Capstone Project-Week 2- Communities of Practice & Dream Jobs

1.  Technical Assistance Partnerships for Child and Family

Mental Health          http://www.tapartnership.org/

One of the communities of practice that I found interesting was Technical Assistance Partnerships for Child and Family Mental Health.  I was drawn to this Community of Practice because it includes a focus on Cultural and Linguistic Competence, which is an area that I am passionate about. The Communities of Practice are divided among 5 different areas

•     Child Welfare

•     Cultural and Linguistic Competence Community of Practice

•     Early Childhood Community of Practice

•     Family Involvement

•     Transition-Aged Youth Community of Practice

2.  Wyandotte County Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Council

“The mission of Wyandotte County Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Council is to promote a community wide network of comprehensive support services for families and children from prenatal care through age five” (University of Kansas, n.d., para 62)   This is a Community of Practice that I currently participate in. This group is comprised of very diverse agencies who are committed to working together it improve outcomes for children and families from birth through age 5.   I learn about new resources each time I attend one of these meetings.

3.  Mid America Association for the Education of Young Children   http://www.mid-americaaeyc.org/

A third organization that I chose is the Mid America AEYC.  This group is the local affiliate for NAEYC.  One of the reasons that I chose this group is that each year they offer a high quality curriculum conference.  They also offer scholarships for early childhood professionals pursuing a higher level of education. 

Reference

University of Kansas. (n.d.). KUCCP Projects. Retrieved from

http://www2.ku.edu/~kucdd/projects.html

Job Opportunities

One job that I would like to have is teaching a class at a local  community college in the Early Childhood Department.  Finishing this Master’s program would help meet the educational requirements but I lack any direct experience of working in a formal setting with adult learners that would likely be required.

While this job is in California, it would still be a dream job for me to work for WestEd.  I would also be interested in a position like that listed on the WestEd website for an Infant/Toddler Professional Development Specialist.  The one requirement that I do not meet for this position is that I am not PITC certified.  I have attended the PITC trainings in the past did not pursue certification.  The requirements have most likely changed and so in order to be qualified for this position, I would need to take the PITC trainings and then become certified.