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.