The state and local organizations I explored are ones that I have had previous experience with or have some knowledge of. The first one is at the local and state level in Iowa and is called Early Access. It is a partnership between the Department of Education, Public Health, Human Services, and Child Specialty Clinics to identify and evaluate developmental and learning needs in children birth to three and work together to provide services to the children and families. It is a free service to families and helps address concerns as early as possible so the child can grow and develop in the best possible way. I chose this organization because I was involved with them when I worked as a home visitor in a previous job. I was able to coordinate the ways I implemented in helping the family with the services of the Early Access worker. I saw how the family was supported in helping their child by participating in both my program and Early Access and the child benefited by having the developmental needs targeted with an Individualized Family Service Plan where goals were established for the family and child and was revisited regularly. I enjoyed working with another organization to meet the individual needs of my children so I could be more confident they were getting what they needed to succeed.
The second organization is at a state and local level. Iowa is divided into Area Education Agencies (AEA) and I live and work in the Heartland AEA 11. The organization provides professional development, special education services, library and digital resources, management and support services, and instructional services to schools and teachers around the state. I chose this organization because I have taken many professional development classes from them to further my early childhood knowledge and have used their expertise with problem-solving, collaborating, and evaluating some of my first graders when learning needs become apparent. the AEAs in Iowa provide a wonderful support system to the educators in our state.
The last organization is at Iowa's state level and is known as Early Childhood Iowa (ECI). "There are 45 Early Childhood Iowa Areas statewide representing all 99
counties. Each area has a citizen-led board to support activities to
promote collaboration and develop systems in the community for young
children and their families" (Early Childhood Iowa, n.d.). "These resources allow local ECI boards to: expand home visitation and
parent education; create quality improvement activities for child care
and preschool providers, including professional development and
training; increase the availability of infant, shift care and inclusive
child care; and increase access to child care and preschools for
children living in low income families" (Early Childhood Iowa, n.d.). I chose this organization because it is one I want to get involved with. I have learned through my classes at Walden that I need to become more of an advocate for children and I feel this organization will allow me to do this. I have already contacted the director for information on ways I can get involved.
The current job opportunities at these organizations are minimal and it was difficult to find a list of careers at each organization. I was unable to find a career opportunity link on the Early Access website. It is connected to the Iowa Department of Education so when I searched for "job opportunities" the list was for public school positions.
On the Heartland AEA website, the current opening include speech and hearing pathologists, special education consultants, and hearing teachers. I do know that I would enjoy working as an Early Childhood Specialist with Heartland and facilitating trainings with teachers in the area. Iowa has an initiative called Every Child Reads 3-5 and Every Child Reads Birth-3. I have taken both of these and feel I could lead sessions such as these because of my Master's in Early Childhood and my reading endorsement. I was unable, though, to find a list of required skills and experience for this job.
The website for Early Childhood Iowa did not have a link to careers, either. I was able to find as a result of a search on the site the Early Childhood Iowa State Advisory Council Implementation Plan which had a goal of finding an ECI Systems Coordinator. The responsibilities of this position "would be to expand and support system-building efforts outlined in the Early Childhood Iowa Strategic Plan with a specific focus on goals, objectives, and activities outlined here" but it had no date (Early Childhood Iowa, n.d.). I would like to be able to have an effect on how Iowa's early childhood programs are rising to the challenge to provide quality care for children.
References
Early Childhood Iowa. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodiowa.org/ECI_initiative/index.html
Heartland Area Education Agency. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.heartlandaea.org/
Iowa Department of Education. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/early-childhood/early-access
I enjoyed reading your section on Iowa's AEA's. It sounds like you received some valuable professional development from them. It is interesting that Iowa is broken up into Area Education Agencies. I feel that Ohio, my state would benefit from this. I will now do some research but all that I am aware of in Ohio is the state Department of Education and then private education consultants. Like you, I found that many of the positions I would be very interested in had limited or no availability but I did like this assignment because it broadened my thinking when it comes to early childhood positions outside of school systems and day cares.
ReplyDeleteDear Laurie
ReplyDeleteYou have really explored and found some wonderful job opportunities. I live in a small community and there are not very many jobs available. I enjoy working with children in any capacity, and it seems as you do to. I enjoyed doing this assignment it has taught me a lot about searching for new avenues in the job environment. Thanks for sharing.
Linda
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteI was frustrated with current job openings in some of the Iowa early childhood agencies as well. This frustration caused me to see what other early childhood agencies were out there and expanded my search through all of the AEAs since my local AEA did not have any early childhood openings. The lack of early childhood positions in our AEAs frustrates me also because I know AEA positions have been continually cut in the last five years and the cuts usually start with early childhood positions.
Thank you for your blog post!
Nicolette
Dear Laurie:
ReplyDeleteI find your blog to very interesting. I am particularly interested in learning more about Every Child Reads 3-5 and Every Child Reads Birth-3. Thank you for the website.I will visit to find our more on this opportunity. Great post!
Sharon Munroe.
Great blog post! There are several people in our class from Iowa and it seems you two used at least one of the same resources. They should make job openings easy to find! Mine were hard to find also. What kind of job would you be looking for after you get your masters?
ReplyDelete