Saturday, November 9, 2013

Exploring Roles on the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

There are so many associations and limiting to three was a challenge.  The three associations that I chose are:

Utah Association for the Education of Young Children (UAEYC), UAEYC promotes the use of best practices in early childhood education through supporting the Utah Early Childhood Conference, publishing a quarterly newsletter, providing scholarships to national conferences, promoting professional development opportunities in local communities, advocacy, and facilitating national accreditation of early care and education programs in Utah.  UAEYC is the Utah state affiliate of the National Association of Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

I chose the UAEYC because they are an affiliate of NAEYC.  I have personal relationship with many of the members and leaders in these organizations.  They provide great resources and I feel that they support professionals in the field through their trainings and expertise.

Together we unite if there is an issue that needs to be solved and we look for solution to make the early childhood field a success for the children and families in our local communities and state.

The Professional Family Child Care Association of Utah (PFCCA) has a mission that is dedicated to inspire children to reach their full potential; through supporting our family child care providers by increasing quality improvement, raising awareness and encouraging professionalism.

Being a member and collaborating with this organization will support my issue in accepting children into quality childcare.

Salt Lake Head Start Collaboration Group is a new local group that was started for teachers to come together and share ideas about curriculum and issues concerning children and their challenges.  Sharing information can open your eyes to different strategies and bring up issues that need to be solved to accept all children and be able to meet their needs.

As I scroll through different web sites for jobs in this state there is not a lot of opportunities.  I love where I am teaching now for Head Start.  I would like to be a Director of Early Childhood Center or even be an owner operator again.  I feel that I have the qualifications through my many years of experience and education.   I have a great interest in empowering adults to take on their lives to the fullest and to excel in their profession as early childhood educators. 

The skills that are involved in most of these jobs would require the education that I am pursuing and great organizational skills.  Having knowledge of state and local issues that are going on is essential, as this would effect the profession.

To conclude I feel that I will keep on looking and the right job will be there for me when I am ready.  In the mean time I will continue to excel and grow and be the best teacher and leader I can be where I am now.


PFCCA Of Utah, Herriman Day Care , PFCCA Of Utah, Herriman child care, Day Care   PFCCA Of Utah, Herriman UT | Infant Care - PFCCA Professional Family Child      Care Asssociation of Utah. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pfcca.org


UAEYC - Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uaeyc.org

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Tracy,

    I agree; before we get to the "right" job we must continue to excel and grow within the field we are currently in. To be honest, I feel as if I have the perfect job right now-teaching preschool aged children. What better age to teach?

    I am thankful there are organizations out there that will assist children, families, and educators. Oftentimes, there are many children who do not have access to quality education. Those organizations can help those families get their children in facilities that will ensure children are receiving the quality education they deserve.

    Thank you for the great post!

    Susan

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  3. Hi Tracy,
    I previously lived in South eastern Idaho and now live in Wyoming. Being neighbors of Utah it is great to share resources with one another and at times be able to see what other organizations are doing in order to benefit one another. How long ago were you an owner/operator and how do you feel the field has changed since that time?

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  4. I believe thatI moved on out of my businessin 2002. Since then I have been on many differetn journies to fullfill my passion. I am still continuing that journey through my schooling and teaching with Head Start.

    I feel that the family child care field here in Utah has changed because many of the providers do not take themselves seriously that this is a profession. There are so many that still classify themselves as babysitters. There is a handful that consider their job as a profession. It is so important that we train and train ourselves to be professional. Ealry childhood is such an importan and essential time of life.

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