From Passion to Action

When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

Three consequences of my experience being part of a caring, collaborative learning community for my professional growth:

          I have gained more knowledge about the early childhood systems, how they have developed and their goals for closing the disparity gaps.

          I also have a greater respect for the families that struggle daily not only to ensure their child(ren) get quality educations, but to provide for them the best they are able.

       I am even more encouraged use my voice and advocate for the rights and needs of others. I was told a long time ago that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and I was forced to put that into motion with my own children. Now I am ready to use it to help others!

One of my goals is to stay abreast of current advocacy, policy and system development work to help children and families thrive.

I have truly enjoyed this class, the knowledge and insight I have gained, and the wonderful discussions we have shared.

My Hypothetical Family Situation

My Hypothetical Family Situation

I am married mother of 4 children; 2 girls, 2 boys, and a husband who travels 70% of the year. I was pregnant with our last child, a boy, and had to be hospitalized at 22 weeks because my cervix was dilating. After a cerclage (sewing the cervix closed), I was hospitalized to monitor myself and the baby in hopes to prevent a premature delivery. We are told the risks of delivery prior to the 27^th week are death, blindness, bleeding on the brain which will cause severe mental disabilities, and developmental delays. Our son, Xavier, was born at 24 weeks, 3 days weighing 1lb, 10oz. He was not blind but had ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) requiring laser surgery to help connect the nerves in his eyes; had no bleeds on the brain, and remained in NICU for 11 weeks. We later discovered because the umbilical cord was prolapsed and he went without oxygen for an unknown period of time, which caused a mild form of Cerebral Palsy that affected his lower extremities orthopedically, and therefore took longer for him to sit, stand and walk on his own. Xavier has been diagnosed with CP, Autism, developmental delays, and Sensory Integration dysfunction.

We are a middle class family so my husband and I decided that I would remain home because Xavier needed physical, occupation, speech and sensory therapy 3 times weekly for 30 minutes for each equating to approximately 2 hrs 3 days a week not including travel time there and back. That coupled with the having to transport and care for my other 3 children made working outside the home virtually impossible and we were ineligible to receive any government assistance for early care programs, although it would be nice to have someone to care for all our children so that we can have some leisure time. Unfortunately, finding quality dependable childcare or nanny services for that matter has proven to be quite frustrating and unsuccessful especially when I need a break or simply want to travel with my husband. My extended family support is limited because everyone had their own children to take care of and because of Xavier’s special circumstances.   

The challenges I face are having access to doctors and therapists that could accommodate Xavier needs in a timely and consistent manner; in home therapy; having a preschool that provide safe transportation to and from the school, even for half day students, resources and support groups with which to connect to get the emotional, and possibly physical help (maids, nanny) to assist in taking care of the children; in home tutors; resources to help understand our rights with regards to an IFSP and IEP and how they will affect Xavier and our family.
Colleagues, below are some questions for you to consider as I you read my situation. Please let me know if any of these apply to me:

• Have I given a complete picture of my family, or are there details missing that I should include in order to complete the assignment successfully? If so, what are your suggestions?
• Is this situation realistic?
• Are there any specific websites I should be reviewing with regard to learning about quality services and programs for my child and family in this hypothetical family situation?
• Does anyone have any thoughts, based on my specific family situation that will affect the early childhood system I am creating?

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

There are many strategies that are currently being used by advocates and/or organizations like BUILD Initiative and Head Start to influence political will toward improving early childhood systems in order to foster the well-being of children and their families. One strategy Head Start has is to encourage and facilitate parent and family participation in their child’s developmental and educational planning and implementation. The family is the most influential part in the development of children academically, emotionally and socially.

When families are truly engaged as partners, they take the lead and make decisions about their child’s learning and along with the program staff, they commit to working together on children’s behalf. This type of positive goal-directed relationship between families and program staff is critical to children’s development and school readiness.  

Another strategy with regard to diversity and equity that BUILD utilizes is supporting state leaders through tailored technical assistance, capacity building, and peer learning opportunities to help them address a number of gaps, often characterized by income, race/ethnicity, language and opportunities that exist in child outcomes, as well as in system capacity and response.

One of my many interests lie in closing the educational gaps caused by the inequities stated above and also closing the time gap between appropriate evaluation for children with special needs and implementation effective early intervention services because
All children need and deserve a care and education that will help them live to their fullest potential. They are our future and based on what I see, unless we begin to make some steep positive steps, could be bleak evidenced by the number of prisons being built in anticipation.

http://www.buildinitiative.org/TheIssues/DiversityEquity.aspx

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

Head Start

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

I listened to the stories of the parents and grandparents from each category and decided the common denominator was that Head Start not only helps children but the family as a whole. Almeta Richards for example, went from being a struggling parent to a program director; Lawrence Thomas became the chairperson of the policy council and is an active member of the Fatherhood initiative after he obtained full custody of his sons; and Sandra Reza was able to obtain her degree in psychology to help her grandchildren. Each parent shared their individual stories about Head Start and how they are not your typical childcare agency and preschool and truly focuses not only on high quality education for children but parental empowerment and involvement to become as partners in not only their child’s education, and a better way of life for the entire family. Through their experiences, these parents have been motivated to reach back and help those who were once in their shoes and truly combat poverty in this country.

Head Start provides many opportunities for parental involvement and maintains that parents are the child’s first and most important teachers and how they interact with them physically and emotionally promotes healthy brain development and improved developmental outcomes. 

Family involvement is critical not only for Head Start, but for every strand of service because not all families are able to be served by Head Start but each deserve the high quality program they provide

and parents can make a difference in that quality at every educational level from Day Nurseries to Primary school and beyond by using their voice, becoming a part of the policy councils, and partnering with EC professionals, community leaders and government officials to make the necessary changes for the betterment of all children.

Each story is unique but also can touch the lives of so many experiencing the same challenges in their own lives giving hope, motivation and encouragement to persevere. From a professional perspective, it is encouraging knowing the work teachers are doing is valued, effective, and positively impacting lives. Hopefully these stories will also encourage and ignite the public, policymakers, and government officials to continue to financially support Head Start and even expand to other service providers to be able to accommodate all children and families at some level, not just the super poor.

Reference

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about/stories/

Quality Programs for All Children

Quality Programs for All Children

I believe that current public opinion in the US with regard to the value and importance of providing quality services for all children and families is that all children have the right to a quality education and all should have equal access as well. Also, I feel that “quality education” entails professionals that have the skills and training to support the growing diverse population of children and families here in the US including language, cultural and ethnicity; culture and diversity rich classrooms; appropriate services for special needs children.

Parents are now viewed as partners in collaborating with childcare and educational professionals because the families play a significant role in a child’s development and I believe they are now taking a much more active role and should continued to be embraced and encouraged by administrators and teachers. I hope that over the next five years, funds will be made available at every level to accommodate all children from birth through graduation providing them with a quality of care and education that will help to improve their academic, social and developmental outcomes in a positive capacity. I would like to see teachers, with all of the new educational requirements, be recognized for the important role they play and receive higher salaries. I feel this is not only fair but also serves as an incentive to gain the training and skills necessary to provide quality education to all children. My hope is that impact of advocacy, services, and policies will reduce the number of children receiving remedial services, thus increasing the amount of children successfully graduating high school and moving onto higher educational and economic statuses.

What Resonates With You About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

Why did you choose this specialization? 
I chose the specialization public policy and advocacy of early childhood education because I am passionate about increasing positive developmental, academic, social/emotional, and physical outcomes for all children and especially those with exceptionalities by providing more accurate evaluations of children at risk for special needs services; reducing the time gap between diagnosis and treatment; increasing the number of children mainstreamed into regular education/co-taught classes, graduation, and post secondary education; partnering with parents and providing them with the tools they need to help their child(ren) reach their fullest potential such as parenting classes that teach families how to acclimate to an exceptional child, learning all the facets of an IEP, and their rights under IDEA and other government programs.

Explain why advocates are essential in the early childhood field and why you believe becoming a skilled and confident advocate is crucial for early childhood professionals and for the field.

I feel in order to be an effective advocate, I must possess the knowledge and skills to share with and help the people I interact with and most importantly, I must have a passion for what I do. That along with my experience makes me a trustworthy advocate individuals can count on in their times of need. It is also important to have a reliable and accurate resource base in which to refer my parents and families so they can get the assistance they need.

 What do you hope to learn about public policy and advocacy and articulate at least three goals related to this specialization at this point in your coursework?

The three goals I have related to public policy and advocacy include:

·        Gaining more knowledge about what advocacy entails, i.e. policies as it relates to children and families

·        Collecting resources I can take and use in my professional career

·        Learning how to locate and partner with advocates in my community