Jobs/Roles in the ECE Field

One position I found this week was for a program I am very familiar with, The Creative Curriculum. "Position overview: The Regional Training Associate at Teaching Strategies serves as the lead trainer on strategic professional development opportunities, and specifically on those opportunities involving our customers in the Northeast region. The Regional Training Associate will work primarily in the field assigned to conduct on-site and national conference sessions and provide comprehensive professional development services. This position entails heavy travel (approximately 100-150 days/year) of travel time for session days, conferences, mentoring PDN colleagues, and Professional Development related work such as technical assistance. The remaining time will be allocated to marketing proposal writing, conducting sales and marketing presentations and follow-up with professional development customers. Our busiest training time is July through September of each year, and Staff Trainers are expected to manage vacation and other absences accordingly during this time. Please note that consideration will be given to individuals who either currently live or are willing to locate to the Northeast region of the country. Specific roles and responsibilities: •Conduct on-site and conference sessions •Provide suggestions and ideas for improvement of sessions based on practical experience in the field to the Knowledge Development Team •Conduct webinars and telephone technical assistance for customers as assigned •Develop proposals for conference submission, create presentations, and facilitate conference workshops •Represent Teaching Strategies at regional, state and national meetings to promote professional development products and services •Observe/coach and mentor colleagues the within the Professional Development Network. Qualifications: •A minimum of a B.A. in education, or related field, required; M.Ed. preferred •Demonstrated knowledge of and practical experience applying adult learning theories •Background and experience with training a variety of early childhood professionals including administrators and other ancillary staff •Ability to use multiple forms of technology •Excellent verbal and written communication skills •Desire to work in a highly collaborative, creative, and challenging environment •A high degree of motivation and flexibility •Must be able to travel at least 70% or more " (http://careerforum.naeyc.org/jobs/#/results/resultsPerPage=12/4,true) The second position I found interesting was with Child Care Aware of America, formerly NACCRRA. "Child Care Aware of America® is a nationwide membership organization of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies and provides access to quality child care and early learning services in the United States. Working with the Board of Directors and staff, the Executive Director will be the visionary and strategic leader of the organization, while being the day to day general manager. •Experience as the top person in a member driven organization with multiple chapters/locations. •Experience managing a minimum $10M P&L, and a minimum of 100 FTEs; comfortable with 175-plus. •Extensive background / passion for the field ofchild care and early education •Involvement in government relations/lobbying activities on a national level •Experience in fundraising, grant writing and generating revenue •Oversight of multiple revenue streams; deep knowledge of government policy and funding •Use of technology as a differentiator to create efficiencies, outreach, & visibility •Positive experience working with a “working” Board of Directors •Demonstrable success with brand and identity transitions •Advanced degree, preferably a Master’s degree in early childhood education, human services, education or a related field •Strong work ethic, self-initiative, high energy and ability to deal with ambiguity •Ability to manage collaborative partnerships and communicate effectively with a wide range of people and groups" (http://www.naccrra.org/career-center/executive-director) The third Community of Practice I wanted to add was NAEYC. They were a resource to one of the job postings, which shows the great role they play nationally. They are a resource to information on Child Care, Child Development and Public Policy related to both. They are also a resource for all types of jobs in the field of Early Childhood. They have a wide variety of people with different interests and points of view to offer and combine to work towards quality care for children.

Communities of Practice

As a staff member of a Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, we are currently going through a Quality Assurance process. I am the coordinator for the process at our agency, and am working with a group of my colleagues to work on the process. Each person has a different area of expertise and something valuable to add to the process, which we all acknowledge as being beneficial to the agency and to our individual programs within the agency. I chose this community of practice because it is one I am part of and one I have worked very hard on. The second community of practice I chose is Child Care Aware of America, formerly NACCRRA. I chose that agency because it plays an important part in the Quality Assurance process for me, but also because they play an important role in the lives of young children. They have members that conduct professional development for CCR&Rs and child care providers, and members that do research child care issues and members that work on public policy, educating the public and working directly with legislators. Finally, I chose my employer, Cornell Cooperative Extension. The Extension system is an extension of Cornell University. Each staff has their own area of expertise and work within their program doing research for Cornell and disseminating the research Cornell does. The Extension staff work closely with Cornell professors and staff on issues that include child development and child care. As the only Extension with a CCR&R as a program, we are in a unique position with a unique perspective to add to the research and development. There are current job opportunities that interest me in the field of psychology and research at universities in New York City. There is also a position at my current employer for ITA Coordinator, which leads a team of ITA Specialists to work with providers to improve their program. In order to obtain the position for psychology research, a PhD is necessary, as well as research experience. For the ITA Coordinator, a Master's Degree is necessary, along with experiene conducting ITAs and experience supervising others and working with providers of all modalities.