Time Well Spent

Being in the Master’s program at Walden University has truly been a wonderful learning experience for me! I am so grateful to all of the supportive instructors I have had and the plethora of helpful and creative classmates whom I have had the pleasure of collaborating with. The writing center, library, and other online resources have been awesome and in these past 18 months I had no issues with technical difficulties and my course materials were delivered to me in a very timely manner. That being said, I would like to reflect on three learnings that were the most heartfelt and though it was difficult to condense because all were of great value to me, I chose Early Childhood Development, Issues and Trends, and Perspective, Diversity, and Equity.

With our ever changing and diverse nation with regards to culture, ethnicity, gender orientation, religion, etc., it is vital for EC professionals to be knowledgeable and possess the skills necessary to support the needs of all children and families. We must begin by recognizing our own biases and schemas and begin to eliminate them in order to provide the empathy, compassion, and encouragement children and families need. I was enlightened by the impact toxic environments has on prenatal fetuses and brain development for infants and young children and the detrimental long term health problems associated with can cause. Learning about the depth of equity in this country and how to recognize issues and research possible remedies is another area that influenced my perspective as well learning to recognize microaggressions and how to combat and educate the offenders. As I said earlier, it was very difficult for me to narrow down my most influential courses because I have learned valuable information from each one that I can utilize in my future endeavors.

My long term goal is within the next 10 years is for my organization to my national with expansion plans for global saturation. I also plan to write a book, and possess a reputation for my advocacy efforts that speaks for itself.

I would also like to take this time to say a sincere farewell t all of Dr E as well as all of my classmates and I wish each one of you the very best life has to offer and much

success in your new or enhanced careers as EC professionals. It is my hope that one day our paths will cross again on some powerful advocacy effort and we can become part of each other’s CoP. If anyone would like to stay in touch with me, please feel free to email me at diannansykes@aol.com or you may call or text me at (407) 247-2631.

God bless you all.

Dianna Sykes

Profile of a Volunteer

Pauline Nobles

Profile of a Volunteer

My mother has been an at home mom all of my life and has been an avid volunteer of so many efforts over the years from volunteering in our schools and classrooms to various church activities. She has shown me what true commitment to what one believes in is all about. Over the past few years since my father passed, she has concentrated her services to visiting people who are sick and praying for them either at home, in the hospitals, senior homes, etc. She has the gift of discernment and intercession which to me means that she can tell what is really going on with someone and can stand in the gap for them as they reach out to God. The comfort she provides to so many people has made such a positive impact on them and when I return home, I love reading the cards and letters she receives in thanksgiving for brightening days, eliciting smiles, and giving hope.

The message here is that we don’t know the lives we impact, seen and unseen, in what we do daily and I believe we have an obligation as fellow human beings to give back in some form or another. My goal is to give back to the children and families struggling with the hardships of disabilities with the hope of making a positive difference in their lives and motivating them to one day do the same for someone else.  My father’s saying was “each one, reach one, teach one.”

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

As I perused numerous international organizations, I had difficulty locating employment opportunities but found a few that were interesting to me. I chose these organizations because of their proven track record with making a positive difference in the lives of children and families.

UNICEF

Early Childhood Development Specialist

Key Expected Results

·        Support to ECD programs/projects development and planning

·        Program management, monitoring and delivery of results on ECD programs

·        Technical and operational support to program implementation

·        Networking and partnership building

·        Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks

·        Support to ECD program/project development and planning

·        Program management, monitoring and delivery of results on ECD programs

·        Networking and partnership building

·        Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate 

·        An Advanced University Degree in education, public administration/health, nutrition, economics, psychology, sociology, human development, child development, family studies or other social science field is required

·        A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in social development planning and management in early childhood development related areas at the international level some of which preferably were served in a developing country is required.

·        Relevant experience in early childhood development related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.

·         Fluency of the local language of the duty station as well as proficiency in English.

SAVE THE CHILDREN

Head Start Education & Disability Specialist
Description
The Education and Disabilities Specialist reports directly to the Early Childhood Education Manager and is responsible for provision of comprehensive support and monitoring of child development education services and practices; ensure monitoring of child educational outcomes and status of school readiness goals.  The position holder works in collaboration with the Health and Nutrition specialist, Center Director, Classroom and operational support staff to ensure quality program delivery to children and families and achieve highest program standards. As a front line representative of Save the Children the position holder is required to ensure the safety and security of children and families that he/she come in contact with and represent the agency values of Accountability, Ambition, Collaboration, Creativity and Integrity. Essential Duties, Responsibilities and Impact ·        Work with classroom staff to ensure quality teaching and learning environments. ·        Ensure planning, coordination, tracking and monitoring of special needs services; ensure integration of IEPs into individualized planning for children. ·        Support staff in ensuring that required screenings, assessments, and overall individualization are occurring in                                                                                                    classrooms. ·        Support teaching staff in the tracking, monitoring and reporting of child outcomes. ·        Support teaching staff in the development of Individual Professional Development plans. ·        Conduct regular classroom observations and evaluations. ·        Attend case coordination meetings with other staff in order to fully integrate services. ·        Participate in regular staff meetings to ensure integrated planning and implementation of services. ·        Oversee transition to kindergarten planning. ·        Supervision of  Head Start Lead Teachers. ·        Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor and Directors. Classroom monitoring and observations (30%); Staff Supervision (10%); Reporting (30%); Disabilities (30%) Required Background and Experience, Skills and Behaviors ·        Associate’s degree in early childhood development and education; Bachelor’s degree preferred ·        Two years work experience in a position that directly relates to the provision and monitoring of educational services and supporting teaching staff; supervision experience. ·        Strong interpersonal, communication and organizational skills.  Ability to work collaboratively with other staff and community partners in the provision of high quality services and resources to families. ·        Acceptable tuberculosis screening results, a clear criminal records check (including child abuse registry check and sex offender registry check if required by state regulations), MSDH Certificate of Immunization Compliance (MSDH Form #121)  and an initial health exam are required post job offer and prior to employment.    ·        To drive agency vehicles (if applicable), must have a valid driver’s license and be insurable by the Save the Children Head Start insurance carrier and have a Motor Vehicle Record acceptable to Save the Children Head Start.  Current and former Head Start/Early Head Start parents will receive preference for employment vacancies for which they are qualified.

NAEYC

Early Childhood Special Educator

Sterling Medical

Job Description and Qualifications

Sterling Medical seeks an Early Childhood Special Educator to work with children of American military families in a home-based early intervention program. The program works with infants and toddlers of American military families living on US military bases overseas. The position currently available is located at Bahrain. Rewarding opportunity!

Position requires either a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Special Education, a minimum of two years experience within the last five years working with developmentally delayed children in the 0, 1 & 2-year age population in a home-based early intervention capacity, and a current state teaching license/certification to teach in this capacity

International Organizations I searched and found no job openings or descriptions of jobs unavailable or not.

• World’s Childrenhttp://worldschildren.org/who-we-are/job/
• National Association for Child Development Internatinalhttp://www.nacd.org/
• Global Child Development http://www.globalchilddevelopment.org/
• Association for Childhood development https://acei.org/
• Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm

References

NAEYC (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2016, from http://www.naeyc.org/

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

Using Social Media to get Connected

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Social media has gotten many mixed reviews regarding the benefits and disadvantages from civil cases such as Peoples Court where evidence is presented from Facebook posts that help or hinder the case to exposure for all types of activities such as marathon races, to politics, and even to advocacy. Social media, used wisely can be very beneficial especially for advocacy efforts, and I have, thus far, only had positive experiences from it. 
Because I am technologically and time challenged, I limit myself to Facebook only although, some of my reads are circumvented to various sources such as YouTube. 

I feel I can use these sources to educate and inspire others because things have a tendency to go viral very quickly and without warning because people are able to, from the comfort and privacy of their phones, computers, etc., and with the push of a button, use their voice without fear of repercussions outside of a derogatory comment or being unfriended. 
My plan is to use all of the social media resources at my disposal when I open my business to gain as much exposure as I can. I will even begin a blog focusing on the hardships of autism.
Colleagues, what would you suggest as effective tool to promote advocacy efforts?

Advocacy Messages

As I perused campaign slogans, I found quite a few that were inspiring and many I have heard of before and brought back memories of the commercials I used to see.

One in particular has transformed a bit over the past thirty years and has morphed from“A mind is a terrible thing to waste to “A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in.”I think this slogan makes its point and is self explanatory. They not urge to invest money to help students who would not normally get the opportunity to attend college but goes further to say that we as a community need to make a personal investment that requires commitment to help our communities support and encourage students to go to college.  

“Maybe is all you need to find out more” is an ad campaign about autism awareness and encourages parents to seek help and describes behaviors such as playing repetitively with an object, not talking, and avoiding eye contact as signs of autism that should not be ignored because early intervention is critical for improving developmental outcomes in children.

The last two ads I chose to include because they impact my community and our future generations.

This ad encourages young men to pull up their pants because quite frankly, I think it’s idiotic and makes no sense. The ad says that they are negatively impacting their futures, portrays an image of crime and poor education and no one will be willing to hire them with that type of image.

The last one I feel is so profound because although we passionately protest about how black lives matter when it comes to others killing black people, very little is said or done to prevent black on black crime which is an epidemic in this country and unfortunately, more blacks are killed by their race than by other ethnicities, but the same can be said about whites as well which is that they are also killed more often by their own race. I truly believe that black lives matter but all the way across the board and if we are going to advocate saving lives, let’s use our advocacy efforts to save them all.

References

http://www.adcouncil.org/Our-Campaigns/Health/Autism-Awareness

http://www.politifact.com/florida/article/2015/may/21/updated-look-statistics-black-black-murders/

http://www.adcouncil.org/Our-Campaigns/Health/Autism-Awareness

http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/blacklivesmatter.asp

http://www.mindnotbehind.com/

"My Own Capacity"

Children with or at risk for special needs fuels my passion and specifically early detection and early intervention, shocker there!! I feel it is vital for parents, pediatricians, caregivers, and educators to be aware of the warning signs and be expeditious with seeking screenings and evaluations so that the child can benefit from intervention as soon as possible so that they will have the opportunity to develop to the fullest potential. The skills I possess that contribute and that I can incorporate into my advocacy efforts include first and foremost my passion, vision, empathy and compassion for children and their families. I also have effective communication skills; not being afraid to speak up; knowledge of the issue and/or the ability to utilize resources to gain it; problem solving; negotiation; decision making; endurance and consistency. I hope to grow in knowledge by staying abreast of current issues, identifying the stakeholders and developing skills to be a leader.

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

I chose NAEYC, ZERO TO THREE and HEAD START because they are all national organizations that focus on the development of children and making sure they receive the best start in life they can. My desire is to work with children and their families from zero to five who are or at risk for special needs services.
Though there were not any jobs available, the ones that were of interest to me are:

NAEYC

Job Title: Early Learning Coach

Job Description:

·        Working with diverse communities

·        Sharing proven instructional approaches to teachers and directors

·        Planning and developing professional development for the early childhood community

·        Reviewing, analyzing and interpreting assessment data for many customized reports

·        Observing early learning programs

·        Utilizing and interpreting assessment tools (such as CLASS, ECERS-R, Teaching Strategies (Gold)

In addition to the qualities mentioned above, you will need to possess the below required qualifications (or a combination of education, training or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class):

·        Master of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Human Development, or Teaching Credential with emphasis on Preschool through 3rd grade education

·        Four years professional experience working in Early Childhood Education

·        A valid driver's license

·        Ability to pass a criminal background and education check

ZERO TO THREE

Job Title: Community Coordinator Compensation

Job Description:  The Community Coordinator facilitates coordination and collaboration among community stakeholders on the SBCT, organizes and provides training to professionals and families, schedules SBCT meetings, keeps and disseminates minutes, and conducts follow-up activities related to SBCT goals. Essential Duties and Responsibilities

 · Works with Lonoke County judge to implement recommendations of the SBCT.

       · Assesses community’s needs for training/technical assistance to meet goals of Court                       Team.

       · Provides training related to trauma, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, learning disabilities,               relating to intellectually disabled parents, and other topics pertinent to the needs of the                      families served by the two SBCTs.

· Handles logistical arrangements for local training and work collaboratively with other Arkansas    organizations to provide training regionally or statewide.

· Mentors professionals trained in Step By Step Parenting.

· Coordinates with the Pulaski County Court Team and Lonoke County community agencies      to arrange local training and technical assistance activities and resources.

· Builds a strong collaborative relationship with the Pulaski County SBCT Community                Coordinator to ensure consistency in implementing the SBCT approach.

· Develops policies and procedures with Court Team to increase coordination and                          collaboration among participating agencies and between the Lonoke County and Pulaski            County Court Teams.

· Distributes/disseminates materials developed by project.

· Works with the judge and SBCT to implement the SBCT Core Components.

· Implements Arkansas evaluation plan – collects data on SBCT cases in Lonoke and Pulaski   Counties and enters it into SBCT database.

· Coordinates and communicates with Community Coordinators in other Court Team                    communities.

· Prepares quarterly progress reports required by funder. Contributes to other reports as              requested.

· Participates in regular project conference calls.

· Attends and presents at statewide, regional, and national meetings requiring in-state and out-    of-state overnight travel.

· Provides assistance to other nearby counties interested in implementing a Safe Babies Court   Team.

Qualifications:

Minimum undergraduate degree in child development, social work, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.

HEAD START

Job Title:

Education Specialist

Job Description

   FT Education Specialist (12 months)
Under supervision of Education Manager, coordinates educational activities designed to achieve compliance with Head Start Standards. Must have knowledge of Head Start standards and experience with HighScope, COR, ESI-R, CLASS, IEPs, SGOs, and other program initiatives. Act as a mentor and coach to all teachers and teacher assistants. Review weekly lessons plans to ensure compliance with program and curriculum standards. Assist teaching staff in developing and measuring learning outcomes and individualizing curriculum to meet children’s needs. Ensure all developmental screenings and assessments are completed in a timely manner. Ensure that curriculum, lesson plans, and daily schedule is implemented on a daily basis.  Responsible for ongoing monitoring of education component.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in ECE and hold or be eligible for P-3 certification. Bilingual (Spanish/English) a plus. Must take initiative be detail-oriented, reliable, & responsible. Must have excellent written and verbal skills. Must be organized and able to multitask. Competitive Salary + Health, Dental, Vision, Life Ins, 403(b)   

References

http://careerforum.naeyc.org/jobs/

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/careers/Region2/NewJersey/Education-Specialist.html

http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/careers/jobs/community-coordinator-ar.pdf

My Role as an Advocate

What motivated you to start advocating for very young children? The needs of my own child motivated me to start advocating for children because I figured there were other parents who had the same struggles as I did and I wanted to help them get through some of the hurdles I had to face.

Why is it essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the micro as well as the macro level? I believe many times it starts small such as a teacher changing the structure of her classroom to help students and realizes that her efforts are making a difference for other children as well.

What does it take to be a community leader on early childhood issues? To become a community leader, I believe one has to possess passion for what you want improve; not afraid to speak out on those issues, have effective communication and collaboration skills (zero)

What resources does it take to be a state leader on early childhood issues? I believe state leaders need to know the laws and legislative process of their state; be up to date with the current issues; have a community of practice that includes influential people; make children’s learning, development and well being the core focus; address children’s rights and honor diversity of all kinds in positive, constructive and courageous ways; build respectful, trusting, nurturing and equitable relationships; build respectful and genuine connections with families and communities; collaboratively develop a culture of ethical inquiry; and collaboratively create a community of learners.

What tactics or strategies do you use to mobilize others? Strategies to use to mobilize others include partnering with other groups doing similar work; conduct media events; form advocacy groups; network with others

What advice would you give to someone who was interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families? We need more leaders to advocate for what we want and be the voice of many so remember you can’t do it alone, educate yourself and don’t be afraid to be the squeaky wheel!

Note: I had to use resources other than those selected such as Zero to Three because I could not access them.

References

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/every-child-magazine/every-child-index/every-child-vol-18-4-2012/leadership-look-like-early-childhood-settings/

Reutzel, D. R. (2013). Handbook of research-based practice in early education (p. 75). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community:

Local and State Levels

The following are organizations in my state, Georgia that focus on early intervention for special needs children. They provide evaluations and therapy services to help improve developmental outcomes for children. I chose them because these are places to which I would seek employment. They have been in establishment for many years and have made a significant positive impact on the lives of children and their families.

 

·       Marcus Autism Center (marcus, n.d.)

With a wide spectrum of services and evidence-based treatments, families can receive diagnosis, treatment and support in a single location. Treating patients across Georgia and the Southeast, Marcus Autism Center is the comprehensive resource for children with autism and related disorders.

·       Babies Can’t Wait (Department of Health Georgia, n.d)

a.    Provide a coordinated, comprehensive and integrated system of services for infants and toddlers with special needs, birth to 3 and their families.

b.   Provide early identification and screening of children with developmental delays and chronic health conditions.

c.   Improve the developmental potential of infants and toddlers birth to age 3, with developmental or chronic health conditions.

• Georgia Head Start (georgiaheadstart, n.d.)  

Provides education, leadership and advocacy that support Head Start programs’ efforts in delivering high quality comprehensive services to Georgia’s children, families and communities.

Unfortunately none offer any jobs I am interested which is:

Early Intervention Specialist
The skills and experience I need include considerable knowledge, competence, teaching skill and intervention planning ability in the area of child development. EIS should be skilled in trans-disciplinary team approaches and methods of best practice in early intervention. Applicant must have a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education, Special Education, Social Work, Sociology, Psychology or related field from an accredited college or university. One year of experience in the field of early childhood education, OR one-year experience working with infant and toddlers, OR one-year experience with children age birth to 5 years with disabilities. Transportation and the ability to travel between clinics and to clients' homes is required. Part-time (7 case load) and Full-time (20 case load) positions available (www.indeed.com) 

References

http://www.marcus.org/

http://dph.georgia.gov/Babies-Cant-Wait

http://www.georgiaheadstart.org/

www.indeed.com