Three National/Federal Organizations or Communities

March 29, 2014
• The Three National/ Federal Organizations or Communities that appealed to me and why I chose them.
1- The Division of Early Childhood (DEC) is an international membership organization for those who work with or on behalf of young children with disabilities and other special needs (Division of Early Childhood, 2014). I have chosen this organization because lately, I have discovered that there are many of our students within my school community with various learning disabilities such as autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among others. I would like to broaden my understanding and learn more about these disabilities to help a broader spectrum of students. There is also a great deal of recent up-to-date resources that I could utilize as an educator as I pursue working with not only special needs children but also those with challenging behaviors. The (DEC) website offers links to other websites where these resources can be readily retrieved and I like this very much (Division of Early Childhood, 2014).
The mission of (DEC) is to provide policies and advance evidence-based practices to support the optimal development of these young children with special needs (Division of Early Childhood, 2014). There is a post as an Early Childhood Educator that is open at The River School- DC- Washington. The skills and experience needed include having a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood or Special Education and also collaborative skills. This job appeals to me as I am a very good team player, energetic and enthusiastic about students’ success (Division of Early Childhood, 2014).

2. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is my next choice. This is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children. It is the NAEYC’s mission to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources (NAEYC Bylaws, Article I., Section 1.1) (NAEYC, n.d.). As I research the job opportunities available, the one that I found appealing is Communication and Information Specialist. I would be responsible for supporting the work of the NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation. Responsibilities would include developing and maintaining online resources for programs pursuing accreditation, coordinating various communication channels, and clearly conveying information to a variety of audiences. The Specialist would also provide technical assistance about the accreditation process, policies, and procedures to NAEYC customers and the general public. This is a very inviting post which requires a BA degree in communications or related field; outstanding writing, proofreading, and customer service skills; experience with MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, and content management systems; web design fundamentals (i.e., basic HTML and CSS). Experience in the field of early childhood education and knowledge of NAEYC’s accreditation system would be great (NAEYC, n.d.).

3. The third organization that I have chosen is the Center on the Developing Child- Harvard University. This Center was founded in August, 2006 by its Director, Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D (Center on the Developing Child 2011). It was founded in 2006 on the belief that the vitality and sustainability of any society depend on the extent to which it expands opportunities early in life for all children to achieve their full potential and engage in responsible and productive citizenship (Center on the Developing Child 2011). It is their view that healthy child development is at the foundation of economic prosperity, strong communities, and a just society (Center on the Developing Child 2011). Thus their mission is to drive science-based innovation that achieves breakthrough outcomes for children facing adversity (Center on the Developing Child 2011). This mission appeals to me in a very significant way because it is in keeping with my passion to ensure that there is the promotion of the healthy development of children and their families that will bring high returns to all levels of society (Center on the Developing Child 2011). One of the job opportunities that I could be involved in at this time would be to work with the Frontiers of Innovation, launched in May 2011. They are a group of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, philanthropists, and experts in systems change from across North America. The goal of FOI is to bring about substantially improved outcomes for vulnerable young children whose needs (or whose caregivers' needs) are not being fully met by existing policies and programs(Center on the Developing Child 2011).The skills that would be needed would were not given. However to be a member of Frontiers of Innovation (FOI) community, one has to be willing to forge cross-sector collaborations that prompt creativity, support experimentation, and foster learning from experience(Center on the Developing Child 2011).

I am also interested in the resources and media products that are available via the Center’s outgrowth initiatives such as The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and The National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs respectively. These initiatives are helping us to understand why public investments should be made in the early childhood years (Center on the Developing Child 2011). I am positive too that the research from this Center will prove to be very invaluable to my Capstone Project and will help to sharpen my research skills.

References
Center on the Developing Child (2011). Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from
http://www.naeyc.org/
The Division for Early Childhood. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.dec-sped.org/