Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

1.       Association for Childhood Education International  http://acei.org/

ACEI is a global community of educators and advocates who unite knowledge, experience, and perspectives in order to exchange information, explore innovation and advocate for children. Our mission is to promote innovative solutions to education challenges and inspire action that creates positive, sustainable futures for children and youth worldwide. Every child in every nation will have access to a quality education. This education will prepare children to become responsible and engaged citizens, ready for life in a changing world.

ACEI's Country Liaison program encourages the development of a network of ACEI volunteer liaisons from various nations around the world. The purpose of this network is to gather information about childhood education practices and policies in various nations, share this information with members and supporters, provide information to support the development of association programs, and promote international and intercultural understanding.

I think it would be very interesting to be a volunteer liaison to report and discuss the different happenings around the world in regards to global education! According to the website there is no formal volunteer application but anyone working to educate, protect and nurture young children in their communities are welcome to share their stories.

2.       Children  International https://www.children.org/

The goal of Children International is to end poverty. Like the world-changers who support our organization, we are focused on making a long-term impact by helping kids living in poverty. We have a bold vision: graduating healthy, educated, empowered and employed young adults from our program so they can achieve the goal of breaking the cycle of poverty.

This organization is one that is near and dear to my heart. My family sponsors a child through Children International. It was actually one of my Christmas presents a few years ago. We get updates on our child that talks about what he is doing as he is growing up. We also get to know what specific gift he got for his birthday or Christmas based on the money we are donating.  In a world where “we” have it all, I think it is good to give back. I really don’t need anything in life, I am fortunate and I know that, so why shouldn’t my gift be to help someone who is less fortunate.

3.       UNICEF- Be K.I.N.D.

This is another organization that is near and dear to my heart. This particular sector of UNICEF simply gives children desks in Malawi, Africa. Every day, millions of children throughout Africa struggle to learn while sitting on the floor or on the ground outdoors. Giving them a desk, where they can write and concentrate, is the first step towards creating an educational system that attracts, and keeps, eager young students.

Again, like Children International, this has been a Christmas present of mine and one that I give to friends/family. Talk about supporting education….if you don’t even have a desk to do work, how is that going to help your educational journey.

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

1.       T.E.A.C.H Early Childhood National Center http://teachecnationalcenter.org/

 Established in 1990 as evidence was mounting that teachers were leaving the field in droves, looking for better paying jobs. It was becoming increasingly difficult to attract teachers with college degrees. On average, child care teachers made little more than minimum wage. Few had any degrees beyond high school. The child care centers that employed these teachers did not provide compensatory time or dollars for continuing education.  The goal of this organization is to make education, compensation and retention of the early childhood workforce a priority for our nation.

Two programs that this organization is known for are:

-          T.E.A.C.H Early Childhood strategy creates access to higher education for the low-income work force. It provides scholarships for coursework and credentials.

-          Child Care Wages Project provides education based salary supplements to low-paid teachers, directors and child care providers. This is to help stem turnover and equalize the playing field by reaching the diversity of the field.

There was A LOT of information on this website and it was honestly a little overwhelming to try to sift through it all. I am a big supporter of making sure ECE are paid more appropriately and given the opportunity to further their education. This organization seems like they are leading the way when it comes to wanting ECE to be recognized and supported for their work. 

Since T.E.A.C.H is a program that needs to be "adopted" by a center/organization I do not know if I would be able to work for T.E.A.C.H. There is an advisory committee that could be something to look into, but again, you need to be implementing the T.E.A.C.H program.

2.       National Childcare Association  https://ncc.site-ym.com/

-          NCCA supports policies that are beneficial to children

-          School Choice

-          Equal Participation with regard to funding for all providers of Early Care and Education Birth through 5

-          Regulations should be equitable, across the board, for all providers, public or private

Looking over their website I see that NCCA is trying to make a difference when it comes to state and federal regulations that make sense. As I had stated in my previous post, I am a big supporter of legislation and regulations that work. Too many times the people making decisions for ECE don’t actually have to implement the legislation and regulations they have created and we as ECE don’t understand why they have implemented these new regulations. NCCA appears to be at the forefront of supporting ECE in their quest for making sure what we are being told we need to be doing makes sense. 

The website had a link to their Lobbying Team, however it did not send me to a direct link for them, I think it was a national lobbying link. There were no other job opportunities listed that I could find. 

3.       National Association for Early Learning Leaders  http://www.earlylearningleaders.org/

The Association for Early Learning Leaders is a nonprofit organization that has been serving directors, owners and administrators of early care and education programs since 1984. Their mission is committed to excellence in the field of Early Care and Education by promoting leadership development and enhancing program quality. Their goal is to strengthen the knowledge, skills and abilities of directors, owners, emerging leaders and other early learning professionals to ensure quality programs for young children.

Today, the Association of Early Learning Leaders is considered one of the top associations serving administrators in the early care and education field. Since 1984, it has provided professional development opportunities for thousands of early learning administrators including the How Successful Directors Lead National Conference, the Fall Leadership Symposium and the Owners Only Executive Institute. Program excellence is promoted through the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs with over 1,400 programs participating including over 1000 accredited programs in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

We are in this Masters’ Program to better ourselves in the field of ECE. I personally want to become a leader in this field. As I move forward and potentially become a leader, looking into this organization is something I need to remember.