Roles in ECE- National Level

The Council for Professional Recognition

The Council for Professional Recognition administers the Child Development Associate® (CDA) National Credentialing Program.  This program promotes the professional development and improved performance by recognizing and credentialing professionals who work in all types of early care and education programs - Head Start, pre-k, infant-toddler, family child care, and home visitor programs.  The Council has set policies and procedure for the assessment and credentialing and administers this nationally recognized assessment.   Job Opportunities include a Professional Development Specialist.  The role of a PD Specialist is to connect with candidates who are searching for a specialist in preparation for applying for the credential.  The job requirements include the following: Must be able to relate to people of various racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds;  Must be knowledgeable about local, state, and national requirements and standards for child care programs serving children aged birth through 5 years; Must be able to schedule and conduct Verification Visits during normal operating hours of early childhood programs; MUST hold a minimum of a Baccalaureate or Associate degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following disciplines that includes at minimum, 18 semester or 24 quarter hours of coursework in Early Childhood Education/Child Development, studying children birth through 5 years.
- Early Childhood Education/Child Development
- Elementary Education/Early Childhood Education
- Home Economics/Child Development

Zero to Three
ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development with the mission to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.
The Senior Training Specialist provides a limited number of research-based training through face-to-face venues as well as distance venues (audioconferences, webinars and/or webcasts).  Reviews EHS NRC PowerPoint slides and provide recommendations for consistency and enhanced quality (e.g. limited number of words per slide; descriptive trainers notes; formatting; photo citations, etc.); Organize training filing system to ensure accessibility for all EHS NRC staff ;  Develop training templates utilizing existing materials; and Contribute to development and implementation of the annual national Birth To Three Institute. Education and skills include: Master’s degree in early childhood development or related field.  Strong knowledge of early childhood development and early childhood systems; with a specific focus on infant and toddler development; Strong knowledge of Early Head Start program development, the Head Start Program Performance Standards, and EHS technical assistance resources; Excellent training skills and experience providing training to a variety of audiences; Strong skills in the use of Microsoft Office products including Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher:  Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks;  Strong oral, and computer skills; Experience working in various databases; Ability to work collaboratively with individuals representing a range of backgrounds and skill levels; Ability to be flexible and adaptable to dynamic changes in the work environment; Ability to work with a team as well as independently; Strong interpersonal skills; and  ability to travel.


The Office of Head Start (OHS) promotes the school readiness of young children from low-income families through local programs. Head Start and Early Head Start programs support the mental, social, and emotional development of children from birth to age 5.  DANYA International Inc. is the prime contractor for the Head Start Monitoring Project, responsible for all facets of monitoring Head Start and Early Head Start programs, including recruiting reviewers, scheduling Head Start monitoring reviews and building review teams, coordinating reviews, and analyzing and producing monitoring review reports.   A Head Start Reviewer Consultant is responsible for collecting data from programs across the country. Teams of reviewers travel usually from Sunday to Friday. Activities include conducting classroom observations, reviewing documents, and interviewing staff and gathering other data using the Office of Head Start Monitoring Protocol. The Protocol measures seven areas of grantee performance and contains key indicators that are used to assess each grantee. Reviewers are required to provide their own laptop to conduct the data collection and a cell phone to communicate during reviews. Reviewers should be well versed in the Head Start performance standards and have excellent verbal and written communication skills; Excellent data gathering and analysis skills; Computer literate and proficient in Microsoft Office; Ability to work independently as well as with a team; Ability to complete work in timely manner, as determined by the Review Team Leader; Earned bachelors or advanced degree in early childhood education or child development.  Candidates must have a minimum of 3 years of experience in a Head Start, public, or private early child development program for children birth to age 5 at the local, regional or national level, State or Federal oversight of child development programs, technical assistance provider and/or other type of early child development consultant.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

Berks County IU is the grant holder for the PA Key in Pennsylvania's statewide QRIS system, Keystone STARS, Pre K Counts initiative, and the Head Start State Supplemental office.  One of the open positions currently at the PA Key that looked interesting is a PA Key Preschool Specialist which requires a Master’s degree in early education, child development or administration and a PQAS certificate preferred with a minimum of 5 years of high level work in the field of early learning and experience in partnership work and administration.  This person would provide monitoring and technical assistance to Head Start State Supplemental programs and Pre K Counts preschool programs.  A good candidate would have strong computer skills, an ability to work with an online reporting system, strong leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.

 

PennAEYC is the State Affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).  PennAEYC offers professional development, advocacy support, networking, leadership, and other opportunities for early childhood professionals.  One of the most outstanding resources is the SharedSource Pennsylvania, is new initiative that provides Pennsylvania’s  early childhood professionals with cost-saving and time-saving tools, best practice resources and a shared commitment to quality improvement. Shared Source gives practitioners access to policies, forms, regulations, handbooks, guidance, savings and more.  The Executive Director of PennAEYC is a position that requires administrative and leadership skills as well as very developed communication, advocacy, and collaboration skills.

 

DANYA International Inc. is the prime contractor for the Head Start Monitoring Project, responsible for all facets of monitoring Head Start and Early Head Start programs, including recruiting reviewers, scheduling Head Start monitoring reviews and building review teams, coordinating reviews, and analyzing and producing monitoring review reports.  The Office of Head Start (OHS) promotes the school readiness of young children from low-income families through local programs. Head Start and Early Head Start programs support the mental, social, and emotional development of children from birth to age 5.   A Head Start Reviewer Consultant is responsible for collecting data from programs across the country. Teams of reviewers travel usually from Sunday to Friday. Activities include conducting classroom observations, reviewing documents, and interviewing staff and gathering other data using the Office of Head Start Monitoring Protocol. The Protocol measures seven areas of grantee performance and contains key indicators that are used to assess each grantee. Reviewers are required to provide their own laptop to conduct the data collection and a cell phone to communicate during reviews. Reviewers should be well versed in the Head Start performance standards and have excellent verbal and written communication skills; Excellent data gathering and analysis skills; Computer literate and proficient in Microsoft Office; Ability to work independently as well as with a team; Ability to complete work in timely manner, as determined by the Review Team Leader; Earned bachelors or advanced degree in early childhood education or child development.  Candidates must have a minimum of 3 years of experience in a Head Start, public, or private early child development program for children birth to age 5 at the local, regional or national level, State or Federal oversight of child development programs, technical assistance provider and/or other type of early child development consultant.

A few words to live by...

Communication and Collaboration Final Blog

This week I attended a training and participated in an activity that was very appropriate to this current class on Communication and Collaboration.  The activity involved 5 participants who were each given an envelope that contained three pieces of a puzzle.  But, the pieces did not match .  For the activity, the members of the group had to exchange pieces to gather three pieces that would fit together to form a square.  However, according to the directions,  the participants couldn't talk and couldn't take from anyone else.  At first the group still tried individually to put their pieces together.  Then some of the members decided to give others some of their pieces.  As a result one person had a completed puzzle while everyone else still looked on.  Eventually, everyone got the idea and began to freely give their pieces to the others and quickly each person was able to complete their puzzle.  This simple activity had many good lessons.  First, it made us realize the importance of communication.   This activity would have been so much easier had the participants been able to talk to one another.  Second, a lesson about collaboration was learned.  Had the group not shared what they had or did not give up something to others,  no one would have been able to complete their puzzle.  A willingness to give and put the needs of the group ahead of individual needs helped the group make progress and achieve it's goals.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues from this course.  I appreciate your willingness to share and collaborate.  I know that I learned more as I read all of your discussions and blogs and got feedback from all of you.  Thank you!   

The Stages of Teams- Adjourning

Teams go through various stages including forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.  Forming is when a new team comes together and the members are getting to know each other.  The storming stage follows as conflict occurs over roles, relationships and ideas.  Teams who learn how to get past the conflict and work together then enter the norming stage.  During this stage team members put aside individual goals to achieve the goals of the team.  Some teams stop at the norming stage.  However some teams move onto the performing stage where they can problem solve quickly and effectively.  At this stage team members trust each other, they are interdependent and can work without the guidance of the leader.  At the adjourning stage, the team members say good bye to each other as the project ends. 
I have been a part of various teams during my career.  Some teams that I have worked in have never gotten past the storming stage whereas others have functioned at the performing stage.  I believe that adjourning from a group that is performing well together is the toughest group to leave.   One team that was difficult for me to leave was a group of child care providers who I worked with in a consortium.   The group was together for almost 10 years.  During that time the members came to trust each other and work well together.  At the end of the consortium, we had a luncheon as a celebration.   The members still keep in touch years after the end of our group. 
Adjourning is an important stage for teams, because it offers members an opportunity to celebrate successes and say goodbye to each other.  In preparing to finish my degree in the next 6 months, I will be saying goodbye to a group of people that I have experienced this journey with.  Although not a traditional team, we have come to know each other through the weekly discussions and posts.  It will be a wonderful to be able to celebrate the conclusion of our classes and the receipt of our degrees together. 

Dealing with Conflict in Relationships

Handling conflict in life is inevitable.  Whether in work or my personal life there are times when I have had to handle a disagreement.   I currently work with a child care practioner who often sees things very differently than I do.  We share similar goals because we both want her program to do well and we both want what is best for the children and families.  We differ however because I often read rules and regulations very literally whereas she looks at them very liberally, challenging what is allowable and what is not by "reading between the lines".  Currently this practitioner has been asking for my "approval" of something she would like to include in a grant application.  I am not sure of an answer because I have no knowledge or experience that what she is requesting will be allowable.  The provider however wants me to say that I agree.   We have conversations and although we haven't found agreement, we have maintained a working relationship.  Some things that have helped me to manage this type of conflict is that I don't involve my emotions.  Even though I am frustrated at times,  I always maintain my professionalism and talk with this practioner without getting emotional, using the "It's not personal, it's business" approach to the conflict.   Second,  I handle the conflict and don't avoid it- I remain open to discussion.    Third, when I am not certain of an answer to this practioners questions, I ask others in my office to get clarification.  I focus on the facts and avoid getting into a philosophical argument with the practioner. 

To my colleagues who are also taking this current class on communication,  do you deal with situations like this and how do you maintain working relationships when you have a conflict or a misundersstanding?

Evaluating My Communication and Listening Styles

For this week's assignment,  I completed three self assessments concerning my communication styles and listening:  1. )  Communication Anxiety 2.) Verbal Aggressiveness and 3.) Listening Styles.  I also asked my husband and a colleague complete these same assessments to provide me with feedback regarding how others view my communication and listening.  I was surprised that there was only one difference in the scoring of all the assessments between my scores and that of my family member and colleague.  My husband rated my communication anxiety as very low and judged me to be very confident in my communication whereas my colleague and I noted that I am uneasy in some situations but that I generally don't worry about communication.  The difference in the scores between my husband and I was substantial- over 10 points.  This surprised me as I thought that my husband and I would differ on my verbal aggressiveness rather than anxiety. 

My husband, my colleague and I rated my verbal aggressiveness as moderate.  The results of this assessment show that I maintain a good balance between respecting the viewpoint of others and arguing the facts without  attacking the person.   

Concerning my listening style, my husband, my colleague and I rated me as people oriented- trusting of others and an empathetic listener who is concerned with the emotions of others.  This result actually surprised my husband who after completing this assessment commented that he felt that I am action oriented- more business like, preferring clear to the point communication.   (I think this is because my husband can never make up his mind and I often have to push him to get to the point and make a decision.) 

The insight that I gained through this assignment is that apparently I have perceived my own communication and listening skills accurately since my scores for the most part matched that of my family member and co-worker.  I would agree that I am an empathetic listener, that I will argue with others but keep my arguments factual, and that even if I am slightly uneasy in some communication situations, I tend to not display that uneasiness or let it affect my ability to communicate in a number of situations.  Since I work on a daily basis with people in a variety of one on one, small group and large group situations it is important that I am able to communicate effectively.