Time Well Spent

This has been such an amazing journey. I am truly grateful and blessed to have been able to push myself with the help of friends, my professors, and my colleagues. I have many memories and great things I have learned and accomplished, but the top three things that I feel are my deeply felt learnings from this program is:

-Gaining knowledge of the different and plentiful resources that can help me with advocacy, as well as being able to give these resources to others is one of the greatest things I have gained from this program.

-My wonderful professors that I had throughout this program, who helped me to be a better researcher, advocate, and educator. I am truly amazed at how much they cared for our education. It makes me feel honored to have had the opportunity to be taught by these wonderful educators.

-Lastly, I am truly thankful for all of the connections I made with colleagues. It is with your help that I was able to reach my fullest potential, and learn from one another’s experiences to bring to life the projects we did throughout this program. I thank Dr. Embree for all of her positivity and help. You are truly amazing!

One of my long-term goals is to become a trainer/educator for up and coming educators. I have always wanted to teach and mentor those who have the same passion as I do for the early childhood education field, but want someone to teach them who has gone through the ups, the downs, and the experiences to help them in this field be better and great educators.

My farewell message to my colleagues is to always strive for greatness. We have come so far, and we were all there for one another through this academic journey. What ever you set your minds to, just know that you can do it, no matter what. To my wonderful instructor, Dr. Lisa Embree, you really have been such a monumental tool in all of our learning and success. Personally, I was nervous in the beginning, but your guidance has given me the confidence I needed to succeed, and I thank you so much for everything you have done.

Some inspirational quotes that I love that I feel would be inspirations to you all as well are:

You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”
― Oscar Wilde

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
― Plato

Good luck to everyone, we did it!!! C/O 2015

Jobs/Roles in the ECE community: Internationally

The international organizations I chose to examine more closely is Children International, University Research Co. ,LLC (URC), and FHI360. I chose these organizations because they are focused on the vulnerable child and helping them get the proper social and health systems possible to create an environment that is safe, as well as allow for the proper developmental growth of all children. They also allow for individuals to sponsor children to help provide these much needed and important services. These organizations are helping with ensuring equal rights and access for children all over the world, and are pioneers for social change.

The job opportunities that are available that are of interest to me from Children International is a Sponsor Service Representative. The job qualifications are to be fluent in both English and Spanish, have a can do attitude, be flexible, and to be serviced geared and willing to help all callers, whether they are angry or not.  Also, you have to be familiar with MS office suite, type 30-40 wpm, and have well oral and written skills.

Next, the job that interests me from URC is Team Leader Health Worker Performance and Productivity. The skills and experience needed for this position is  as follows:

At least 8 years of experience designing and implementing international HRH programs in Africa or Asia

        

 At least 5 years technical experience in human resources, human performance science, and experience implementing performance management systems in developing countries.

      

 Experience in and knowledge of quality improvement systems and approaches as ways to improve clinical care outcomes and human performance

          

Experience developing and managing operations research in human resources or related performance and quality management.

        

 Experience working with international aid organizations, such as WHO, and experience supporting country leadership organizations, such as ministries of health, as they implement programs related to human resources.

          

Knowledge of and experience working with communities, CSA, and/or private sector organizations.

          

Experience in leading and coordinating diverse technical teams and individuals

          

Strong writing and oral presentation skills in English; conversational fluency in French desirable

          

Strong communication and interpersonal skills that will enhance coordination and collaboration throughout the project

There are a lot of skills and experience needed to perform this job at its highest level, but I feet that  it can have a lot of rewarding outcomes both personally and professionally.

Lastly, the job opportunity from FHI360 I found interesting is Advisor, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research. The experience needed for this position is to have a Master’s degree in public health, social sciences, or related field, 8 years expereicne in advising, monitoring, evaluating and research, with a particular and extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS, excellent oral presentation and written skills, as well as extensive research experience.

Reference:

Children International. (2015). Retrieved from

https://www.children.org/

University Research Co., LLC. (2010) Retrieved from

http://www.urc-chs.com/

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm

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

The organizations I chose to look at job opportunities are NAEYC, The U.S. Department of Education/USAJobs, and The Association for the Early Learning Leaders. I chose these organizations because they are well known, as well as can help with getting ground within the early childhood education field where you may be able to make a larger impact on a Macro scale to appeal to the masses.

For NAEYC, the job opportunity was as a Reliability Manager. The skills and experiences needed to fulfill this position is that supervises a team of 3-4 Reliability Specialists. Working under the supervision of the Director of Program Standards and Assessment, the Reliability Manager oversees activities supporting the NAEYC’s ability to conduct reliable, valid accreditation site visits. Major tasks include design, development and modification of reliable and valid accreditation tools and processes, and ongoing monitoring their reliable use by NAEYC’s nationwide team of site visit assessors. The Reliability Manager and team collect, compile, and analyze data on system performance and use it to inform continuous system improvement.

As far as Education needed, a minimum of a BA in Early Childhood Education/Child Development is required; a MA degree is preferred. Three (3) years of experience in the field working with young children in an early childhood program and a sound understanding of its ECE practices is required. Three years supervisory experience leading staff, contractors, and/or volunteers is desirable. Travel is required, as well as understanding and knowing NAEYC standards and program goals and requirements.

For the Department of Education, I was interested in the Education Program Specialist within the Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. The Division administers Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to improve and enhance outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. The Division, together with parents of children with disabilities, individuals with disabilities, researchers, technical assistance providers, professional development providers, and service providers, formulates an agenda to improve the quality of math interventions and education for children and youth with disabilities.

Experiences needed to make sure the job is done properly is as follows:

Degree that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of course work in a field related to the work of the position, or 4 years of experiences understanding principles and practices of the work in the education program specialist, or, a combination of school and experience that demonstrate understanding of the position and requirements needed to complete job.

The third job from The Association for the Early Learning Leaders is the position of Director of an Early Childhood Education. I would need at least 5-10 years experience in the field of ECE, as well as supervisory experience and knowledge of state minimum standards and accreditations. I would need a Masters Degree in ECE, or related field, or a Bachelors degree with 3 years experience in a supervisory position.

References:

Department of Education/USAJobs. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.usajobs.gov/JobSearch/Search/GetResults?OrganizationID=ED&ApplicantEligibility=all

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/about/jobs

Association for the Early Learning Leaders. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.earlylearningleaders.org/networking/apply_now.aspx?view=2&id=304599