The National Community: Organizations and Employment Opportunities

The following national organizations represent my professional interests and aspirations.



www.childrenandnature.org

The Children & Nature Network's mission is to support children's growth and development through a connection with the earth.  As a resource, the Children & Nature Network provides information for families, educators, and community leaders in the form of publications, research, news. programming, and more. 





http://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Kids-and-Nature.aspx


Similarly, the National Wildlife Federation champions active, outdoor lifestyles that respect and restore natural habitats.  NWF is another source of information for families, children, educators, and program administrators.  Their website offers resources such as lesson plans and curriculum, activities around growing a schoolyard habitat or garden, webinar series for educators, and links to movements such as the Be Out There campaign and the Great American Backyard Campout annual event.   There are publications for adults and children, funding opportunities, service learning projects, and news and guidance from a national perspective. 

These national organizations support my philosophies around the importance of play in nature in early childhood.  There are no jobs listed with the organizations at this time, however, there are opportunities to join the work they are doing by participating in initiatives to increase children's access to nature in my own community.  This is a goal I will be incorporating into the response I create for my capstone challenge!  The skills and experience I will need to incorporate the missions of these organizations into my work include an understanding of the role nature plays in child development, the negative impact a lack of nature has on growth and learning, an ability to design indoor and outdoor environments that provide access to natural elements and nature-based experiences, and an understanding and respect for the need for open-ended loose-part materials, the ability to get dirty and wet, and the lengths of time required for children to reap the benefits of play in nature.  I will also need to utilize skills around communication and partnerships with parents and other early childhood professionals as I act as an advocate on behalf of children and the importance of this kind of play.

http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning is a national organization that demonstrates and supports my interests in supporting the social and emotional development of young children.  CSEFEL provides me with research resources, publications, and training curriculum that allows me to gain skills and knowledge around social/emotional development and share what I learn with others.  CSEFEL is important to my philosophies because understanding social/emotional development is key while implementing curriculum and building programming around healthy and successful adult/child interactions and experiences. 

I cannot locate any open positions at the national level with CSEFEL at this time.  However, I see that positions within CSEFEL include Key Investigator at the Department of Education, Vanderbilt University, and Project Coordinators at both Vanderbilt University and University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana.  Work at the national level does not interest me as much as work that directly impacts children, families, and professionals in my own community.  I am much more interested in participating in CSEFEL work by facilitating and instructing trainings in my area.  I have done both several times over the past few years and have found that this work requires strong skills in teaching adults and facilitating group discussions, an understanding of both typical and more challenging social and emotional behaviors in infants and toddlers, knowledge of national and state resources as well as local services that support the social/emotional development of young children, and a keen awareness of current research and best practice.

My Communities of Practice

I live in a rural area where our early childhood population is underserved.  We have no association, no MiAEYC chapter, no local resource and referral office.  Many of the organizations who do support young children and their families are regional entities that "cover" our counties from distant urban offices.

However, I am pleased to say that I am very active in the organizations and communities of practice that do exist.  And when I say active, I mean active!

One organization that has appealed to me and has also welcomed me in to join their work is our local Education Services District (ESD, ISD in many communities).  Michigan's tuition-free preschool, Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is coordinated in our three counties by the ESD.  There is one full time supervisor, and two part time Early Childhood Specialists.  I am one of those specialists, and on a contract basis. 

Note- this is very little staff to support three counties worth of preschool classrooms!

I have chosen the ESD as an organization that I am interested in working with because they are our only somewhat central source of resources and support, professional development, and leadership.  Their services often only extend to the classrooms they oversee, but it is better than nothing.  The contract work I am doing is the only work I am interested in at the ESD, but it helps connect me to what teaching teams are doing and what they need.

The other Community of Practice in our community is our Great Start Collaborative, a systems-building entity that helps set common goals across organizations who serve families with young children.  I have been a member since its inception around 2008.  This COP appeals to me because it is the one place that brings us all together under one umbrella and allows for incredibly effective personal connections to be made.  Amazing work has happened at the collaborative level and I am pleased to serve a key role.

I have to stretch to include a third CoP in order to meet the requirements of this blog assignment.  The sad fact is- that's about all we've got in the early childhood field in my area.  The third I might mentions is the Great Start to Quality Western Resource Center, serving our counties as part of a nine-county region.  Unfortunately, however, the Resource Center is one of those entities that fails to reach rural communities in authentic ways.  The main office is 90 miles away in a much more urban area where those resources are concentrated and more applicable to their own demographics.  While I would say I technically do participate in the CoP at the Resource Center, it is not an effective CoP for making things happen here at home.  I am involved in an exciting (brand new!) project that will replace the Resource Center as our *only* hope for resources and quality consultation.

I am interested in contract coaching and consultation at this time.  I am only looking for those types of opportunities because (sadly) of the lack of child care options for my very own children!  We do not have available quality child care and transportation that would meet our needs as a family if I were to work full time.

However, if I were to, say, direct a child care center- that wouldn't be an issue anymore, would it?

The only career opportunities that exist at this time for early childhood professionals in my area are home child care, center child care (one lead teacher opening at each of two centers), preschool teachers or aids (no openings at this time), early childhood special education services, contractual coaching and consultation (doing it!), and the Early Childhood Supervisor position at the ESD.  As opportunity arises to open a new child care center in town, I LEAP at the opportunity to build the project and direct the center.

Skills in program management, business administration, grant writing and administration, child caregiving, leadership, instruction and interactions, coaching, curriculum development, facilities maintenance, staff coordination, etc. would apply to all of these jobs in differing amounts.  I have filled most of these roles before and am truly gaining some key skills in the next couple of weeks in order to be best qualified to lead a new center.

Best Wishes....

...in your continued learning journey!