting director and one of our teachers also suffered a tremendous loss as she lost her first born during labor and delivery.   As I pulled the team together and kept everyone on track I had decided to interview for the Director position.  At the same time my husband had accepted a position that would end up relocating us to where we are today.  As I delivered the news to everyone in tears my team quickly began to plan my final day.  At the last staff meeting the surprised me with a final pot luck and a scrapbook.  The scrapbook was amazing it had pictures of my children, each teacher and their classroom, and well wishes from parents and teachers.  My last day there was filled with tears.  It was a wonderful bunch of ladies.

Adjourning is an essential part of teamwork as it gives closure.  As I end my journey and my pursuit to obtain my Masters I imagine that I will send out a very sincere thank you to everyone.  I think we have all learned so much from each other and our stories have inspired us all.

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html