The Final Farewell

This has been a welcomed ending of this journey. I started at Walden in 2011 and after 7 years I am finally at the end.  During this journey I stopped three times due to surgery and other health challenges, withdrew because I was going through a divorce and then was dismissed from the university due to low GPA at the beginning of this Capstone in 2015. I appealed three times, rejected the first two and finally in September I was readmitted.  I say this to say one lesson learned is to never give up on a desire or dream; no matter how many roadblocks you may face, keep pushing. Another lesson from this program is the importance is building your community of practice.  Within the profession of ECE, there are various roads to meets every passion and interest.  Having a variety of members in your practice enables you to stay informed, maintain resources, and gain knowledge.  A third lesson is the importance of gaining and retaining research-based knowledge to defend your actions and choices in how you work with adults, choices we make for families and children, and ideas and programs we develop and support. This last lesson is the reason for my long-term goal: to maintain yearly memberships with at least one national and one international early childhood organizations in efforts to sustain and gain knowledge in trends and best practice.  

To my professor and colleagues, thank you for challenging my thoughts and ideas.  I appreciate you feedback, questions, and support.  Everything you gave to me helped in my professional growth.  I found your ideas interesting and your projects captivating as we all served different needs under the same umbrella of early education.  I wish you tremendous success in your journey.  I hope you strive for excellence in your work as you did with each course.  I hope your find yourself in areas if discomfort and challenge because the gold is working your way through them.  May every wish and desire come true for you.

I hope to have you as members of my community of practice moving forward. **I am technology illiterate, so I have no idea how to record or upload a video on here**

Best of luck to you. Looking forward to 15-20 years out to see how our visions have manifested into reality. 

Talibah Thomas

FB: Talibah Roxy Summers Thomas

Email: Talibah.thomas@gmail.com

            

International Organizations and Communities of Practice

Since becoming an expat, I have found great importance in expanding my community of practice to include international organizations to keep up to date in my profession as well as possible employment and professional development opportunities. Below are three organizations I have found in my research:

OMEP (Organization for Early Childhood Education and Care)

OMEP was founded in 1948 the welfare of young children was impacted due to World War!  This non-profit organization has committees in over 70 countries and “consultative status” with UNICEF and the United Nations.  Their mission is to promote and defend the right of high-quality education and rights and care to every child worldwide. OMEP organizes and facilitates international conferences, training for early education and care, family education, research and study in issues related to early care and education and collects and disperses information worldwide. Currently, there are no job opportunities posted (there is no option for them on the site). However, there are links to professional development and volunteer opportunities (www.worldomep.org).

Save the Children

Save the Children is an organization that supports children globally to ensure they are healthy, safe, and learning.  Supporting children in crisis and those who are in need, Save the Children has Emergency Response efforts, as well as global programs to create educational programs and health support in vulnerable places and those countries in crisis.  Aside from loads of volunteer opportunities, they have 108 job openings across the US and positions in three other countries.  One job that caught my eye an Early Childhood Development program specialist. Responsibilities included, management of program implementation, compliance programs, start up support, and partner and budget planning. Surprisingly, requirements included, a HS diploma and 3-5 years with infant toddler experience (www.savethechildren.org).

Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation

The United Arab Emirates just celebrated its 47^thnational day.  41 years ago, early in the beginning of the countries establishment, this foundation was formed to support the development of Emiratis, beginning from zero to three.  Currently the foundation has three initiatives it is focusing on: parent programs to increase support and empower parents on best practice, a fellowship program in partner with Yale university, and a development center also partnered with Yale University that will house a lab for research, workshops, resources, and lectures.  Currently there are no job offerings posted (www.shf.ae).

National and Federal ECE Organizations

Below are three federal/national organizations that are in the extended community of practice for educators, families, and children:

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is a union comprised of over 1.7 million members.  Its mission is to advocate for democracy, economic opportunity, and high-quality education for families and children. Having various departments including, international affairs, public service, early childhood, and healthcare this union has pushed for a range of initiatives for reform including tenure for teachers, child labor laws, and accountability for standardized testing.  Connecting with a range of community partners the AFT is committed to community engagement and advancement. 

Currently there are two positions open at AFT: Social Justice/ Community Engagement Organizer and National Representative. Both require experience in organizing social, racial and economic justice, experience in executing campaigns and working with coalitions.

www.aft.org

The Association for Childhood Education Internationalbegan in 1892, initially focusing on kindergarten education, internationally and in the US.  Over the years, the focus widens to education through the primary years and now education up to 18 years, showing special care and attention to fragile and children with high needs. This non-profit organization is committed to promoting equal, quality, and accessible education in order to prepare children to become responsible citizens worldwide.  Based on the principles that collaboration is imperative for social impact, children’s development must start early, innovation is key to educational transformation, and action should be global, ACEI work includes education diplomacy and innovation exchange. 

I found no job postings on the site.

https://www.acei.org

The National Black Child Development Institute(NBCDI) was established in 1970 to support, advocate, and advance reforms around issues that impact black children and their families.  Their mission is to “improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and their families through education and advocacy” (https://www.nbcdi.org/who-we-are). With affiliates nationwide, over 20 communities are supported by members who implement national programs for families and children. This organization is a resource agency providing training, programs, and advocacy work specifically to support black children, from birth to age eight, and their families around early childhood care, literacy, health and wellness. 

Currently there is a job posting for a fellowship manager who will be responsible for coordinating fellowship activities and managing the fellowship program.  There are no specific requirements listed, however, based on the description, one should have experience in program evaluation, project planning and strategy, community and partner engagement, and recruitment including marketing and selection. 

https://www.nbcdi.org

ECE community: Local and State Levels

Here are three organizations in the DC Metro area that I would explore as possible resources and employment options (If I was still in the area and not living overseas).

Zero to Three is a non-profit organization that provides education and knowledge to “nature early development” to families, policy makers, and professionals (Zero to Three, 2018).  This organization is comprised of professionals in mental health, physical health, and child development who support the adults (parents/ caregivers) that support children from birth to age three. Some of their current initiatives and projects include: Transcultural Innovation Initiative, Professional Development and Workforce Innovations, and the Military Family Project.  Currently there are not any job openings for this organization. I believe organizations like these are vital to creating communities of healthy families and young children; the more one knows, the better one will be. 

www.zerotothree.org

Under the Department of Health and Human Services is the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching and Learning.  This center supports the development and promotion of best practice and professional development.  Their work is comprised but not limited to, professional development for early learning teachers, curriculum development, assessment and data.  The subsidiary of this government agency is one of the first resources for Head Start programs which support thousands of low-income children and their families. The work within this agency is nation wide and due to government funding has a great impact in teacher preparation, quality of learning environments, and the development of early learners.  There are numerous vacancies available nationwide (US) including Advocate, Assistant director, teacher, child development specialist.

https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/job-center

Urban Teachers is an organization that trains teachers in an urban classroom settings, across a three year period.  As a participant of the program,  you earn a Masters in Education from Johns Hopkins University.   Currently, urban teachers have a position open for instructional coaches which support teachers in developing skills to become effective teachers.  This program believes that high effective teachers give students necessary skills to exceed both in the classroom and in their communities. 

https://urbanteachers.org

Hello All,

It has been a really long time since I was last on this blog.  I am excited to learn from you all as we reach the final marks in our masters program journey.  I look forward to your feedback, reflections and comments.

Best,

Talibah

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/

Thank you

As this class comes to end, I would like to thank each of your for sharing your thoughts, ideas, and personal memories and situations.  I have learned so much from each of you as you all have helped to increase my understanding of effective communication.  I wish you well in your professional and educational journey and look forward to working with each of you in our final classes.
Best,

Talibah