Tuesday, March 28, 2017

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



The following three national/federal organizations or communities of practice appealed to me as I researched for this week's blog post: 

1) The Division of Early Childhood (www.dec-sped.org). "The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) promotes policies and advances evidence-based practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of young children (0-8) who have or are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities" (DEC, n.d.). I chose this organization because its mission statement reflects the passion I have for helping children with disabilities and their families find ways to access services which will help their children grow, learn and develop to their fullest potential. A second reason I chose this organization is because of the networking opportunities it establishes between Early Childhood Educators and Early Childhood Special Educators around the world. One employment opportunity which I found on their website is for an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. This position requires applicants to have a doctorate in special education (or Master's level applicants who will commit to pursuing their doctorate within 7 years of employment). A minimum of 3 years teaching experience (PK-12). Experience in inclusive and collaborative settings is preferred along with experience in Early Childhood Special Education. 

2) The Council for Exceptional Children (www.cec.sped.org). "The Council for Exceptional Children is a professional association of educators dedicated to advancing the success of children with exceptionalities" (CEC, n.d.). I chose this organization because of its focus on professional development. On their website there are links to information regarding policy and advocacy which I found to be especially helpful. There are also connections to international issues related to special education and resources for families which will help them navigate the special education field. One employment opportunity which I found on their website is for a Director of the Montana Center for Inclusive Education. This Center provides professional development opportunities, direct services to children with hearing impairments, and services for students with disabilities in regard to pre-employment transition services. Experience needed for this position includes a Master's degree in special education (or a related field) however a Doctorate is preferred, administrative experience, grant preparation experience, knowledge of state and federal laws governing services to persons with disabilities, and strong oral and written communication skills. 

3) The Children's Fund (CDF) (http://www.childrensdefense.org/). "The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities" (CDF, n.d.). I chose this organization because of their focus on children with disabilities. They are a national agency which has an impact at the state as well as the community level. One of their projects which spoke to me is their Early Childhood Developing and Learning Project. The focus of CDF's work here is to help all children gain access to quality early childhood programs through quality home visiting, Early Head Start, Head Start, quality child care, preschool and full-day kindergarten. One employment opportunity which I found through their organization is for the Executive Director-Children's Defense Fund-California. Although this role interests me, I know it will be a long time until I have the experience that it would require to be successful at it. I'm just trying to dream big!  The Executive Director would be in charge or instituting policies, promoting advocacy, and programs for California’s children. "Candidates should have an aptitude for leading multiple streams of complex work, extensive direct management, fundraising, policy and advocacy experience, and a passion for leveling the playing field for California’s children" (CDF, n.d.). Some of the Executive Director's job responsibilities would include: guiding the development and implementation of programs; supervising employees; leading fundraising efforts; building and maintaining cooperative working relationships with a broad and diverse array of key stakeholders including child advocacy groups, community-based organizations, legislators and policy makers, the faith community; and serving as the primary spokesperson for CDF-CA (CDF, n.d.). Skills and experience needed for this position include (but are not limited to): commitment to issues impacting children and families, evidence of significant leadership capacity to manage a large team of 15, experience in non-profit fundraising, strong organization and interpersonal skills, experience working on and with a team, experience with city and state-level legislative and budget advocacy.

Children's Defense Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017 from http://www.childrensdefense.org

Council for Exceptional Children. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017 from http://www.dec-sped.org

The Division for Early Childhood. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017 from http://www.dec-sped.org/

5 comments:

  1. Dear Megan
    Your research was very informative. I will be able to explore the Division of Early Childhood. The agency offers invaluable information concerning disabilities. My passion is similar to your own I want to work with children with disabilities to enhance their growth. I have looked into the Council for Exceptional Children they also offer great resources. The Children’s Defense Fund also offer great resources. Your research has helped me. Thank you

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  2. Hello Megan, all the websites that you explored seem to directly focus on the capstone that you chose. They are very informative especially the division for early childhood website. I am sure these website will provide you with the resources that you need to help you with your capstone. The children defense fund website was very resourceful for me since I am working on quality for early childhood programs. Thank you this research. Dora Adafom

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  3. Megan,

    I have learned a lot from the information that you presented. The Division of Early Childhood stood out to me. I love this organization because promotes practices that support families and enhance the development of children between that ages of 0 and 8 that might have or be at risk for having delays and disabilities.

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  4. At this point in my journey I would not consider going for my Doctorate, but it definitely seems like something that would open up some really great opportunities.

    Thanks for sharing!
    Tess

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  5. These are some wonderful resources that you have shared with us here! These are not sources that I had previously explored or included in my research. I think that these will definitely be sources in my coming weeks assignments. There is so much that we can continue to learn about diversity and multicultural education. Thank you for sharing!

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