National Organizations

When looking for national organizations I wanted to look beyond the most popular and see what was out there outside NAEYC and CDA. I have come to realize that there are many organizations and I will continue to search for the ones I want to become a member of based on their mission statement and vision.

The first organization that sparked my interest was nea- National Education Association. “Our mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.” This association is dedicated to quality and chimes in with Obama’s plan that a child’s education should not be based on a parents or guardians pay check, All children deserve quality care.  This organization has a code of ethics and many publications. What I liked best about this organization is that its members range from early childhood teachers to higher Ed teacher resources; therefore, it has resources for the different jobs in the career field to include my ultimate goal of a higher ED teacher. There are numerous resources, as well as education based press releases. Additionally, NEA has local affiliates, and under specific tabs resources available from issues and actions, tools and ideas, and grants and events. This association will be very useful to educators. NEA has various useful publications see below:

 Our Publications

	NEA Today Magazine The Association's flagship publication with a circulation of 2.7 million, explores today's toughest teaching challenges—and solutions. It's an important resource that NEA members look forward to receiving 4 times a year--Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
	NEA Today for NEA-Retired Members NEA Today for NEA—Retired Members is a quarterly publication featuring a blend of articles from the Association’s flagship publication, NEA Today, and news and feature stories that are specifically targeted toward retired educators.
	This Active Life This Active Life is a bimonthly magazine for NEA-Retired members. It spotlights retirees and their passions, highlights upcoming events, and raises issues of particular interest to retired members, such as travel, health, Social Security, and more.
	Tomorrow's Teachers Tomorrow's Teachers is an annual magazine for NEA student members. It offers a wealth of resources to those new to the teaching profession. Each issue offers help with job searches, provides classroom tips for surviving the first year in the classroom, recommends strategies for parental and community outreach, and much more.
	Higher Education Advocate Published six times per year in newsletter format. It highlights trends, legislation, resource material, and local, state, and national news in post-secondary education.
	Thought & Action NEA's higher educational journal is designed to provide faculty, staff, and students an enlightened balance between theory and practice on issues in higher education. Regular sections of the journal include commentaries, current book reviews, and letters to the editor. It is published once a year.
	As you can see there is something for everybody.

A job posting they shared here in Florida is at the affiliate level :

Florida Education Association

JOB TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (BROWARD TEACHERS UNION)

Location: Tamarack, FL
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Closing Date: Open Until Filled

I am not interested in this type of job, I believe if I were I have the education I would just need knowledge of the Broward Teachers union. 

PALM BEACH COUNTY CLASSROOM TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

JOB TITLE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Location:    Palm Beach, FL
Salary:        Salary and fringe benefits are based upon experience.
Closing Date:  April 17, 2015

I meet most of the qualification to obtain this position including but not limited to education and experience in a leader position;however, I do not have experience in a public school setting and being a union support job for teachers I need to know what is going on in the public schools.

There were no vacancies at the Federal level. 

The Second organization I chose was National Child Care Association(NCCA). "THE MISSION OF NATIONAL CHILD CARE ASSOCIATION IS TO PROMOTE THE GROWTH AND SAFEGUARD THE INTEREST OF QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION FOCUSING ON LICENSED, PRIVATE PROVIDERS OF THESE SERVICES".

This association seems beneficial to me because it focus on private providers of early childhood care and I am employed by one of these private organizations, Bright Horizons.  Their website provides tabs that include lobbying and the latest ECE news. A membership in this organization would help keep me up to date on current events in early childhood.

At the end of their home page the following is stated which makes me want to become a member.

Every day more regulations and legislation threatens our ability to provide quality early care and education services to children of working parents and to those parents seeking developmentally appropriate and safe experiences for their children. The National Child Care Association is the only voice you have to insure regulations and legislation are put forward for the benefits of children and their parents that preserves the current mixed delivery system of providers. This includes the quality, licensed, center based members of NCCA. We are your only voice.
I couldn't locate any career opportunities;however, the site provides many ways to get involved such as lobbying. 

National Association if Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), “Our purpose is to promote the professional growth of our membership, to discuss educational issues that are specific to our membership, and to advocate for improvements in early childhood teacher education.” This association is aimed for teachers who teach early childhood educators. I want to teach early childhood educators; therefore, this is the perfect to educate myself and get support in my career development.
There are job announcements that professionals pay to make postings and every job but one is a job I would consider because they are higher level learning jobs. I meet the qualifications for all but one after completing my Masters. Sadly they are out of date and in another state and I am not willing to make a move at this juncture in my life. 

 I continue to look for jobs almost daily that will utilize my skill set as well as fulfil my desire to coach early childhood teachers. A Masters degree opens the door for many job opportunities, but sadly I am beginning to see that it is also about who you know. I need to get myself out more in the early childhood community to get to know people and show them personally my passion.

I have found some jobs that seem more like management positions not necessarily a job to teach early childhood  professionals. I guess any job that is managing professionals have the potential to lead to some coaching; however many seemed like desk jobs, writing grants and  such. Any suggestions out there?

I have applied for numerous Adjunct jobs throughout the various higher learning institutes in or close to my community. Most of those positions are always open as they need adjuncts various times and they want the picking pool wide and deep. I have not yet received a call.

References

http://www.nea.org/home/18163.htm

http://www.nccanet.org/

http://www.naecte.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=31

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This assignment was very helpful since I am new to this community. It has opened my eyes to the early childhood community, now to get involved.

Palm Beach County Early Childhood Registry: This registry is of professional nature and certifies trainers based on education and background. When becoming a member of this registry it opens the door for a quality training called Train the Trainer that provides a certification to teach /train in my county. Training in this type of environment will prepare me and give me experience in teaching adults. I believe this is an excellent next step to network and become known to the leaders of adult early childhood education.  They do have job postings on their sites, but all are novice positions that I have held in the past, I am looking for advancement and a professional challenge.” You will be a member of a respected cadre of Registry approved training professionals delivering quality assured, outcomes driven training to the early childhood workforce. As a Registry approved trainer, you may be eligible to offer training to practitioners who can access SEEK scholarships to attend your training events.” (Palm Beach County Early Childhood Registry, 2015) There is also a calendar of trainings that I can utilize to meet my training requirements each year.

Institute of Excellence in Early Care & Education:  I would like to work for, the institute, which is supported by the local state college.  A college instructor I observed and interviewed last class told me she started out with the institute and then got a job offer from Palm Beach State College. She recommended I aim to work for the institute and train at local NAEYC conferences to get my feet wet.  They have a continuous job announcement, but I believe that I am not getting a call because I have not taken the train the trainer classes. “The mission of the Institute of Excellence in Early Care and Education is to provide the child care workforce of Palm Beach County with a comprehensive approach to career development in the field of early childhood education” (Palm Beach State College, 2015)

The Early Learning Coalition is the organization that supports the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten  program that children aged four by September 1 can participate in for three hours a day for the entire school year prior to a child’s Kindergarten year. They set the standards and regulate programs that are having received the VPK certification.  This organization supports the quality of preschool education.  Their mission is “Building community-wide commitment for comprehensive, high-quality early learning environments that benefits the children and families of Palm Beach County” ( Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach Count, 2015). The coalition is important in early childhood in my county and the more I know about it the better. They have a monthly newsletter that will be very informative to what is going on in my community. The coalition has job opportunities however, it is more clerical type work that I am not interested in.

The community of supporters of the coalition are:

“We are proud to work with our government, education and nonprofit partners in ensuring Palm Beach County’s children have access to high-quality early learning and educational services. These are our community partners”:

-The Florida Office of Early Learning

-The Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County

-The Children’s Forum

-Palm Beach State College

-Seek Scholarships:

-Professional Development System:

-Family Central Inc.

-Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County

-Florida Department of Children and Families

-Lutheran Services

 All of these partners work together and are committed to bettering early childhood in my community; therefore I will research  all of them and sign up for their newsletter to say abreast of early childhood actions, events, and more in my surrounding areas. I believe that after graduating I will have more time to volunteer and get my feet wet in the early childhood community of West Palm Beach.

References

Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach Count. (2015, March 12). Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County. Retrieved from About Us: http://www.elcpalmbeach.org/about

Palm Beach County Early Childhood Registry. (2015, March 11). Palm Beach County Early Childhood Registry. Retrieved from Palm Beach County Early Childhood Registry: https://www.pbcregistry.org/index.php/trainers/benefits-of-being-a-member

Palm Beach State College. (2015, March 12). Institute of Excellence in Early Care & Education. Retrieved from Palm Beach State College: https://www.palmbeachstate.edu/ieece/

President Obama on Early Childhood Education

President Obama Speaks at the Early Education Summit