Course Goals
I find exploring the policies and systems of early childhood to be motivating as they do shape the foundation of the early childhood field. I understand that policies and systems will impact not only my role as an early childhood professional, but the children and families in my care as well. Early childhood advocacy plays an important role in creating positive social change for young children and families. I have not had experience with constructing policy definitions or policy plans. I believe this course will give me exposure to this important element of becoming a scholarly early childhood professional.
Professional Goals
- Promote Pre-K for PA to gain access to high quality early childhood programs which are publicly funded for Pennsylvania's children.
- Better understand other state's systems for access to high quality early childhood care, and what makes them successful or unsuccessful.
- Create a policy that will impact early childhood services at the state level.
Current Professional Initiative
I am a board member for the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, which is my local NAEYC affiliate. A lot of the current focus at PAEYC surrounds Pre-K for PA Ready to Succeed. In Pennsylvania, an unacceptable amount of 3 and 4 year old children have access to high quality early childhood programs that are publicly funded. During this election year in Pennsylvania, I want to be a part of ensuring that Pennsylvania children have access to high quality care and education. The work in this course will help support this important advocacy movement.
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ReplyDeleteJohanna,
ReplyDeleteI think your goals are wonderful, and you appear to be a very ambitious person that can make these changes happen for our state. You mentioned that you want to better understand the systems of other states to ensure quality early childhood care for ours; I believe this is crucial. If another state is doing exceptionally well providing quality care to young children, it seems rationale to analyze their systems to see what we might be lacking in our programs. I am hoping to do the same with school nutrition, as PA, according to a national report card, is not doing well in serving low income students the nutritious meals they need to develop properly in all domains. There are some states that are excelling in this area, so I intend to delve into their policies and actions to see what our state might be able to do differently to better meet the needs of our children.
Dixie,
DeleteWhen you speak of school nutrition and the national report card, what age range of children are you referencing? Just curious!
Johanna
Johanna,
ReplyDeleteI think you have set excellent goals as well. Based on your current position it sounds like you can definitely enforce or strongly encourage enforcement of different policies based on the research you find to support your cause. Do you happen to already know a state that has an outstanding early childhood policy in place with high percentages of children doing very well as they continue into elementary school?
Melissa,
DeleteI do have some data from Maryland. However, it is data from a study conducted by my company. I need to explore other states results in more detail to be able to confidently say that a state is performing well with early childhood.
Johanna
Johanna,
ReplyDeleteAs an owner of an NAEYC accredited Pre-K-primary school, I identified with each of your goals. First, you mentioned your goal to promote Pre-K for PA to gain access to high quality early childhood programs which are publicly funded for Pennsylvania's children. I have the same vision for the children of North Carolina. I believe our doctoral course on policies and systems will help us develop the advocacy skills needed to effectively meet our goals. Second, you offered a goal to better understand other state systems for access to high quality early childhood care, and what makes them successful or unsuccessful. I believe our required research will enable us to become familiar with the policies that drive our state systems. Third, you stated your final goal was to create a policy that impacts early childhood services at the state level. I look forward to learning more about your new policy for the children of Pennsylvania.
Debi LaVine
Thank you Debi! As an ECE owner, do you have any concerns about Pre-K being publicly funded and what the end result will be for you and your center?
DeleteJohanna
Johanna,
ReplyDeleteOther than creating a policy and procedures manual for my school, like you, I have not had the experience of creating policy definitions or policy plans. You and I are both in professional positions where this course will benefit us greatly and ultimately serve as an advantage toward the children and families we serve. You have expressed strong professional goals that demonstrate your drive and aspirations for the early learning environment in which you serve.
Your third goal states that you would like to “create a policy that will impact early childhood services at the state level.” Do you have any specific goal in mind? In your work with PAEYC I would think you have the opportunity to know of areas where policies could be integrated to make positive change for the children of Pennsylvania.
You stated your concern for the high number of children not having access to quality childcare. I also have the same concern for the children here in Illinois. I noticed the question you asked Debi concerning Pre-K being publically funded and the results it would have on early childhood education in the private sector. I have concerns what this would do not only to my school, but to all private early learning facilities. I understand that there are too many children who do not have access to quality ECE, but I think there has to be some type of solution that could be reached to make sure all children receive the education they deserve. Here in Illinois we have childcare assistance programs through the Department of Human Services (DHS) and they offer assistance for low income families to enroll their children in quality ECE programs. My school is part of this program and we have several families in the Pre-K area who are able to be a part of our school because of this program. Otherwise, they would not be able to afford the tuition to be enrolled on a fulltime basis.
Darla
Darla,
DeleteRestructuring early childhood mental health services in Pennsylvania is one goal I have in mind. Unfortunately, children do not have equal access to mental health services.
Johanna
Hi Johanna,
ReplyDeleteI do not have significant concerns about Pre-K being publicly funded. I am an advocate for targeted preschool programs for disadvantage and at-risk pre-kindergarteners. I dream of the day every child will have access to high quality early childhood programming.
Debi
Debi,
DeleteThe reason I asked, is I know many business owners who are concerned about what publicly funded PK will mean for their programs financially. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the private sector.
Johanna