National and Federal Early Childhood Communities of Practice

Organizations that I would like to include in my Community of Practice Partners are:

        School Nutrition Association-They place emphasis on providing students will health nutritional meals. They provide workshops for school districts to increase the consumption of healthy foods.

            National Education Association (NEA)-I chose this organization because I am already a member and I value its commitment to early childhood education.  The NEA promotes high-quality learning opportunities for children from birth to age 5 (National Education Association, 2013).

     National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) NAECTE members are people from all across the United States and from countries around the world. They are joined together by the common interest in Early Childhood Education.

Employment opportunities that interest me are:

Child Development Specialist

Requirements: B.S. in Child Development, Psychology, Education, or Speech and Language Pathology with additional coursework in Special Education or related field or equivalent degree from another country. Minimum 1 year working with young children birth to 5 years. 3. Current CPR. 4. Bilingual (English/Spanish) required (National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, 2013).

District Supervisor, School Nutrition

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in hotel/restaurant management, nutrition or related field plus progressively more responsible experience related to food service management.  Master’s degree in related field and experience in school nutrition programs is desirable. The ideal candidate must have considerable knowledge of the principles and practices of institutional food management, dietetics, and personnel management.  Ability to assess and evaluate job performance of staff. Candidates must have leadership and management skills necessary to work with students, staff, administrators, and parents.  All must have the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.  Good presentation and communication skills are a must (School Nutrition Association, 2013).

Fitness Instructor

Requirements: A bachelor's degree is not a standard educational requirement. However, some employers generally preferred applicants who hold bachelor's degrees in fields such as physical fitness, physical education and exercise science. Coursework related to these programs include sports safety and first aid, anatomy and physiology, human nutrition, exercise physiology and kinesiology as public health, physical education and recreation leadership (Education-portal, 2013).