A Place for Me: Identifying Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community

By Lisa Martin

The early childhood education community is so much more than teachers and administrators, it is a variety of opportunities that allow each of us to really hone in on our specific area of passion; whether it be mentoring, quality assessment or curriculum. My passion is more of the social service nature, access to quality programs and equity to be more specific, so I went in search of positions that would provide a chance for me to focus on these areas of interest.

I started by researching organizations known to do the type of work I hope to someday be involved with, establishments like the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Each of these organizations has a steadfast commitment to the care and education of children, and understands the consequences of failing to provide children all around the world with the quality education to which they have a right.

Over a decade ago UNESCO started a closely monitored global initiative on education, with a specific focus for each year.  Every year the work done for the previous year’s goals is evaluated and reported on. The international community will have to assemble again this year to outline new goals based on the work thus far. I believe it would be a tremendous honor to take part in those discussions as the “compelling case for giving education a central place in the global framework” is made (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2014, paragraph 3).  I currently possess the general characteristics UNESCO looks for in a potential employee, including integrity, commitment to their vision, and creative thinking, and could be considered in both the areas of education and management, but there were no specific positions of interest to me. One thing I would need to acquire is fluency in a second language, although English and French are the two primary languages of the organization.

The National Center for Children in Poverty is dedicated to improving circumstances for low income families by influencing public policy through research. It would b great to work with them as an advocate or public relations person espousing the benefits of early childcare, which I definitely possess the background knowledge, communication skills and leadership to excel at. Unfortunately, their only employment opportunity currently listed is for a research analyst. They are also close to home as they are part of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

The organization I would like most to work for is the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). If I had to align myself with an association whose views mirrored my own it would be CDF. They understand the relationship between social inequities and the need for quality early education, which is why they work so hard to eradicate poverty and increase access to healthcare.  I feel that I could learn so much if given the opportunity to work with them, but the only open positions listed are for fundraiser type responsibilities. They do have unpaid internships that would provide priceless experience.

There are so many positions in the early childhood field for which I would qualify. I could be a community care licensing analyst or resource and referral specialist; as the former I would rate the quality of a program, while as the latter I would help parents identify the highest quality programs for their children.  Either of these positions would fulfill part of my passion and give me an opportunity to influence quality, but neither is my ideal opportunity. My ideal opportunity is part parent educator, part child and family advocate, part quality assurance, and part project manager; if anyone knows what position covers all this – besides program owner/director, let me know.

Ideally I would like to be Director of Special Projects for the CDF, a position that would call upon my strong management, communication and organizational skills, as well as my child development and early education knowledge. In this capacity, I would oversee all special and emergent projects like working to get displaced children and families sheltered and enrolled in schools after a natural catastrophe or working on the roll out of the new early education component of Race to the Top. I would appreciate any suggestions regarding actual positions you may know about.

References

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2014). Education for all global monitoring report.  Retrieved from http://publishing.unesco.org/details.aspx?=&Code_Livre=5018&change=E