Time Well Spent

I feel I have learned so much throughout my coursework at Walden University.  I began the program with six years experience as a preschool director.  I felt by attending this program I could make my school a better place.  Now that I have completed this program I realize I have gained so much more than knowledge regarding the field.  This program has changed who I am, the way I perceive my profession, and my intentions for the future.

            Three main things I feel deeply resonated within me throughout this program are as follows: the importance of equity in education, the importance of building a budget around the mission and vision of the program, and the responsibility of every early childhood professional to pursue advocacy for their children and families.  As far as equity in education, I now understand that what is equitable for all students does not necessarily mean equal.  It is extremely important to get to know each family and child and recognize their needs in order to provide them with the best educational experience and assistance required.   Considering the mission and vision of a program prior to allocating any funding is crucial; not only to ensure you are meeting your intended goals, but to provide transparency to stakeholders.  Finally, I have never considered myself as a possible advocate.  I always intended on helping my families in any way I could, but I never thought about pushing the envelope, so to speak, and fighting for something I believe in.

            Now that I have finished my program I have definitely set the long-term goal of advocating for school choice vouchers.  Through my research it became clear that the state of Florida has already come so far in offering vouchers to special needs children and tax-credits to corporations who fund scholarships for low-income families.  I feel that with the right community of practice and a high level of perseverance, this goal is very realistic.  I will be forever grateful to Walden University for opening up my eyes to the fact that one person can make a difference.

            My favorite quote from this program is from Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change that you wish to see in this world”.  Before enrolling in this program I guess I always felt as if I was powerless when it came to educational policy.  Throughout my coursework, I have been inspired by my instructors, colleagues, and the research I have conducted based on advocates before me.  I now feel I am equipped with the tools I need to fulfill the passion I have for the future of private education in the state of Florida and beyond. 

Thank you to everyone who has walked down this road with me!  I feel I am now a more passionate, professional individual, and I plan to use what I have learned to become the magnetic, transformational leader I know I can be for my staff at Sunlight Christian Academy (pictured below).  We will continue to strive to create a better future, one child at a time!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

For this week’s blog assignment we were asked to choose three international organizations dedicated to work in the early childhood field.  In researching these organizations we were asked to determine what their mission and goals are, as well as discover potential job opportunities.   Below are the organizations I found to be interesting.

1.      Hope Worldwide

The slogan for this organization is “Bringing hope. Changing lives.” (Hope Worldwide, 2011).  They were founded in response to the Bible which calls everyone to have the heart of Jesus by helping the needy around the world.  Their vision is to “bring hope and change the lives of the world’s most poor, sick and suffering” (Hope Worldwide, 2011).

In the area of early childhood, Hope Worldwide is focused on improving the quality and availability of Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs in South African disadvantaged communities.  “It is estimated that 21% of South African children between the ages of five and six participate in any sort of ECD programs, 15% of three to five year olds, and only 5% of children between the crucial ages from zero to three years old receive any form of care” (Hope Worldwide, 2011).  Hope Worldwide intends on improving these statistics by providing ECD services to young orphans, assisting parents with training and skills development, and working with local government to improve collaboration and coordination.

Other than senior leadership, Hope Worldwide offers a variety of volunteer opportunities.  They range from duration of service required.  I would be interested in serving for a week of service at a time.  The description for this category includes disaster relief and week-long service trips, working to help in any way possible.  People of all backgrounds are welcome, but of course experienced early childhood professionals would be able to offer valuable assistance.

2.      Cross-Cultural Solutions

The slogan for this organization is “Change Their World. Change Yours. This Changes Everything.” (Cross-Cultural Solutions, 2013).  They have a variety of volunteer programs. I am particularly interested in the family volunteer program.  This program allows your entire family, as long as your children are eight and older, to travel to multiple countries and immerse into their culture serving in a variety of roles.  Everyone in your family “develops a lifelong sense of service and a cross cultural understanding” (Cross-Cultural Solutions, 2013), not to mention the lives you will change in the process.

3.      Global Teacher Education

The slogan for this organization is “Educator Preparation Resources for a Global Age” (Global Teacher Education, 2013).  Their mission is to ensure teachers are properly trained to prepare our young people to thrive in a culturally diverse world.  They want to train teachers to become “truly global citizens – confident in their own culture, yet able to understand and appreciate other cultures with which they will increasingly interact in their personal, social, and economic lives” (Global Teacher Education, 2013).

There are several ways to get involved.  They are seeking educators to become members of their organization and post blogs, share resources, contribute financial support, and inform others of events relating to internationalizing teacher education.  I feel I could learn so much from becoming involved in this organization, and hopefully have something to contribute as well.

References

Cross- Cultural Solutions. (2013). [website].  Family Volunteer Opportunities.  Retrieved June 13, 2013

            From: http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/discover-what-you-can-do/family-volunteer-

            Opportunities.

Global Teacher Education. (2013). [website]. What is Internationalization of Teacher Education? 

            Retrieved June 13, 2011 from: http://www.globalteachereducation.org/what-internationalization-

            teacher-education.  

Hope Worldwide. (2011). [website]. Early Childhood Development.  Retrieved June 13, 2013 from:

            https://www.hopeww.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1945.

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

Blog Post – Week 4

The Early Childhood Community at the National/Federal Level

     I feel working in the early childhood field at the national level would be exciting.  The more advocates you have working together from different backgrounds and varying levels of experience the better!  I have selected three organizations which appeal to me based on the ideas I am passionate about regarding the early childhood education field.

1.  The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice

Throughout my research in this course for my capstone project, I came across this foundation. Established in 1996, Milton and Rose Friedman began this foundation in support of their firm belief in school choice for all American families.  They are a well-respected organization often referred to as "the nation's original advocate of school choice" and "the nation's leading voucher advocates".

The foundation consists of 19 staff members.  Upon review, the position of National Projects Coordinator sounds interesting.  One of the main functions of this position is to be in charge of their National School Choice Speakers Bureau.  This consists of organizing a list of highly qualified, successful advocates from across the nation and scheduling them to speak on behalf of school choice at important public events around the country.  The person currently holding the position has an education and experience managing a large tutoring program serving over 2000 students.

More information regarding The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice can be found here:

http://www.edchoice.org/About-Us/Mission---History.aspx

2.  Children’s Defense Fund

This organization fights to improve programs and policies for children.  They have implemented summer and after-school enrichment programs to create positive learning experiences for children, training programs for young leaders, and religious programs to instill morals and values in our youth.

I would be interested in working with the faith-based action programs.  A great way to get involved would be to attend The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute, where Christians from across the denomination gather together and explore ways to incorporate child advocacy into their ministries.

More information can be found here:

http://www.childrensdefense.org/programs-campaigns/faith-based-action/

3. National Child Care Association

This organization focuses on promotion the growth of private providers who provide quality early childhood education.  It was founded in 1987 as a professional trade association.

The Board of Directors is made up of several early childhood professionals from a variety of states and regions.  It seems that members come together to advocate and provide training and professional development for early childhood professionals to make strengthen private providers as a whole.

More information can be found here:

http://www.nccanet.org/index.cfm

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The state of Florida is vast with several counties to serve.  The above picture was retrieved from the website for the Department of Children and Families for the state of Florida at: http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/child-care/contacts.  This provides contact information for the appropriate circuits of DCF depending on the county in which you live.  

For this week's assignment we are to explore at least three local or state organizations that are devoted to the welfare of early childhood children and their families.  I have listed these agencies below.

1.  The Florida Department of Children and Families

Commonly referred to as DCF, this organization handles a variety of services pertaining to the children and families of Florida.  Just a few of the examples include abuse, foster care, homelessness, mental health, and community-based care.  Since we have been speaking about communities of practice in class, I chose to do some research on their community-based care services.  This program was designed to "transition child   protective services to local providers under the  direction of lead agencies and   community alliances of stakeholders working within their community to ensure   safety, well-being, and permanency for the children in their care".  These alliances are formed between local organizations and their responsibilities include "joint planning for resource utilization, needs assessments and establishment of community priorities,   determination of local outcome goals supplemental to state outcome requirements,   and community education and advocacy". 

I think it would be interesting to work as a coordinator for these services, approaching local organizations and trying to get them on board to become participating providers for these alliances.

DCF requires the following to be eligible for hire within their organization:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, behavioral science, criminal justice, nursing or education field

More information can be found at http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/community-based-care.

2.  The Early Learning Coalition of St. Lucie County

Commonly referred to as the ELC, our local learning coalition "oversees and funds early education and childcare programs for at-risk and income eligible children".   The two main programs they are responsible for are the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program, or VPK, which provides free prekindergarten to all children age four in the state, and the School Readiness program, which provides tuition assistance for families who have children ages birth-eight enrolled in early childhood centers or after school programs.

The ELC has a "30 member team including child care resource and referral specialists; school readiness and voluntary prekindergarten specialists; contract/data specialists; fiscal assistants; resource specialists; grants/community outreach specialist; executive assistant; Director of Eligiblity; Chief Financial Officer; Chief Operating Officer; and Chief Executive Officer".  I think it would be rewarding to work as a resource specialist.  This involves visiting all of the early childhood centers and offering education, assistance, and advice in the child care services offered at each location.  

The ELC requires applicants to hold a Bachelor's degree in social work, education, or a related field.

More information can be found at http://www.elcslc.org/.

3.  CASTLE of the Treasure Coast

The mission statement of Castle is "Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect through Education and Awareness".  The history is that CASTLE "began as a humble effort to help parents learn better parenting skills and have become the recipient of local, state and national accolades. As CASTLE moves into its third decade, the National Exchange Club Foundation, the President of the United Sates, the U. S. House of Congress and the Florida Senate have proclaimed it the “Flagship” of child abuse prevention".

They have an open position for a Director of Programs and Grants.  This person would basically be in charge of applying for and securing funding the program.  The requirements are:

• Master’s degree or above in social work, psychology or other human services related field.
• Experience in administration and management in a human services related field.

Communication and Collaboration in Early Childhood

     This course has been one of my personal favorites.  I truly feel communication is the key to everything in life.  I always strive, personally and professionally, to be a genuine, clear communicator with everyone I come across.  I truly value all the relationships I have built with my online colleagues and feel blessed by all of  the interactions we share.  There are so many tools we have, as indicated by the clip art I selected above, to aide us in our communicative efforts.  It is my hope that we all continue to utilize each other as resources within the realm of early childhood.  If any of you wish to contact me at anytime, you may do so by email at greeneydgirl24@aol.com, or through this blog, which I intend on keeping.  God bless all of you, and good luck on all future endeavors!

Adjourning

Adjourning from a Team

Adjourning  is the final stage of group development in the teamwork theory. This is the period of time when the team's work is finished and everyone begins to move their separate ways.  "This stage is also known as the mourning stage" (Project-Management-Skills.com, n.d.) because the team members have usually formed close knit relationships and it becomes hard to say goodbye.

This stage is important because the team can congratulate each other on work well done.  Although the current project is complete it is possible some members may work together on future projects, so ending on a positive note is always important.  

Studying this topic makes me think of when we built the new wing on our church for what is currently my preschool.  The church staff and myself worked closely with several professionals, such as the construction crew, the computer people, and the painting crew.  We worked through the project with many ups and downs, often enjoyed lunch together and celebrated each milestone as it was completed.  Once the project was complete it was truly bitter sweet.  The adjourning stage was enjoying the new building and polishing off the odds and ends.  When the building was ready for occupancy we all hugged and said our goodbyes.  I really miss seeing the people I worked with, but I have recommended them for other jobs and talked to them on the phone from time to time.  It was a great experience!

I know adjourning from this program will be similar.  Although we will not be working together directly once we complete our courses, I hope to maintain connections with my colleagues and know that I can turn to them for advice and support if I need to.

References

Project-Management-Skills.com (n.d.). [Website]. Teamwork theory: Stages of group development.  

Conflict Resolution

Conflict is a necessity.  Whenever people are passionate about what they believe in they stand up for it, and these situations result in conflict.  In the early childhood profession, passion for children is the driving force.  There are many times teachers, administration and parents may disagree on what children need for their future.  Since all three parties are advocates for the children agreements must be made in order to provide the child with the best care possible.  Many times discussions must be held, voices must be heard, plans must be developed and agreements must be made.  In order to accomplish these tasks in a productive, peaceful manner, conflict resolution skills are required.

Currently I am in the process of working with one of my students who has anger issues.  She is only four years old and acts out aggressively toward other students and teachers when she cannot be the center of attention or do what she wants to do.  She has been at our school for about 7 months and her behavior has not improved much.  In fact, the older she gets and the more intelligent she becomes, it seems her anger shows up more frequently.  Parents of her classmates and teachers have just about taken all they can and the time has come for a serious change.  We have had a behavioral specialist working with her and the family for about a month.  The last time she was in I informed her it was time to act and the two of us sat down and discussed what we thought would be best.  She shared her ideal plan for the girl explaining she wanted to place her in another room and rearrange her daily schedule.  I knew this would not work because there are already too many behavioral issues in one of the rooms she would be in and the placing this child there would not be a good fit.

Although I knew I would not implement her plan as soon as she told me, I decided to listen to let her explain her reasoning.  Once she was finished I explained why this would not work.  She understood and we discussed several other options.  Finally I came up with some alternatives based on her reasoning and she agreed they were great alternatives to her plan.   According to the three R's, we must be respectful, reciprocal and responsive.  I respected her enough to hear her out, I was then reciprocal by giving her my feedback, and then I responded to her suggestions with a few of my own.  By using these conflict resolution skills we were able to come up with a plan that seems to be working!