Jobs/Roles in ECE Field: National/Federal Level

Due to the great suggestions of Anne Copp (http://annecopp.blogspot.com/) I have been made aware of the program Three for Me from the website pta.org.  Not only would this program be great for the developmental stages of getting parents involved, but the website also offers a plethora of resources, programs and ideas to engage parents according to a school community's needs.  This is an amazing resource that I cannot believe I did not find!  There are branches of this organization all around the country and their urban family engagement network spans nationally as well.  They also have resources for advocacy for any topic that involves the educational field.

The Department of Human and Health Services is an integral part of state run preschool programs.  There grant opportunities and resources available to programs can allow for great information to be disseminated to parents during PTO/PTA meetings.  A partnership that helps provide services to low income families and help inform parents of readiness goals for their children entering kindergarten.

The US Department of Education has resources on their parent page for parents throughout their child's educational career but specifically for early childhood education.  They offer educational resources for parents to use, encourage parents to provide their children with a healthy start to life and educational facts and activities that parents can use to promote educational success for their children.

Job Opportunity
Director of Family Engagement and Support ***DREAM JOB****
The Director of Family Engagement Quality and Support provides policy level advice and assistance to the Executive Director of Family and Community Engagement related to the design, development and implementation of birth to age eight (8) and family engagement strategies to ensure that Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE) services meet the needs of children and families, and that families have the tools needed to be effective partners in their children’s education.  The Director of Family Engagement Quality and Support will be responsible for managing key programs and staff, developing and maintaining a cohesive family engagement and communications strategy for internal and external stakeholders, and identifying partnerships to support and enhance early childhood programming. The Director will work closely with the Executive Director in creating strategic planning and policy decisions that impact DECE efforts citywide. Performs related work.

Qualification Requirements
Minimum:

1. A master’s degree from an accredited college in a field related to the position and three (3) years of full-time progressively responsible professional experience in education administration in one or more education-related areas, at least eighteen (18) months of which must have been in a managerial capacity; or
2. Graduation from an accredited college with a baccalaureate degree and four (4) years of full-time progressively responsible professional experience, as described in “1”; or
3. A satisfactory combination of education and/or experience which is equivalent to “1” above including teaching experience towards meeting the general experience in “1” above; however, all candidates must have the eighteen (18) months of managerial experience.

Preferred:

• MSW, MEd, MA, MBA or MPA degree.
• Excellent project management capabilities – able to manage multi-faceted projects with complex deliverables.
• Five (5+) years of experience in social work administration.
• Prior knowledge of and experience in education and/or government.
• Experience with strategic planning, project management, and its implementation.
• Experience in carrying out analysis, needs assessment, process mapping, and functional analysis.Self-starter and creative problem solver who focuses on creating solutions.
• Capable and detail-oriented multi-tasker who can prioritize and remain professional in demanding situations.
• Ability to learn quickly and succeed in a rapidly changing environment.
• Strong analytical skills and data presentation skills.
• Ability to work with a high degree of accuracy.
• Ability to prepare written documents and to make oral presentations clearly and concisely.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues at all levels of the organization.Demonstrated team player capable of resolving organizational roadblocks.
• Ability to communicate and disseminate knowledge to field personnel, school personnel, parents, students, and central office staff, while complying with confidentiality requirements in local, state, and federal policies and statutes.
• Talent for listening, asking effective questions, and synthesizing information.
• Ability to engender trust and maintain confidences.
• Internal candidates preferred.

References
http://www2.ed.gov/parents/landing.jhtml
ptatoday.org
www.hhs.org
https://nycdoe.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjob&jobid=214846&company_id=15651&version=1&jobBoardId=1112

Exploring Roles in the EC Community: State and Local

 My Role in the Early Childhood Community

The first state agency I found to be appealing is the State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC).  This agency advises and assists the Department of Health (the lead agency) and provides leadership towards achieving the vision and goals of the New Jersey Early Intervention System (NJEIS).  The SICC provides a forum for families, early intervention service providers and the entire early intervention community to meet and share information and ideas for enhancing and improving coordinated services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.  I chose to take an interest in this state agency because it advises the state intervention services while also taking into account the families that it is helping.  Families and others are able to speak up at meetings that are held every other month and it addresses issue with the NJEIS. 

The next organization that I found is Community Coordinated Child Care (CCCC).  It is a non-profit based in Union County, New Jersey.  The organization is a a resource and referral agency that provides referrals for wrap-around services, CCCC works with parents, community, business, and government. CCCC helps parents find services to help them. The agency helps the early childhood centers and family child care providers by giving training and other help to improve their programs.  I chose this center because it not only is a resource to families but to the providers that they recommend to families.  They also offer teacher training and workshops for centers.

Advocates for the Children of New Jersey is a non-partisan advocate for children.  They work with state and local officials to promote the well-being of all children.  The goal is to influence public policy and implement changes that will benefit New Jersey's youth.  A main advocacy for early learning is that early childhood education is aligned from Pre-k through 3rd grade.  I chose to speak about this organization because it is a community that is not just looking to affect early childhood education on one issue there are other issues of children's health, high-quality care and access to care that high on their priority list.  

Bright Horizons: Associate Director 
This a job opportunity that would help me gain experience as on a leadership team, while also inspiring and helping to train teachers.  

The Associate Director position will provide several months of training throughout the New York City region, shadowing another Director while floating and visiting centers in the area. The position will then settle into one of our current or upcoming new centers as a center Director.  While I know that I have to gain more experience as an educator to become an associate director, I find this listing as motivation!

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Education required, Masters preferred. Certification in N-6, B-2, 1-6 or Special Education is required, study plan eligible is considered
• 3-5 years of management/leadership experience
• A combination of infant, toddler or preschool teaching experience
• Well versed in NAEYC accreditation and licensing standards
• Strong leadership, supervisory and customer service skills and ability to create/maintain partnerships with families and staff
• Ability to lead staff in implementing a developmentally appropriate curriculum
• Strong organizational and communication skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks or crisis situations effectively
• Capacity to understand and manage center financial duties
• Computer literacy
• Experience working in an inclusive work environment and managing across differences
• Must meet state educational and licensing requirements for director; additional center/school requirements may apply

 
 
 
  

References

http://www.nj.gov/health/fhs/eis/sicc.shtml

http://www.ccccunion.org/page_1_aboutus.html

http://acnj.org/issues/child-health/

https://sjobs.brassring.com/tgwebhost/jobdetails.aspx?partnerid=25595&siteid=5216&jobid=368854

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