The National Association For Early
Childhood Education is always been at the top of my list of well respected
national organizations for early childhood education. One of the first teaching jobs that I held
was in a NAEYC accredited facility and their standards for quality care and
education have been engrained in to all of my practices ever since. NAEYC’s first goal within their mission is
“Improving professional practice and working conditions in early childhood
education” (naeyc.org, 2012). This is one
of my own personal, primary goals that I have for my work in this field. So, it is only natural that they are one of
the national organizations that I choose.
Currently, NAEYC has a position of
Accreditation Coordinator that I would absolutely love to make as my
profession. This position assists NAEYC
customers with the accreditation process via phone, email and site visits. The qualification include; a BA in early
childhood education, several years of teaching in an accredited facility and
strong understanding of the accreditation process; all of which I have. However, all NAEYC positions are held within
the Washington D.C. area and I do not know that I would be willing to move
clear across the country at this point in my life.
The second national affiliation
that I am interested in is the Council for Professional Recognition. The council governs and monitors the CDA
credentialing system. Previously, I have
taught the core class work for individuals working towards their CDA. The CDA is a Child Development Associate
national credentialing system that works toward improving and recognizing
individuals in the field of early childhood education (cdacouncil.org,
2012). This credentialing certificate is
often the first step to catapulting educators further along the educational
path within the field.
The Council does not currently have
any employment opportunities at this time however, this is definitely a program
that I will continue to monitor for opportunities.
Finally, there is the National Association
for Family Child Care. This is a
national organization that promotes quality family child care while also
focusing on promoting family child care as a profession (nafcc.org, 2012). The community that I work in is very rural
and the survival of many families is depended on access to child care. Much of that child care comes from home based
providers. It is vital that these early
years of children’s lives be based off of quality care and education even if
they are in the comfort of someone’s home.
This is where NAFCC comes into play.
I was also unable to locate any
employment opportunities within this organization however, there are a plethora
of resources available including resources, accreditation information and
conference information.
Cdacouncil.org
NAEYC.org
NAFCC.org