Vermont Early Childhood Organizations:
The first organization I want to highlight is the Vermont
Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC). Their goal is to
improve the education and care of young children in Vermont (http://vaeyc.org/). I
chose VAEYC because they are affiliated with National Association for
the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC is the biggest organization of
early childhood professionals in the United States (http://vaeyc.org/index/vaeyc-history/).
This organization has a wealth of resources and has the means to create positive
change in the early childhood education field.
The second organization I chose is Building Bright Futures. “Building
Bright Futures (BBF) serves a dual role as both the Vermont Early Childhood
Advisory Council and 501 (c) 3 statewide governance body for the early
childhood system, aligning the work at the State level with the work of 12
regional Councils across Vermont to make improvements in access, quality, and
affordability of early care, health, and education for families and young children
0-6” (http://buildingbrightfutures.org/about/home/). I
have attended some of the events hosted by BBF and they have been high quality
events that I would attend again. I believe this is a great organization that
is helping to improve young children’s educational experiences.
The third organization I chose was the Vermont Early
Childhood Alliance. “The Vermont Early Childhood Alliance is a statewide
coalition of individuals, organizations, businesses and agencies from the
private and public sectors dedicated to supporting ALL of Vermont's children during
the early childhood years” (http://www.kidsarepriorityone.org/). This organization
is collaborating with other organizations in
Vermont in hope to make a bigger impact on
the early childhood education field.
Job Opportunities of Interest and Skills
Required:
I am primarily interested in working in a Pre-School or Kindergarten
classroom. I checked into job openings in my area. There were several openings
for para educators, but there were no teaching positions available in the early
childhood field. In about ten years I hope to begin working at the local
community college teaching early childhood education courses. I also checked to
see if they had any openings, but they didn’t have any either. Luckily I am not
planning on going back to work until my children are in school. Hopefully I
will be able to find a position then. In
order to teach in Vermont I would need to be licensed with the State. A bachelor’s degree is also required. I will
have my master’s degree by the fall, but I am not currently licensed. That is
my next project once I complete my master’s degree.
References
Building Bright
Futures. (2013). Building bright futures: Priorities. Retrieved from: http://buildingbrightfutures.org/priorities/
Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children.
(2012). VAEYC history. Retrieved from http://vaeyc.org/index/vaeyc-history/
Vermont Early Childhood Alliance. (2013). What is the vermont
early childhood alliance. Retrieved from http://www.kidsarepriorityone.org/
Angela,
ReplyDeleteI wish you much luck in your future endeavors. It sounds like you are doing some goal setting! The organizations you chose sound like they will be very supportive to you. I also chose our local NAEYC chapter, NcAEYC. (North Carolina). NAEYC always seems to provide the most current and relevant information we can use on a daily basis.
Good luck!
Deb
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DeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that pre-K teachers in VA need a license. In NC, you only need a high school diploma and to be a lead teacher you need an early childhood credential, which means passing one college level class. I have always thought that these low standards were absurd.
I agree, those standards are way too low for people working in a school setting!
DeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteBuilding Bright Futures sounds like a wonderful organization. It is awesome to have a group of people come together for the betterment of young children. They need a voice.
Angela,
ReplyDeleteNAEYC is an awesome organization. You and are have similar goals. I plan to one day teach early childhood classes at a local community college. I wish to share my passion for children with others who are going done the same educational route.