There are many organizations in the state of Kansas that have a valued effect on the Early Childhood Community. First there is the KAEYC, the Kansas Association of the Education of Young Children, this is the local branch of the NAEYC. KAEYC "works to improve services and facilities in Kansas for all young children by bringing together all persons interested in young children, by encouraging professional development of all persons employed in the care and education of young children, by providing continuing professional development opportunities, by making the public aware of the needs of young children, and by collaborating with other agencies" (KAEYC, 2013). Because of the KAEYC's association with NAEYC I am connected with a group of centers and directors that are all seeking accreditation and are experiencing the trials associated with that quest.
The next Kansas organization that appeals to me is the Douglas County Child Development Association (DCCDA). The DCCDA is "committed to developing programs to support early childhood care and education in Douglas County, Kansas" (DCCDA, 2014). I'm drawn to the DCCDA because of my previous position in Douglas County. The support workers there were able to do continued professional development trainings, one on one support for teachers, and created a Community of Practice of early childhood directors. Their support in the formative years of my career has helped me grow as a director.
My final local CoP is the Jewish community that I am a part of. Myself as well as three other Jewish preschool directors meet monthly to talk about what's happening in the world of early childhood, and in our specific centers. As the only non-Jewish member I can bounce ideas off of them and gather information about the culture and practice of Judaism.
I am currently the Executive Director at a large, NAEYC accredited preschool, and to be quite honest I'm pretty happy with where my career has taken me. Overall I don't know that there are other positions in our field that I would be interested in. If I were to add anything to my current position it would be to increase the amount of consultation that I can do for other smaller programs. I've always thought it would be interesting to travel to other learning environments and help them to become accredited, or just improve their quality of care.
In order to be a successful director and/or consultant I would need to hone my skills in the early childhood field. As each state has different requirements for state licensing I would need to be aware of differences and similarities between my home state and those I could potentially travel to.
References
About KAEYC. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.kaeyc.net/about-us.html.
DCCDA. (2014). Retrieved from http://dccda.org.
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