Sharing Web Resources

Note: Hello everyone, I chose the National Black Child Development Institute as my first organization that I would follow but have not received any newsletters or updates. I still follow them on Facebook  and will share any new updates as they become available. I have decided to share my information from The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) of which I am a member. 

The National Association for the Education of Young Children has a vast amount of information on its website. It is the largest associations of early childhood professional who work with children from age of birth through age eight.  The sections that are most relevant to my current professional development are professional development, public policy and early childhood education topics. NAEYC is a leading proponent for high quality early childhood education and is always concerned about current federal fiscal debates.

The resources under the public policy made me think how powerful our voices are if we come together and advocate doing what’s right for children when it come to their education and well-being.

     

In the professional development there are  numerous resources available through the website where I can enhance my knowledge in the field  by attending annual conferences, enrolling in  technology based learning, earning continuing education credits( CEU’s),  and webinars.

NAEYC makes federal recommendations and its goal is to ensure that we receive well financed high quality early childhood education for young children.    It quotes James Heckman, Ph.D.,  Nobel Laureate in Economics in saying that “We cannot afford to postpone investing in children until they become adults, nor can we wait until they reach school age—a time when it may be too late to intervene. Learning is a dynamic process and is most effective when it begins at a young age and continues through adulthood”.(NAEYC,n.d.)

NAEYC Public Policy Overview includes:

o   Take Action Now

o   Early Childhood Workforce Systems Imitative

o   Effective Advocacy Resources

o   Children’s Champions Updates

o   Federal recommendations

The latest Children’s Champion Updates keep me informed on how politicians support the early childhood field. I left the links highlighted so that you can read some of the topics of the last few months.

09/02/15	Access to affordable child care; New polling results; Upcoming Twitter storms; Congress returning to session
07/28/15	Access to Healthy Foods for Young Children Act; Read Where You Are Day; Every Child Achieves Act
07/16/15	Senate votes to approve Every Child Achieves Act; Reminder: Conference call on early learning funding landscape
07/14/15	Alert: Join Secretary Duncan and Senator Casey for a Strong Start conference call

             

 NAEYC also sends letters of recommendation to policy makers to make a statement on their positions concerning different early childhood issues. An example topic is a letter they sent a letter to Dr. Blanca Enrique, the Director of the Office of Head Start to comment on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for the Head Start program performance standards.( NAEYC HeadStart NPRM,2015)

  On the NAEYC website you can keep abreast of all the new changes and developments in the early childhood field. They have a link were you can receive alerts and stay informed on public policy that affects early childhood education. You can connect with your public officials and to advocate ensuring that policy makers elected officials and communities began to make early childhood education a priority. We have to be a voice for the children who may not be able to speak. 

                                                  References

   National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved 

  November 22, 2015, from http://www.naeyc.org/ 

             

  NAEYC HeadStart NPRM. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2015, from http://www.naeyc.org

 /files/naeyc/NAEYC_HeadStartNPRM_9-15.pdf