Exploring State and Local Opportunities

In Washington, DC there are many national organizations whose headquarters are stationed in the city.  There are many national organizations and many non profit organizations in the city however, I found it difficult to find some that were specific to early childhood education.  In my search I came across three, one of which I have had interest in since I have worked with them in my previous employment. School Readiness Consulting, is a company that services the early learning community in a variety of ways.  They offer training and support in CLASS, they provide internal leadership and professional development, create and implement data collection for decision making and support policy implementation on a variety of levels (School Readiness Consulting, 2014). This firm helped to support instructional specialist in my previous position specifically on adult coaching development.  Another organization I found was Fight for Children which raises money to ensure low income children obtain high quality education and remain healthy (Fight for Children, 2014).  The final organization is the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative. The focus of the nonprofit is to guide children through an educational path to graduate and become successful members of their communities.  Currently this organization has a position that was very interesting, a early learning coordinator for which I am qualified based on the requirements listed below.  However, I have limited experience in supervisory positions and I have never worked for a non-profit.  The description is below:

Summary: Works closely with DCPNI partner organizations, parents, and other stakeholders to ensure high quality care and education for all children and parents participating in DCPNI and partner educational and development services.

Coordination and Management

• Responsible for the overall operation and well-being of the early learning programs
• Supervises educational activities facilitated by external parties
• Plans and implements intentional, systematic, and engaging activities that support early development and are inclusive of all children
• In collaboration with partner organizations, plans and ensures the implementation of intentional, systematic, and engaging activities that support the development of early learning skills
• Helps to create safe, clean, and engaging programs that encourage both exploration and complex play for children
• Establishes positive working relationships and communicates effectively with children, parents, partners, community members, and DCPNI staff
• Assist in the coordination of training, technical assistance, and professional development relevant to wraparound support for early learning providers and community stakeholders

Program Quality, Monitoring, and Evaluation

• Ensures the safety, security, and well-being of all children and staff
• Ensures that all goals for quality control, curriculum implementation, staff management and training, parent communication, record keeping, facility operations, and community outreach are met
• Oversees and maintains children’s records as well as all documentation
• Engages family participation in programs through opportunities to visit, volunteer, and/or share resources
• Proactively identifies opportunities and contributes as part of the Early Learning team

Supervisory Responsibilities

This job has no supervisory responsibility.

Educational and Professional Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education or related field
• 2 to 3 years of professional early childhood education teaching experience required
• Certification in Infant and Child CPR and First Aid strongly preferred
• Demonstrated knowledge of child development, pre-literacy and literacy attainment and early childhood best practices required
• Teaching or educational leadership experience in a low-income community strongly preferred
• Understanding of DC early learning community, early learning standards and kindergarten readiness strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability in working with cross-functional teams
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with early learning providers with regard to program implementation
• The ability to work flexibly in a rapidly changing environment
• Excellent written and oral communications skills
• Experience working in Ward 7 or in schools or organization East of the River is highly preferred

Resources:

DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative (2014). Retrieved from http://dcpni.org/early-learning-coordinator/

Fight for Children (2014). Retrieved from http://www.fightforchildren.org/About_Us.html

School Readiness Consulting (2014). Retrieved from http://www.schoolreadinessconsulting.com/