Exporing Roles in the ECE Community

The exploration of the various roles that I could take on in the early childhood field is something that I have greatly been anticipating.  Upon obtaining my Master’s degree I most definitely want to begin working for one of these various organizations.  The opportunity to explore several great agencies has shown me the multitude of options available.

The three organizations that I researched are all very related.  The relation between the type of programs they are was not diverse but they all serve the communities that they reach in ways that I hope to accomplish in much the same way.

The first was the Nurturing Center at nurturingcenter.org, based out of Kalispell, Montana.  Their mission statement is "Strengthening Families, Sustaining Communities!"  With a name such as this and a mission statement like that - what more do you need!  This is a diverse organization that offers a multitude of services to the community that it serves however, the service of training to providers is something that drew me in.   I was searching for teaching positions on the Montana Early Childhood Project's website (mtecp.org) job board and came across the position of Early Childhood Professional Development Specialist.  This is a position that offers training and technical services to local child care providers in the area - which is exactly something that I want to pursue in my area.

The second organization, which is also advertising for a similar position was Child Care Resources in Missoula, Montana.  These two organizations are both hiring for a training position to bring in, recruit, train and offer support and assistance to families and teachers in their communities.  They are both under the umbrella of the Child Care Resource and Referral Network or CCR&R which many of you will find familiar in your areas as well.

This brought me to investigate the National level of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies or NACCRRA.ORG.  This is a national level of the child care resource and referral agencies that works to accredited this agencies, provide support to these agencies and provide training and technical systems to providers, teachers, community members and families throughout the country.

As I mentioned, the first two organizations both have job opportunities that are exactly what I am looking to do in the near future.  I currently hold the skills and the requirements for both positions which is; Bachelors degree, level 5 on the Practitioner Registry and experience teaching as well as experience in teaching adults.   However, they are both a ways a way and would be a significant physical move for me which is just not an expense I want to handle right now.  However, I will keep my eyes and ears open for something to come much closer to my home town!