Below are a few national and/or federal organizations/communities of practice that sparked my interested are below.
NAECTE- This is an organization from across the US to around the globe. It is a group of people who come together with the same single passion, they are all early childhood teachers and educators. I have never heard of this organization, but I am so glad that I stumbled upon it this week for this assignment. They provide conferences, journal articles, quarterly publications, ideas on grants, job announcements, and a community of likeminded individuals to grow and learn from. This is something that you have to pay for to join, but the cost seemed worth what you get from it. More information can be found here: https://naecte.org
U.S. Department's Early Learning Web Site- This is a sub-group of the US Department of Educations main page. This page is dedicated to early learning and providing information and resources that would be helpful in the field. I also was able to subscribe to a newsletter that provides information and updates right to your inbox that are relevant to new information and changes. On the website itself, they offer many different videos and articles with helpful information. This is a free organization/ resource and I am so glad that I found out about it as I think it will be helpful to receive weekly updates to my email on relevant topics. More information can be found here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/earlylearning/index.html
Association of Early Learning Leaders- Their goal is to strengthen the knowledge, skills, and abilities of early care directors, owners, emerging leaders, and other early learning professionals to ensure quality child care programs for young children. This organization was exciting to stumble upon because I often feel like there isn't a whole lot of support specifically in place for early childhood administrators. There are many resources specifically for teachers in the field, and then organizations for K-12 administrators, but I haven't found much specifically for us leading this THIS field. More info can be found here: https://www.earlylearningleaders.org/
In my searching, I found a landing page for a local university, that provides a ton of organizations that provide relevant support and resources for early childhood educators/administrators. I am going to share that landing page below, because I think it might be valuable for many other peers in this course and in the field: https://guides.emich.edu/early/orgs
Job opportunities that interest me on the federal/national level. Though I didn't find any specifically, I think it would be awesome some day to sit on a board or in a role that works with the US Department of Education. I want to be able to be a part of the bigger picture that sets the expectations of early childhood from the national level. I want to be a voice advocating for the change that we need to see as a country in early childhood, because we need people who have been hands on in the field who really know where the disconnect is, and have the early childhood background and experience to know how to do it right and with DAP in mind. This is a lofty goal, but what an incredible position this would be for me down the road.
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your Blog about the Association of Early Learning Leaders. It sounds interesting. I like the fact they help people to achieve their goals in leadership. If you were in a leadership position, how would you use this resource in the field of studies you work with?
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for the new information gained from reading your blog. To learn about the grant opportunities in support of hard work and contribution to our field by practitioners of the field was insightful. I am thankful because it is rare for me to see support like this for teachers, I normally see teacher support in many other various ways. Thank you for sharing NAECTE.
LaDedria
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing information about the organization NAECTE. I like that this organization is collection of people that share a similar passion. This would be something that I would be interested in joining. I live that the organization provides a variety of resources and opportunities for childcare professionals. I would like to the opportunity to learn from my fellow colleagues.
The link you shared is wonderful. There are a lot of organization in there that are helpful to me. I love that you would like to be a part of the "BIGGER PICTURE" and help set the standards for early childhood in the future. I am burnt out right now. I can't think of anything I would like to learn about or do. I am just trying to make it through this last class, help my childcare center stay at a 5-star rating and see all the first milestones my ten month all is mastering. You inspire me to find my spark again.
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