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

The first organization I choose was the National Association of Child Care Professionals (NACCP).  I choose this group because as a director I am always looking for ways to build up the skills of my employees who are devoted to early child care and education.  This organization's goal is to improve, enhance and strengthen the credibility of the people who lead the child care industry by providing membership services and benefits.  They also provide on-line training that you can have staff sign up for and continue the process of professional development.  I firmly believe the better trained the staff is the better environment for the children and families you serve. 

The second organization I choose was the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).  I like this because you can come here and get connected with other providers in the family child care field. 

The last organization is the United Way it envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives.  The United way set up the following goals in 2008. 

United Way initiated a 10-year program designed to achieve the following goals by 2018:

• Improve education, and cut the number of high school dropouts — 1.2 million students, every year — in half.
• Help people achieve financial stability, and get 1.9 million working families — half the number of lower-income families who are financially unstable — on the road to economic independence.
• Promote healthy lives, and increase by one-third the number of youth and adults who are healthy and avoid risky behaviors.

They had a variety of employment opportunities worldwide that they were looking to fill. 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and they learn how to do it better through interacting with one another (Wenger 1998).  Below are the three communities of practice that appealed to me and will be beneficial in my career path. 

New Jersey School Age-Care Coalition: http://www.njsacc.org/.

I choose this particular website because it was suitable for my occupation that I am currently doing.  This website was able to aid me with various activities, staff trainings, and the latest updates for the After School Programs. There were currently no job opportunities at this time but After School Programs do post-employment opportunities on this site. 

My second choice is the National Association for the Education of Young Children: http://www.naeyc.org/

This website is the leading association for those working with and on behalf of children from birth through age 8.  It offers various staff trainings, and resources which will benefit families and educators. 

It is currently looking for a Conference Program Coordinator NAEYC to assist with the Institute Conference a citywide Annual Conference.  Responsibilities include coordinating the proposal review process; updating/maintaining the proposal/presenter/scheduling databases; preparing presenter, session, and scheduling reports and correspondence; updating the Conference websites; and managing the Conference meeting room inventory. BA/BS required.

Lastly, I choose this website http://www.njcdb.org/  because I found it interesting because in our last class we talked about children with disabilities.  This website helps with ways to provide a high quality education with natural environments for children who are deaf or blind.   There were currently no jobs opportunities on this site. 

Wenger, E, 1998. Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.