Time Well Spent

As I come to the end of my journey in the Masters of Early Childhood it is very emotional. I have spent this time connecting with so many different colleagues and connecting with their experiences. From this program I have learned the value of passion, passion is the driving force behind every aspect of this field and working with families.  I have become more aware of how my own passion for children and assisting families shapes my views and interactions in my own experiences. I've also learned the importance of celebrating and recognizing diversity in the field. Each one of my colleagues brought a difference of opinions and culture to these courses, just as each family brings their culture to the early childhood programs. Creating environments where families feel comfortable and welcome is crucial to their child's development, the creation of non biased education.  The third most important concept was leadership. The characteristics of being  a strong leader and leading a team of individuals successfully.

As I end this journey I also reflect on what my goals are for the future and how I can positively impact this field.  My ultimate goal is to become a leader in early childhood education for my community by managing several early childhood centers and becoming and advocate for the field by involving myself in several local early childhood agencies.  I want to impact the field by serving children and families and informing others how early childhood can positively impact a child's future.

I thank each and everyone of my colleagues for allowing me to become a member of their educational community and allowing me to share my thoughts and opinions with them. I also thank you for sharing your lives with me in return. I hope that this experience for each of you has made the same impact on your life as it has on mine. I wish  you all a successful and happy journey in the future.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community Internationally

If  I ever had the interest in working internationally in the field of early childhood, one of the first organizations I would turn to would be UNICEF as I have financially supported this organization in the past. UNICEF is the driving force that helps children globally through influencing policies, providing care, meals and ensuring girls receive proper education. There are several positions that you can fulfill with withe organization from intern, volunteer, to regular vacancies, general service, and positions in headquarters.  The positions are located all over the world. My interest would be in regular vacancies child protections which three positions are currently in Dem Rep Congo, Ethiopia and USA. To apply for these jobs you must complete a profile online and then they match you to a qualified positions. Save the Children is another organization that I would be interested in, in a 120 countries including the US they seek to improve the lives of children by improving health,education,economic, and during times of crisis they deploy units to recover children and decrease the affects of war, and other natural disasters. The position that interest me is within the US as a Program Specialist in early childhood development, as the program specialist your would provide technical and management assistance to the partner sits in Tennessee and Alabama. As well as
 Visit each assigned site on an as needed basis, supporting partners as they implement the Early Steps to School Success (ESSS) program. This involves providing training and technical assistance to the Early Childhood Coordinators on a regular basis with a particular focus on early language and literacy and parenting education for ages birth to age three, making training/coaching site visits to ESSS sites, providing adequate professional development and support to all partner staff.

• Drawing on the support of the Senior Early Childhood Specialist and Deputy Director of Programs, provide training and technical assistance and build partner capacity by working directly with site-based staff to ensure high-quality program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Coordinate the annual partner planning and budget process with assigned partners, assisting them as needed and expediting the review and approval process of the plans and the resulting Partner Agreement.
• Upon receipt from USP Finance staff, review for appropriateness partner requests for funds, quarterly financial reports and budget revision requests, and provide confirmation or questions to Finance and Subgrants staff for processing.
• Observe and monitor partner progress and performance to ensure effective and timely implementation of program objectives.
• Participate with the Senior Early Childhood Specialist and the Deputy Director of Programs in building relationships that align our programs and strategies with local/regional community and state activities associated with early learning.

FHI 360 mission is to improve lives in lasting ways by advanding intergrated, locally diriven solutions for human development. The values of are innovation, mutual respect, passion, accountability, commitment to excellence, and teamwork. There are open jobs currently but none that appealed to me, but I am interested in the mission of the company. 

Resources:

http://www.fhi360.org/about-us/vision-and-mission

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6226565/k.BFEA/Working_at_Save_the_Children.htm

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_Meet_UNICEF_staff.html