Exploring Roles in ECE Community

www.headstartnc.org The North Carolina Head Start Association is one of many federally funded programs that serves over 17, 900 at-risk preschool children and families and over 2,900 at risk infants and toddlers. Head Start offers quality education and comprehensive services. Along with educational screenings, there are health, dental, mental health, nutritional screening and follow-up services when needs are identified. I chose Head Start because Head Start nurtures the whole child. Head Start is concerned about the child’s educational needs as well his/her mental and physical well-being. It is a program the provide support to families by helping them to improve their current situation, in other words they serve as a support system for families. www.nea.org National Educators Association is an organization that supports early childhood education. NEA believes that early childhood education represents one of the best investments our country can make. They believe that parents should be given the opportunity to provide their children with free universal pre-kindergarten programs. Even though I favor Head Start, I chose the National Educators Association because they are in favor of free early childhood programs for all children, in which I favor. They also believe that early childhood education is the key to a better future for the world. www.naeyc.org The National Association for Educators of Young Children is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children. It focuses on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children birth to age 8. The NAEYC is the association that provides accreditation for many early childhood programs. They make sure that early childhood programs are meeting the needs of all children birth to age 8. I chose this association because it is imperative that someone makes sure that early childhood programs meet the needs of all children. It is the largest organization that is in existence. Job Opportunities I would love the opportunity to become the director of a Head Start program. I would have to have an abundance of skills to be an effective director. Some of the skills include being knowledgeable about the history of head start, staff development, available resources, employment laws, how to be proactive instead of reactive, be aware of Head Start terminology, and how to work with a variety of people. There are many more skills that would be needed but I named a few. I would also like to have the opportunity to become a head start supervisor. To be a successful supervisor, I would need to have knowledge of Head Start performance skills and writing skills. There is also a need for the supervisor to have effective communication skills and be able to conduct meetings, and evaluate peers are just to name a few. I would also love to fill the position of Early Head Start Coordinator. To be an effective coordinator I would need to be able to coordinates administrative activities, maintains and monitors completeness and accuracy of record and files, tracks accounts payable and provides clerical support services to assure efficiency of services delivered in an environment of continuous program improvement. I would also need to be able to provide support to the program manager.