www.hildebrandtlc.com - I wanted to focus on this website because they are not only my employer but they have a program that I feel is great! They partner with businesses in the area to offer high quality childcare to the businesses they pair with, so their staff members have child care for their children. All centers are NAEYC accredited and strive for quality care, staff members and programs for the children involved in their care. Job opportunities: I already work for this company as a teacher in an infant and toddler setting. They do have a posting for a job as a Program Specialist that I am almost qualified for. I am approaching my third year working with the company, and they request a specialist have worked with the hildebrandt company for over 3 years, as well as demonstrating excellent communication and leadership skills.
www.cdfc.com: The child development and family council website is a website for a non-profit organization in Centre county Pennsylvania. Their mission includes offering education that is inclusive and educational to all children involved, allowing for enriching experiences to help the children grow. They also offer a safety net program which partners with Children and Youth to assist families in affording quality child care. Job Opporunities: None listed at this time, but their programs in school age would be beneficial to me to gain experience working with older groups of children, and parents of other children.
www.pakeys.org: PaKeys.org is a site I use to find out about seminars and conferences in my area. There are also opportunities to do web based learning to gain training hours in early childhood. It is a requirement of my job to obtain 24 hours of training each year. This website lists all the trainings in Pennsylvania by county, and also offers a link to web based learning trainings which you can download work sheets, gain access to a online classroom and complete the class at your leisure. Job Opportunities: There are none listed at this time but I would love to have the opportunity to run workshops for different centers focused on development. I would need to obtain my teaching certification as well as some experience in leading workshops. I would also have to master a focus of early childhood in order to offer a class focused on a certain subject.
Job opportunities: not currently available but I would love to be involved with the development of the staff at child care centers. I would like to go into their center and observe, take notes and then return to offer suggestions to improve their practices, their room set up and routine if they feel they are having issues with any of those aspects. I would help then learn the way to observe their children effectively and how to best interact with parents for the betterment of the children.
I know that for many of the jobs I would wish to apply for I would need much more experience working in the field. It is great that I have the education, and will continue to read articles and attending trainings but many of the individuals in the positions I seek have had multiple years experience in different levels of the field. I know in order to work my way up into a position of Education Specialist in a program, I need to familiarize myself much more with the program I wish to work in. As of right now I have 4 years experience working in a child care setting as an infant/toddler teacher, and 2 years experience working as a family therapist. These experiences have helped me gain skills working with children and families, but more experience is often required to move into the higher positions to be sure I can work in the environment.
I have not had experience with Preschool children, or leading a staff, so I would need to gain more experience with these aspects.
If I were to seek becoming a professor of Early Childhood I would need to obtain a teaching certification, as well as years in a educational setting. I would start out first running seminars, moving into full day conferences to build my resume with those leadership skills.
References:
CDFC. (2012) The Child Development and Family Council. 10 May, 2012. http://www.cdfc.com
Hildebrandt Learning Centers. (2012). Hildebrandt Learning Center. 11 May, 2012. http://www.hildebrandtlc.com
PAKeys. (2011) Pennsylvania Keys . 11 May, 2012. http://www.pakeys.org
5 comments:
Cassie,
Thanks for your post!
Many of your colleagues in the MSECS are preschool teachers. We have gained knowledge in diversity and teaching and above all have years of experiences working with children and families in preschool. Feel free to use us as resources for your preschool initiative in your future endeavors.
All the best!
Cassie,
I really enjoyed reading your post because my husband is fascinated with the Pennsylvania area and has applied for a few jobs in that area. It was refreshing to read your post because it provides information on agencies there that specialize in Early Childhood field should I find myself in this area in the next year or so. I also like the fact that you have the opportunity to participate in training online which is not very common in my area. Great post!
Cassie,
I always enjoy reading your blogs! I wish you all the best at your goal as being a Program Specialist, just hang in there and you will have the experience you need in no time at all. The information you shared provides one with resources that enhances ones professional development.
Cassie, experience is not something you can rush. Make sure you are paying as much attention to the present and what you can offer now as you are to the future and where you want to be. It sounds like you have some great goals to work for and keeping your eye on them will help you get there. Use the resources you have and continue to grow. I have a lot of experience and still feel there is something new to learn all the time.
Cassie, you have awesome goals for your future. As an experience educator I would like to commend you on your challenge to achieve more. Try applying for an Education Specialist at different locations to pursue your goal of helping teachers and families in the classroom settings. I used to be an Education Specialist for Head Start. I enjoyed everyday of that job, however, due to the closing of the agency I went in the opposite direction of Center Director. Just keep trying and you will achieve your goals with the experience you have, because of your passion.
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