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

3 National or Federal Organizations:

1.NAEYC or The National Association for the Education of Young Children is a national organization that supports the development of young children. http://www.naeyc.org/ According to the NAEYC website their mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources. This is an organization that I have worked with in the past and I am considering becoming a member of NAEYC. One of the helpful resources that I have utilized in the past in their publications. 

2. National Education Association- http://www.nea.org/home/18163.htm This is an organization that also supports the growth and development of young children. According to their website their mission is to "The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education" This organization works more closely with the Federal government than NAEYC does.

3. Help Me Grow is another national organization that supports children and families http://www.helpmegrownational.org/ Help Me Grow provides a plethora of resources for families of young children. It is through these resources that families are given opportunities. Their mission is to "The mission of the Help Me Grow National Center is to enable and support the building of HMG systems across the country so that states can implement effective, universal, early surveillance and screening for all children and link those at risk for developmental and behavioral problems to appropriate programs and services."

Job Opportunities:

1. Senior Director for NAEYC

2. Child Advocate

3.National Head Start

Skills/Experience needed for these jobs:

Each of the jobs mentioned above would require a person with extensive knowledge about early childhood development. Good interpersonal skills are also required for these jobs because each of these jobs requires the individual to work with other adults and children as well. Adequate written and oral communication are also skills that should be possessed for the job.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

3 local resources:

Help Me Grow: Though I do not know much about this organization it is one that I would be interested in becoming more involved with. Their website describes what they do as being “The Help Me Grow program is designed to ensure Ohio’s children receive a healthy birth and the resources to warrant a healthy and productive start in life.” I believe that this organization is one that provides positive resources to children and families. 

Ohio Guidestones: Ohio Guidestones is an organization in central Ohio that advocates for children and families. On their website they state their mission as being “built on a solid foundation of experience and expertise, rooted in faith and a legacy of serving children and families. Our range of flexible, customized programs build upon one another so they address every aspect of a person’s needs. We’re a solutions-focused organization with passionate people committed to providing direction and inspiration to children, families and communities to help them become stronger.” This is an organization that I just recently found out about and it is one that I would be interested in becoming involved with or potentially work for. I believe in the mission of what they are doing to help children and families. 

OAEYC: This organization is the Ohio chapter for the National Association for the Education of Young Children. I currently live in Ohio and this organization is one that I have used as a resource in my work with young children. NAEYC has strong roots in early childhood field and is an organization that I have found to be a very useful resource in the past in my work with children. 

Jobs I’d be interested in pursuing:

-Clinical Assistant- This position is one that I would be interested to have as a job. This is a position I found online and it is a position for Cincinnati Children’s. The job responsibilities surrounding this job included developing developmentally appropriate activities and material for children and families.  The purpose of this job is to help children keep from falling behind during their stay in the hospital. One thing that interests me about this job is the fact that I have a younger brother who was born with special needs and this job would give me the opportunity to help children who are in the hospital like he was. 

-Youth Director- This job is one that would be at a YMCA. I believe that this would be a good job that I would like to pursue because it is a job that would help troubled youth. My hope is that at this job I would be benefit to children and families. 

-Parent Mentor- I recently found out about this job in the area where I live. This job is for Ohio Guidestone which is one of the organizations mentioned above. This is a job that would require me to work with parents and families guiding them through the growth and development of children. 

For each of these jobs I would be required to have a level of patience and understanding with both the families and the children. I would also be required to have knowledge of the growth and development of young children.