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

The first agency that I am interested in working for is the Association for Early Learning Leaders (AELL). The AELL is committed to excellence in the field of Early Care and Education by promoting leadership development and enhancing program quality. I believe the reason for many early learning programs that fail because of the poor leadership. If a program has a good leader that will motivate staff and encourage parents the program will be a success. AELL goal is to strengthen the knowledge, skills and abilities of directors, owners, emerging leaders and other early learning professionals to ensue quality programs for young children.

A presenter:
A presents will present for 1 hour 45 minutes to 3 hours
The presenter will present to 40 - 80 people
Each presenter will have access to a screen, flip chart, or white board
Each presenter must provide a handout
Request to be a presenter must be approved

The second agency that I am interested in is National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE). NCPIE mission is to advocate the involvment of parents and families in thier children's education, and to foster relationships between home, school, and community to enhance the education of all our nation's young people. I have a strong passion for parent involvement in education. I try to make sure that I am always involved with my daughter's school. No matter if it is giving a donation or chaperoning on a field trip. My daughter is always excited when I participate in her schools activities.
I would like to partner with them and open up a parent center. NCPIE have at least one parent center in each state that serves families of children and young adults from birth to age 22 with disabilities. They help families obtain appropriate education and services for their children with disabilities and train parents and professionals on a variety of topics.

The third agency I would like to work for is the National Education Association (NEA). NEA is the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. Their mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.

Job Opportunity:
Limited Term Staff

Job Description
This position supports the NEA’s strategic objective to focus the energy and resources of its 3 million members toward the promotion of public education by providing assistance with a variety of professional services with a strong emphasis on supporting political campaigns and organizing in the Center for Strong Affiliates, Campaigns and Elections department.

Position Summary: The incumbent will work on a specific political project, mobilizing and engaging NEA members and potential members. The incumbent will partner as assigned with state and local affiliates to implement the project. The work includes communicating and advocating NEA’s political positions to state affiliates and its members and assisting with development of strategies to assist affiliates in implementing NEA’s strategic political goals and agenda. The incumbent assists with implementing campaign plans in order to accomplish assigned tasks consistent with NEA’s strategic focus and strategic objectives. To carry out these responsibilities, the incumbent submits regular reports and uses a personal computer, associated software, and other office automation technology and travels extensively within the area(s) of assignment by various conveyances, including driving a car.

Required Skills
Minimum Education Requirement: Bachelor's degree or equivalent. Minimum Qualifications: Experience in one or more of the following areas: organizing, strategic planning, crisis management, electoral campaigns, public relations, and communications. Other Requirements: Writing samples (training, facilitation, strategic planning, reports, etc.) may be required at time of interview. Must be able to work weekends and late evenings.   Must possess a valid driver’s license and personal vehicle.

Exploring Roles in ECE Community: Local and State Levels

When I first obtained my bachelor degree in psychology I had hopes of becoming a school social worker. I had always wanted to work in the public school system because they offer great benefits and they salary is to my standards. 

Community High School District 218
School Social worker

Skills and experience required:

• Illinois Professional Educator License or Social Worker Endorsement National Certification Desirable
• Experience providing crisis interventions, individual and group counseling for young adults with a wide range of disabilities
• Experience writing behavior intervention plans
• Experience collaborating with support staff (i.e. Speech Pathologist, BCBAs) in developing academic or behavioral intervention plans for students
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent collaboration skills: be able to work as part of a school team
• Experience with case management responsibilities
• Experience as an LEA running domain meetings, annual reviews and IEP meetings
• A strong knowledge base regarding adult community services for individuals with disabilities
• Experience choosing, giving and scoring a multitude of assessment tools
• Experience working with teachers in a Professional Learning Community

Since I did not obtain my license for becoming a school social worker because I had started working in the early childhood field, I decided that I wanted to be a coordinator. I have been a family support for 10 years and I feel that I have the experience and knowledge to become a family support coordinator. 

SGA Youth & Family Services

Family Support Coordinator

Skills and experience required:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology or in a related field.
• Experience working with families in an Early & Head Start or family support programs.
• Knowledge of adult and adolescent learning styles, home visiting, & ability to engage at risk families.
• At least three years supervision/administration experience.
• Bilingual/Bicultural in English and Spanish preferred.
• Displays sensitivity and responsiveness to cultural differences in service population.

I wanted to work for the government because of the great pay and benefits the job offered. It is difficult to obtain a government job unless someone refer you for the position that you are interested in. I have taken many test for different government positions and I passed all of them. I did not get chosen for any of the positions I applied for. 

United States Department of Labor

Unemployment Insurance Program Specialist

Skills and experience required:

• Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-12, in the Federal Service.
• 
  
• Specialized experience is defined as experience:
• 
  
• -interpreting Unemployment Insurance (UI) legislation and/or Trade Adjustment Assistance policies, programs, and regulations
• -providing authoritative advice on UI and/or Trade program requirements to officials of Federal or State agencies
• -assessing UI and/or Trade program for accuracy, quality and conformity with Federal requirements
• -participating in special reviews and evaluations of UI benefit and tax systems functions and activities designed to enhance UI program integrity, performance, or quality to improve services to claimants and employers.
• -Working collaboratively and maintaining cooperative relationships with officials in federal, state, and local government agencies and public entities
• There is no education substitution for this position.
• Applicants must meet time-in-grade, time-after-competitive-appointment and qualifications requirements within 30 calendar days after the closing date of the vacancy to be eligible for consideration for selection. Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

My Collaborative Learning Community

     Building relationships and in some cases friendships is very important in any career field. Healthy relationships provide positive reinforcement. For example, I have a friend who is also a coworker of mine and every time I want to have a meltdown she always have some encouraging words to say. After I talk to her I feel better and I excel in my work. Positive feedback is very important with everything that we do. I have experienced that in this class with my colleagues. 

     I appreciate all of the positive feedback that I have been given throughout this program from the instructors and my colleagues. I tried my best to make sure that I returned the favor to some of my colleagues as well. Having a support system is very important in achieving your goals. I wish all of my colleagues well as they continue their professional path. Good luck and well wishes!!!!

Erica 

http://www.waldenu.edu

Team Development

I have been involved in many group some professional and some personal. When the group ends it is always bittersweet. Adjourning a group means that it is time to reflect and celebrate. I am currently working together in a group now and we have until October 16 to make sure that all of our component areas are at 100%. I am so looking forward to the celebrating part and unfortunately I will not miss this group. We had some struggles, verbal exchanges, and bad body language. I do not like the fact that there is no trust in this group and everyone is out for themselves. There is nothing wrong with a little competition at work, but these people I work with have taken it to a whole new level.

The hardest group adjournment I was in was in undergrad. I really enjoyed working with my classmates and when it was time to end the group it was difficult for me. I had made some good relationships and we had very good communication with each other. We went out to dinner to celebrate and talk about the outcome of our project. Some of us promised to keep in touch and to communicate with each other outside the group. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. There is one person from that group that I still talk to and we have became best of friends. I was named her child's godmother and she is my child's godmother since she is the reason I met my child's father. We have been through some ups and downs, but we remain friends.

I imagine that I will adjourn this group of colleagues with clear communication. I have learned to communicate with my colleagues and I will miss the positive and support feedback I have received in the discussion questions and blogs. Some of my colleagues I have been grouped with since the beginning of the master's degree program. I truly wish all of them well and I am going to miss the interactions we have had during this course.

http://www.waldenu.edu

Conflict?

Conflict is something I deal with on a daily basis. I have conflict with my supervisor, colleagues, and parents. There is not a dull day at my job when I do not have conflict. It is either because I disagree with something or someone has lied on me. I tell people all the time that it is like being in high school at my job. A bunch of unhappy women trying to hurt each other. I do not understand why, but I know that I do not like it and I am trying to get out of that place.

 An example of conflict in my professional life:
I had planned a trip to Chuck E Cheese for the end of school year celebration. I had submitted a requisition to our finance department for the number of children enrolled, staff, and parent volunteers. On the day of the trip there were some children who did not come to school, so we had extra money left over. With the extra money I took it upon myself to purchase food for the staff. As I was taking care of business another teacher decided to help me by passing out the cup of tokens to each class. She went up to the teachers and asked how many children do you have? All the teachers told her their correct number of children except 1. Because this teacher was dishonest and wanted to keep tokens for herself I had to purchase tokens out of my own money for the children who did not receive tokens. I was so upset and I wanted to kick the teacher behind, but I waited until we got back and I informed my supervisor who did not do a thing. I did not talk to this teacher for a week. I was trying to let it go, but I could not believe that this teacher would lie and steal from a child. The teacher finally came to me and we talked about it. I told her that I was more disappointed than upset. She is suppose to be a teacher, a leader, a educator. I told her what kind of example does she think that set for the children and parents who volunteered on this trip. They saw a whole other side and they were not pleased. The parents got together and gave me my money back and some even took their children out of our program. I should have did like the text said I should have discussed the issue with the teacher and arrived to a solution. This is what O'Hair and Wiemann calls a win-win situation. The fact that my supervisor did nothing also showed me that I was in this thing alone.


In my personal life I try not have any conflicts. Even though I have disagreements with my family and friends I try to avoid having conflicts by changing the subject. I try to turn the situation into something positive. I always make jokes or make light of the situation. I feel that my family deserve respect instead of arguing with them over something small. I chose alternatives instead of having a conflict.

Do anyone have any suggestions on what I should do about my job?

http://www.waldenu.edu

We are different, We are the same

Communication

For this week blog we had to choose 2 people to evaluate us a communicator. When I first asked people to evaluate me I chose my sister and a colleague. After reading their scores I decided to pick to other people. I decided to pick my mother and another colleague to evaluate me as a communicator. The first colleague I picked was not fawn of me, so her scores were skewered. My sister and I really do not communicate well with each other, so her scores would not reflect me as a communicator. I decided to pick to new people who have seen me talk in one to one situations and talk in public with small and large groups. I found it interesting the my mother, colleague and I both scored in the same group for the listening style profile evaluation. All of us scored in group 1 which means I am people-oriented. I believe this to be true because in my position I have to build a relationship with the families I serve. In the verbal aggressiveness scale evaluation all 3 of us scored in the moderate level. I have a good level of respect for others when I communicate with them. The one that shocked me was the Communication Anxiety Inventory. My mother and I scored in the same level, but my colleague scored me differently. My colleague scored me in the low level. When I read to her what each level means and she said that she thinks I do well in group meetings and when I have to speak in public. She also stated that I do not look or act anxious at all. I was pleased to hear her say that and it gives me confidence to speak more in public. I usually shy away from speaking in public, but I try to do a good job if I have to.



http//:www.waldenu.edu

Communicating Differently

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

I find myself communicating differently all time even with people of the same culture. I work with people of the same culture and I communicate more professionally than they do every day. I try to make my families feel comfortable when I am talking to them. They try to make me come down to their level, but I remain professional at all times. I have parents who come in fussing and cussing and I never loose my composure. I do not fuss and cuss back, I always escort the parent to my office and allow them to finish venting. Once they finish I always ask them, do you feel better now that you have gotten all of that out of your system. They laugh and say yes. They always tell me you don't let nobody change you and I said no I do not. I have a very good relationship with all of parents and we are able to communicate well.

Based on what you have learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified.

Three strategies that I feel that can help me communicate more effectively are:

• Give them the impression that I am enthusiastic about talking to them. People want to feel that you would rather be talking to them than anyone else. This will make people feel better about themselves.
• Listen attentively to everything they say. I try not to focus on what I am going to say, but what the person is saying who I am talking to. This shows them that I am interested in what they have to say. 
• Give them the right amount of eye contact. Eye contact communicates to the other person that you are not only interested in them and what they have to say, but that you are also trustworthy. People will communicate better with you if they know that they can trust you. 

http://www.waldenu.edu