State and Local Organizations of Interest

Child Care Aware of WA
The mission and vision for this nonprofit sum up a lot of what I feel passion for in our field.

Our Mission

To support families and caregivers, shape policy, and build communities that promote the learning and development of children and youth throughoutWashington State through a strong statewide network of local child care resource and referral programs.

Our Vision

Our vision is that:

• Children receive quality care;
• All parents have access to affordable, quality child care for all children;
• Child care providers are professionals who are well trained and earn a living-wage;
• Child care providers receive the support of parents, employers and the local community in order to provide consistent, high quality and developmentally appropriate care for children;
• Local communities address needs for child care by involving child care resource & referrals, parents, child care providers, employers, and local and state agencies, and private organizations providing services to families.

They currently need a CEO. I believe to do this current job you need to take ownership of the above mission and vision. This needs to be something that is part of your life. You would also need a strong collaborative, relational skill set to be able to create strong partnerships with stakeholders.

They are passionate about quality care for children as well as policy. 

State Department of Early Learning

The mission and vision for this department resonates with me as a professional. 

We at the Department of Early Learning (DEL) strive to help create safe, healthy, nurturing learning experiences for all Washington children. Our work focuses on the earliest years in children’s homes, child care, school programs and communities. We offer information and resources for children's first and most important teachers—parents—as well as others who care for and teach young children. 

Current opening: Assistant Director of Quality Practice and Professional Growth. 

This job would take an in depth knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice. It would also take knowing evidence based research that supported professional growth as well as practice. It would take confidence in the area of curriculum and the classroom. 

Walla Walla Community College 

Early Childhood Programs

This is a program with such potential to touch the ECE field and partner with four year institutions to create strong teachers. There will be mandatory PRESCHOOL in the state and there will be a need for licensed teachers in the p-3 liscensure. This will be an exciting time to be a part of shaping teachers.

Faculty for ECE programs. To be a strong candidate to teach adult learners how to be teachers you need to know how to ignite passion through words. You have to be credible, relatable and relevant. This would be a job that would require research, through teaching of standards and expectations and motivating them to be the very best educators. Inspiring people would be fundamental.