Opportunities on the National Level

Jobs/Roles in Early Childhood Education on the National /Federal Level

                Since my background in early childhood has been varied over the past 25 years, there are several dream jobs I would feel I could do well and make a difference in the lives of children and families.  I was somewhat surprised to actually find some postings when I began to research opportunities for this assignment.

                The first position I would consider as a Grantee Specialist for ICF International. This is a large corporation that meets the training and technical assistance needs for many different industries and service organizations, including Head Start.  As a Grantee Specialist, the person works with Head Start programs that have been identified as having a program deficiency.  Their base is in their own home and there is considerable travel involved with the position. Grantee Specialists also facilitate professional development at the request of Head Start programs they are assigned to.  ICF International is a well-respected organization that prides itself on being   innovative.  For this position, a Master’s degree with a strong concentration in program design and management is preferred along with five years’ experience as a Head Start director. I enjoy trouble shooting, educating adults and helping with the strategic planning process so I think this would be a good fit for me.

                The next position I would consider would be as a Director for the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Academy for Early Childhood Education (NAEYC). This job supports programs completing the NAEYC accreditation process.   I think I could use my years of experience working in the field to help directors prepare for the process.

                I would also consider a position as a Program Specialist in the Region 3 office of Head Start.  This position supports the direct service providers of Head Start within a specific geographic area.  As a Program Specialist, you provide guidance and support to program directors as they formulate school readiness goals, family engagement strategies and general program management concerns.  Having been on the other side of the position as a program director, I feel I would have not only formal education in early childhood but also working knowledge of the challenges directors face.

                The last position I found as I researched jobs on a national level would be a Grant Reviewer for the Administration for Children and Families which is a component of the Department of Health and Human Services. This Federal department reviews all applications for Head Start funding. After being trained on site in Washington, DC, most the reviewing is done virtually with a cohort of specialists.  The group includes experts in the early childhood field as well as financial experts and health nutrition experts.  Again, having written several grants over the years, I feel I would be a working knowledge to the process.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

                I feel that part of my responsibility as a Head Start Director is to be connected to organizations that support the early childhood community.   Locally, I have been involved with East Penn Association for the Education of Young Children.  It is an affiliate of the national organization.  The group provides a venue for connecting with other early childhood professionals in my community.  Over the years we have planned conferences, attended Early Childhood Action Day in Harrisburg, the state capital and worked together to keep local legislators informed about early childhood issues.

                I also am a member of the Pennsylvania Head Start Association (PHSA).    This group is an affiliate of the National Head Start Association.  The main purpose of the group is to be a voice for Head Start in Pennsylvania.  It is an active advocacy group.  PHSA also facilitates Director’s Round Tables quarterly which provide opportunities for networking which is helpful. I participate in this group because it is a good way to stay informed especially on political issues that affect Head Start.

                Having come to understand what a Community of Practice (COP) is, I realized my participation in the Berks Early Care and Education Council (BECEC) is an example of a COP.  This group came together informally with a shared mission of providing services more efficiently for young children in our community that have special needs.   As the group evolved, we also began to work together to plan and carryout a conference each Spring that is not only for practitioners in the field of Special Education but also parents.

                 The three organizations I have listed have unique purposes in my life as an early childhood professional.  I have made connections with others in my field that are beneficial in many ways.  I also feel that I have made some friends who share the same passion I do for the work we do.

                I reviewed the job opportunities in Pennsylvania by doing a general Google search and found several that were interesting.  One was a collegiate teaching position at Millersville University.  The opening is for an instructor for their Elementary Ed/ Early Childhood Program.   One of the things that motivated to acquire a Master’s degree was to someday teach on the college level. 

                Another job that I found interesting was that of Keystone Stars Specialist.  Keystone Stars is the quality rating system in Pennsylvania.  Early childhood programs of all sorts have the option of participating in Keystone STARS.  There are five levels of excellence that can be attained.  There are perks for programs that reach STAR  5 including additional program funding.  The program is known throughout the state by parents and provides a rating scale that parents can use to help them choose a child care facility.  The Specialist helps programs prepare for each STAR level and evaluates the quality of their work. 

                The other job that seemed interesting to me was also a teaching position.  It was part of the continuing education program at Northampton Community College.    I think working with non-traditional students would be interesting and take a different set of skills than what would be needed in a more traditional college setting.

                In all three positions, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood was preferred as well as at least three years direct experience in an early childhood program.   The STARS position also required administrative experience preferably in an early childhood setting.

                Exploring options in the field of early childhood education is not something I typically do since I am content to finish out my career in my role as a Head Start Director but it gave me insight as to other options I will have at the completion of my degree.

The Journey Continues.......

As we prepare to move on to another phase of our Master's Degree  journey,  I want to thank you all for the thoughtful contributions you have made along the way.  Some of us will continue on through the administrator's track while others will move on to other specialty areas.  Best wishes to you all !
                     Judi

Adjourning

Saying goodbye can be difficult in many circumstances we find ourselves in both personally and professionally. I think our level of commitment to the group weighs heavily into whether we can just walk away or whether we have a difficult time.  It was extremely difficult for me to leave the mentors that I had recruited for a school-based mentoring program I coordinated a few years ago. This group of individuals from different sectors of our community made a commitment to meet with a student at risk of dropping out of school for at least one hour every week.   The individuals involved took time out of their busy work day to meet their student at school and give them the one-on-one attention many of them rarely received.  When I made a career change, telling the group I would be leaving was one of the hardest things I have ever done. This group had become more than people I recruited to mentor at –risk children, they had become my friends as well. I had serious concerns about what would happen to the program after I left the agency which made saying good bye even more difficult.  Sadly, because of the time of year I left the program, I wasn’t able to plan a closing event. It is something I regret even now, five years later. 

                 Over the past months as I have worked on my master’s, I have had regular online contact with my classmates through our discussions and blogs.  The relationship is certainly different than a face to face relationship which in my opinion, makes adjourning from the group different.   The personal connection is lacking so saying goodbye for me will probably a closing blog entry to my classmates.

                Adjourning is important as a team completes their task because it provides everyone with the opportunity to feel a sense of accomplishment and freedom to move to new things.  I think as part of adjourning, the team has the opportunity to acknowledge each other for the work they completed. As I think about my experience with leaving the mentoring program, I realize now that formally adjourning from the group would have actually made it easier for me to move on, a lesson learned.

               

Using My New Conflict Resolution Skills

This assignment came at a perfect time!  For the past two weeks I have been dealing with a conflict at work that involved me, three of my staff, my supervisor and the director of our department.    Here are the details to set the scene- every year staff and I attend the Early Childhood Summit for three days in October.  It is a wonderful event that provides many workshops, experts in the field as key note speakers, state and federal updates on funding and a good opportunity for networking with other early childhood professionals.  It is something I include each year as I prepare the train and technical assistance budget for the program.  Past practice has always been that each person attending has their own room at the host hotel.  We all registered and reserved our rooms as we have done in the past.  About two weeks after this was completed, my supervisor emailed me requesting that I discuss sharing rooms with the staff going this year since the organization itself is tightening spending.   I explained to her that the money is already in place in our program budget so it was not a hardship for us.  I also reminded her that if the money was not spent out, it would need to be returned to the funder and could affect the amount of the allocation for the next program year.   Her response was that was still the present expectation of the organization that people share rooms when going to conferences.  I found myself in a true conflict both personally and professionally.  I knew I had no intention of sharing my room and as I discussed it with the other staff attending, each had legitimate reasons for not feeling comfortable sharing a room.  Everyone also said, had they known before-hand that would be the expectation; they would have declined the invitation to attend.  I have struggled with this for the past two weeks!  As I read the materials for this week, I found myself thinking about ways to incorporate these techniques into my situation.  First, I met with the staff involved to give them the opportunity to share their feelings relating to this request.  I then presented their concerns to my supervisor and the director and proposed a compromise.   I suggested the possibility of finding other accommodations in an all-suite hotel.  If I could find something that was less than the cost of separate rooms, I would propose that to my staff.  They both found that to be reasonable possible solution but the director said that going forward, sharing rooms would be expected but if there are no accommodations that would work, she would allow everyone to keep the arrangement they already made.  I was grateful for the internet! It made my research fairly easy and didn’t take too much time in my already very busy day.   As it turned out, the options were very limited and the only accommodation I found that was less expensive had a suite with only a partially divided room and still only one bathroom.   I met with my staff again, and shared what I found.  They did not feel those accommodations would be any better than just sharing a room.  I  reported back to my supervisor  the outcome of my meeting with my staff and she agreed, I had done as much as I could to attempt to comply with the new way of thinking  and that arrangements already made should stand.

                Reflecting back on the conversations with my staff and with my supervisor and the director, I can now see how different strategies affect the outcome when there is conflict.  My staff actually shared that they felt respected by the way I handled this and really appreciated it. I can’t say I felt the same way in terms of how I was treated by my supervisor and director.  The tone of my meeting with them was authoritative and uncomfortable for me.  In the end, there is a positive outcome and we will all be able to attend Summit.  I was grateful for the new skills I had just learned related to conflict resolution.  How timely this assignment was!

Who Am I as a Communicator

     The three  tests we used for this assignment provided an interesting assessment of my communication skills. As I compared how I scored myself with the scores provided by my co-worker , Nanette and my long-time friend, Pat, I noticed some similarities.   I was surprised by the difference in the communication Aniexty Inventory.  While I consider myself a competent communicator and felt my score reflected that, both Nanette and Pat scored me considerably higher. I must admit, this bolstered my confidence.
      I also discovered just how much my personal schema impacts on my first impression of people I interact with. When I reviewed my classmates answers, I realized that we all probably based the answers on a personal frame of reference.  I think it would be difficult not to . Having that awareness now, I intend to before conscious of this as I make new aquaintences.
     Another insight I gained this week was related to the Listening Skills Profile.  My score as well as the scores Nanette and Pat provided, put me in Group 1. I wasn't  surprised by the style being people oriented. Every position I have ever held in the work world has involved interacting with people. The description pointed out that people scoring in this group are empathetic which is a positive quality when interacting with others.  It also stated that there are some negative implications as well which I had never thought about.  Sometimes being too empathetic causes one 
 to be more trusting of others which can create problems in communication and relationships. As I thought about this more, I understood the connection.  I see being people oriented as a benefit both personally and professionally. This assignment helped me come to understand the importance of  keeping a balance between being empathetic and at the same time maintaining a realistic perception of how other people are feeling as we communicate with them.

Strategies for Communicating More Effectively

I find myself communicating with the staff I oversee differently than I do with other colleagues.  We have different personal backgrounds, different levels of education and different work ethic in some cases.  Sometimes this becomes problematic and I almost set myself up for issues by not taking the time to adjust for these differences.  I have found myself misreading their nonverbal cues and even failed to consider our cultural differences at times.  The three techniques that especially stood out for me this week that may help me remedy this problem are self-monitoring my environment and the others in it for signals that will help me determine how to present myself (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012), becoming more aware of nonverbal behaviors of the group and improve my ability to pick up on the silent messages (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010) and applying the Platinum Rule by putting myself into the other person’s frame of reference. I hope to improve the communication with my staff and in doing so, have more productive and positive interactions with them.   I think incorporating these things into my interactions with the staff will produce a more positive climate for everyone. I find myself thinking about the quote “In each head there is a world” (Gonzalez-Mena, 2011) and knowing that there is so much truth in just those few words. By adopting that mindset when I communicate with others will help me become a more competent communicator.

 

References

Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J. & Redmond, M., (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others  

                (6^th Ed.). Boston, M: Allyn & Bacon

Gonzalez-Mena, J., (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families.  Upper  Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012) Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.