Time Well Spent!- Week 8

Well, we made it! It has taken us a long time, but we finally have finished our master's program at Walden! I am so excited! I just want to take a moment to thank each of you for your help along the way. I will always remember my time at Walden and how much help you have all been in planning my Capstone and moving forward with my career. I know that we will each excel in our future endeavors and I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone.

I've learned a lot about who I am as a leader and who I want to be throughout the past 8 weeks. I'm compassionate towards my teachers because I was a teacher and know how difficult their job is. Teachers, in general, do not get enough credit for how hard they work, but early childhood teachers are some of the hardest working people I've ever met. Blood, sweat, and tears go into working in this field, and I want to continue to be a leader that is empathetic and compassionate for my employees.

I've learned that there are so many more opportunities in the educational world that are not teaching jobs. When we posted on our blogs about different jobs that were available in different organizations, I could not believe how many there actually were. I was naive and didn't realize all of these companies were actually there and can help anyone that wants to be a part of the ECE field but also doesn't want to be a teacher.

I've learned that goal setting is WAY more important than I have realized in the past. While planning out my Capstone assignment, I came to the realization that goals are what help us to measure success. Even little goals can be accomplished and are just as important as big goals. 

A long term goal of mine is to open my own Goddard School. I want to make a bigger difference in the lives of families with young children. I want to hire amazing staff and be able to pay them what they deserve to make, instead of what I can afford to pay them. 

Best of luck!

Leanne

leannefogerty925@gmail.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

International Step by Step Association 

https://www.issa.nl/

"Our vision is a society where families, communities and professionals work together to empower each child to reach their unique potential and embrace values of social justice and equity.

As a membership association, we are an international learning community powered by the leading early childhood experts in Europe and Central Asia. We unite and support professionals and partners to deliver high-quality early years services equitably. We challenge existing knowledge and practice and co-construct new approaches and models.

Through our work we advocate for and support competent Early Childhood Systems for all children, especially the most vulnerable. We strive to increase awareness of the importance of Early Childhood Development and of a qualified workforce. As a leading early childhood network and learning community, we promote quality, equitable and integrated services for children, families and practitioners."

Communications Assistant (Part-time, maternity cover) 

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for an enthusiastic colleague with:

• Two to three years of related work experience; portfolio of relevant previous projects highly preferred
• Hands-on experience with web content management systems
• Familiarity with Mailchimp, Hootsuite, and Zoom
• Proficiency in MS Office suite applications
• Excellent oral and written English
• Excellent multitasking skills and a high level of attention to detail
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines
• A flexible and positive mindset, and the desire to learn and to be a part of an enthusiastic team of professionals
• Experience with the Adobe Creative Cloud, in particular Premiere Pro and Photoshop; highly desirable
• Experience coordinating various consultants and vendors; highly desirable

 

What are the tasks?

You will work to:

• Develop text and images, and conduct interviews for ISSA’s websites and newsletters
• Develop messages for ISSA’s social media channels
• Support with the documentation of and reporting on Communications processes
• Support the coordination of ISSA’s website maintenance
• Support the work of the Communications Team to host online events through Zoom
• Support the Communications Team to distribute newsletters and other communications outreach materials
• Support the Communications Team in communications with the Association’s Members

 

Terms of employment:

Starting date: Beginning of March 2022

Temporary contract: 10-11 months

Part time position: 24- 32 hours/week

Other Benefits: 25 days holiday (based on full-time employment), pension

Office-based: If government measures allow, working from ISSA’s office based in Leiden, with flexibility to work from home for short periods of time

 

Childhood Education International

https://ceinternational1892.org/about-us/

"Since 1892, Childhood Education International has been committed to one primary objective: ensuring children’s access to quality education worldwide. We create programs and projects that support pre-primary to primary school-age children so they can learn, grow, and develop optimally. We collaborate with teachers, education leaders, families, community leaders, health professionals, government agencies, the private sector, and civil society organizations. Together we provide innovative solutions that enhance learning and development for all children."

We are currently seeking specialists in Education, Child Rights and Protection, and Policy Development.

When you join the CE International Global Consultant Directory, you are showing your concern for access, equity, and quality in children’s education around the world. This Directory provides CE International with the ability to locate technical experts and consultants in various specialized areas of education and in varying geographic locations.

We are looking for consultants and experts in a range of topics who possess:

• Graduate level educational background in education, international development, health, or a related field.
• 5 or more years of professional experience in their area of expertise.
• A commitment to children’s rights to education and learning, child safety and protection, and innovative practices.

Review the “Call for Consultants” to learn more about required expertise, knowledge, and skills. If you fit the profile and would like to become a consultant, you may apply to join and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Save the Children

www.savethechildren.net

THROUGH OUR PROGRAMMING, EMERGENCY RESPONSES AND ADVOCACY, WE PUT THE MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN FIRST

Save the Children's work saves and improves children's lives around the world. We work to ensure children have healthcare, food and shelter, as well as learning and child protection services when children need it most. We are committed to helping all children achieve their full potential by ensuring they grow up healthy, receive a good education, and stay safe.

Securing children's rights is the foundation of our work. Millions of children around the world are denied their rights, simply because of who they are or where they are from. We know that to ensure every child has the chance for a future their rights must be upheld.

Through our programming, emergency responses and advocacy, we put the most vulnerable children first, tackling the barriers to survival, learning and protection.

There were about a dozen pages of jobs posted for this organization. Initially, I did not see any that really interested me. However, when I dug a little further, this particular job stood out to me.: Global Expertise and Humanitarian Surge Platform (GEHSP) is looking for a Response Team Leader – Humanitarian Surge Team to join our team. 
"The Team Leader will generally be deployed to manage a Category 1 or 2 response, and to provide response oversight and strategic direction to the country programme in collaboration with the Country Director and the Operations and/or Humanitarian Director. In rare occasions, the Team Leader will be deployed to out of area responses and will be reporting directly to the relevant regional office or SCI centre. 
 
It is critical that a successful candidate has an experience leading or being part of a senior management team in first phase, rapid on set emergency response; and is fluent in French, Spanish, and/or Arabic, in addition to English. "

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

NAEYC- The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. The association comprises nearly 60,000 individual members of the early childhood community and 52 Affiliates, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning. Together, we work to achieve a collective vision: that all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential.

www.naeyc.org

Child Care Aware- https://www.childcareaware.org/about/child-care-aware-of-america/

Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) works with a national network of more than 400 child care resource and referral (CCR&Rs) agencies and other partners to ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable child care. CCAoA leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, conducts research, and advocates for child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families. CCAoA also provides child care assistance for military families through Fee Assistance and Respite Child Care Programs that have served more than 150,000 families and worked with more than 60,000 child care providers over nearly two decades.

National Resource Center For Health and Safety In Child Care and Early Education- http://nrckids.org/

Since 1995, the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (NRC) has maintained and continues to develop national health and safety standards for early care and education settings, as compiled in Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs (CFOC).

The only job I could find on these three websites was a director of talent management at CCA.

This is the description of the job:

This primary responsibility for the Director of Talent Management will be to maintain an entrepreneurial spirt while partnering with hiring managers in the identification and selection of diverse talent to support CCAoA’s mission to advance a high quality, affordable child care system for families.  The Director will work closely with the Chief, People & Culture to implement comprehensive talent management and retention strategies to maintain an engaged diverse workforce. 

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent related experience.
• A minimum of 5 years of directly related work experience in human resources, specifically, talent sourcing, selection and on-boarding.
• SHRM-CP or PHR preferred.
• Prior government contracting experience a plus.
• Demonstrated understanding of routine Human Resources processes and procedures, including some or all of the following: employment law, affirmative action/equal employment opportunity.
• Excellent computer skills, including Word and Excel in a Microsoft Windows environment with proficiency using HRIS’.
• Knowledge of federal employment laws, regulations and policies governing human resource management functions including recruitment, staffing, position classification.
• Organized with strong analytical, writing, and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills to work with diverse groups in a tactful and effective manner.
• Must be tactful and discreet, with the proven ability to maintain confidentiality and professionalism in the execution of duties.
• Solution-oriented with an ability to navigate challenges in a manner that yields the best outcome for all parties.

This job looks like it would be something close to what I am currently doing, except that I have no prior government contracting experience.

I'd highly consider applying for this job, except that I would have to re-locate to Arlington, Virginia and I am not willing to do that. 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

 PACCA- Pennsylvania Child Care Association- https://pacca.org/

"The Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA) is a statewide non-profit, membership organization. For more than 40 years, PACCA has served as a resource and clearinghouse of information for practitioners, agencies, press, legislators and the general public. Founded in 1973, PACCA has helped to inform, update and represent child care providers on existing and changing laws, regulations, policies and developmental research relating to early education and child care."

OCDEL- Office of Child Development and Early Learning-https://www.education.pa.gov/Early%20Learning/Pages/default.aspx

"The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) (a collaborative effort between the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services) is focused on creating opportunities for the commonwealth's youngest citizens to develop and learn to their fullest potential. By developing an effective early childhood education system with high standards for programs and professionals, supports to meet these standards, accountability and community engagement, OCDEL is helping our children, families, teachers and communities reach this goal. Parents, schools, child care providers, Early Intervention and Head Start programs, libraries, community organizations, and other stakeholders have joined with the OCDEL to provide high quality early childhood programs and effective family support programs to address challenges faced by families that affect school readiness and academic success."

Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Program-https://paearlylearning.com/

"The Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission is a partnership of business leaders dedicated to making the success of every child in Pennsylvania a top priority. We work to improve tomorrow’s economy through smart policy and investment in today’s young children by fostering public and private sector investment in educationally, economically, and scientifically sound early learning programs. These investments are essential to assure the best possible return - Pennsylvania’s edge in the national and global marketplace."

Based on these opportunities, I would like to continue in my role as a director. I will be able to continue advocating for the children in my care and to help teachers better themselves. Eventually, I would like to work at the corporate level of a school where I can mentor new directors and teachers in their roles. I am thriving in my career currently and I know that I can be better and continue to make a difference.

Thank You!

 As we move forward in our journey to our degrees, I want to say thank you to my colleagues that I have been working with along the way. You all have helped me learn and grow and I feel that I have changed my outlook on life with your assistance and guidance. I've learned several lessons along the way, especially through this last course together. Collaboration and communication are important in all aspects of life, but especially in early childhood and throughout our classes together.

I look forward to working with you all again in the future.

Team Building and Collaboration, Part 1

 My hardest goodbye was leaving the group of teachers that I had worked with for nine years. We had grown up together: attended each other’s weddings, met new babies, helped during troubling times. When I decided to leave this school, it was as if I was leaving my extended family. They had all taken such good care of my daughter through the years, and I was extremely sad to not be able to give them the chance to help me raise my son.  We had been there for the best times together, and pulled together when times were tough: not having enough staff, or a director, or experiences with awful parents.

When I left, we cried, hugged, told stories from over the years, and just loved each other. I knew I was making the right choice by leaving the company that I was working for, but leaving the people was the hardest part. The environment was toxic, but my co-workers are what kept me there for so long.

I think the reason this was the hardest was that we had grown together. We knew how to make the school operate without even trying. We were a well-oiled machine.  

My hope after working with people for so long is that we can stay in touch throughout the years. Social media has been extremely helpful in reconnecting with friends and colleagues from the past. Also, our blogs have been helpful in getting to know each other. I would hope that we can continue to be a part of each other’s lives since we have shared so much together.

Adjourning is so important because it is the closing chapter of a book series. We work together and grow together and when finishing, we write our final chapter together and are able to close the back cover of the book. The finality of the experience is there but friendships do not have to end.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

I love my job. I am confident in my work and I am able to really relate to the teachers that I am working with. As the assistant director of the school, it is my job to intake new families, tour potential families, and assist teachers in their classrooms with issues. I speak to the teachers on the regular and often give messages to them from families that have emailed and from the executive director, with who I share an office. 

Today, I had a disagreement with a teacher because I told her she could leave early! I had previously told three other teachers that they could give breaks to their co-teachers and leave early as numbers were low and I didn't need them for the afternoon. This teacher, our infant lead teacher, began arguing with me in the classroom. I made sure to be positive when I gave her the news (because who doesn't love to leave early on a Friday?!) and I was not met with the reaction that I had expected. She began arguing with me that she did not want to lose her hours and that it wasn't fair to bring in the afternoon teacher early so she would have to leave early. I told her I would see what I could do but didn't make any promises. 

Personally, I hate when teachers argue with me in the classroom. It is extremely disrespectful and inappropriate for the classroom. I have no problem with a teacher coming to me and discussing an issue, but I do not like when they argue in front of the children and other teachers.

After I walked out of the room, I sat in my office and seethed for a few minutes. I had not handled the situation exactly how I should have, as I do not like conflict and I completely shut down.

Later in the morning, the teacher actually came to me to apologize for her reaction. I used skills from NVC expression to explain to her my reasoning for having her leave early. I also explained my feelings about her initial reaction to me. It had upset me and I wanted her to know that it was not an appropriate way for her to react.

I also remembered the requests vs. demands list from CNC. I was able to explain my feelings and her reaction. In the end, we hugged after our conversation and there were never any hard feelings from either of us. Perception is reality and going back to what we learned about in weeks prior about the platinum rule, I had to treat her the way that she wanted to be treated. 

My final thought is, would you have done anything differently?