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

National Association of Child Care Providers-  nccanet.org

This organization is exactly what I need to belong to.  The focus is on creating higher quality child care with the emphasis on the expertise of providers and educators as their own entity.  I also like the understanding that child care is essential for the growth and survival of the community. 

NCCA supports policies that are beneficial to children

“NCCA in conjunction with our members will work to generate information based upon our years of experience of best practice to deliver the highest quality along with what is most practical for our members. “

School Choice

“Competition makes us all better. Parents should have the options to choose among the best programs for their children’s needs. “

Equal Participation with regard to funding for all providers of Early Care and Education Birth through 5

Regulations should be equitable, across the board, for all providers, public or private.

“Everyone should follow the same rules. Therefore some ECE providers should not be held to a lower standard than others. “

Right to work environment for early care and education professionals

“NCCA is committed to a high quality, skilled, and trained work force with the highest salaries and benefits based upon the free market place, demographics and competition.”

Career Opportunities:  I cannot find information on jobs but emailed the board president for information concerning National meetings and conferences. 

Project  Construct  National Center- projectconstruct.org

For 30 years the national center has focused on constructivist early childhood education.   Since the first framework was created in the early 90’s the following guiding principles have driven this focus. I live in Missouri and the National Center is in Columbia Mo.  Because of this I have reasonable connections to some of the creators of the original framework including my college instructor who was a part of the original team.

Principle 1. Children have an intrinsic desire to make sense of their world.

Principle 2. Children actively construct knowledge and values by interacting with the physical and social worlds.

Principle 3. In their universal effort to understand the world, children’s thinking will contain predictable errors.

Principle 4. Children’s development is an interactive and interrelated process and spans the Sociomoral,Cognitive, Representational, and Physical Development domains.

Job Opportunities:   I researched jobs at the National Center.  When the framework is being revised, there are several additional members of the revision team.  I could not find info on the office team but emailed the center hoping to get information on the daily workings of the center.

Council for Professional Recognition- cdacouncil.org

The council for professional recognition is the council responsible for the training and certification of child care professionals all over the US.  The Council recognizes and credentials professionals who work in all types of early care and education programs - Head Start, pre-k, infant-toddler, family child care, and home visitor programs.

Job opportunities:  CDA Prof. Development Specialist

The PD Specialist works as a private contractor earning $100 per visit.  They conduct the observation and review with candidates for the CDA

Professional development Specialist Requirements:
To conduct Verification Visits as a CDA Professional Development Specialist, an individual must meet the following criteria:

TECHNOLOGY

·         Must have a valid email address

·         Must have access to the Internet

PERSONAL

·         Must be able to relate to people of various racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds.

·         Must be knowledgeable about local, state, and national requirements and standards for child care programs serving children aged birth through 5 years.

·         Must be able to schedule and conduct Verification Visits during normal operating hours of early childhood programs

·         PD Specialists conducting bilingual Verification Visits must be bilingual.

·         PD Specialists conducting monolingual Verification Visits must speak the language of the assessment.

EDUCATION

·         MUST hold a minimum of a Baccalaureate or Associate degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following disciplines:
- Early Childhood Education/Child Development
- Elementary Education/Early Childhood Education
- Home Economics/Child Development

·         The degree must include, at minimum, 18 semester or 24 quarter hours of coursework in Early Childhood Education/Child Development, studying children birth through 5 years.

EXPERIENCE

Option 1For those with a Baccalaureate degree, two years in a child care setting serving children from birth to 5 years of age to include:

·         One year working directly with children as a caregiver, teacher, child life worker, social worker, or similar role and one year facilitating the professional growth of at least one other adult.

Option 2For those with an Associate degree, four years in a child care setting serving children from birth to 5 years of age, to include:

·         Two years working directly with children as a caregiver, teacher, child life worker, social worker, or similar role and two years facilitating the professional growth of at least one other adult.