Sunday, May 21, 2017

Quality Programs for ALL Children

I think that an emphasis has been placed heavily on early learning programs and ensuring that they are accessible to ALL populations of students. Two states that I recently researched offered 6 free hours of pre-k for parents to have their children enrolled in prior to starting kindergarten. In Georgia, it is the Georgia Lottery Pre-k Program and in Florida it is VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten). These two programs offer free support at any daycare center in the state to properly prepare students for entry into Kindergarten. This will help the parents who can not afford traditional daycare expenses or who are on a waiting list for an already full Head Start Center.

http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/vpk.aspx  - (Florida VPK)
http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/About.aspx   - (Georgia Pre-K)

I think this emphasis on preparation for Kindergarten is extremely necessary and will increase in upcoming years. This support from the government gives parents that may not have the financial stability to send their children to traditional daycare centers, an opportunity to prepare their children for school.

Saturday, May 13, 2017

What Resonates With You About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

Why did you choose this specialization?

The specialization is near and dear to my heart due to my passion and strong-will towards children and providing their families with adequate resources. I want the to ensure that children are supplied with the tools necessary to be successful in grade school through adolescence. An education is a precious piece of knowledge that will open the doors to future endeavors and create a vast amount of opportunities. Public policy and advocacy speaks to implementing change in the field of early childhood. Ensuring that policies are complacent with the current needs that are to be met in the school system. Also, advocacy gives educators the opportunity to be a voice for the students, families, and the community that the schools are located in. To speak to the school boards and ensure that the voices of the pubic are heard. 


Why are advocates essential in the early childhood field?


Advocates are essential to the early childhood field to be the voice to the public, as I mentioned earlier. There are times when there are issues that the community would like to present before the school board, but lack the research and knowledge to make the information substantial. Just as an attorney represents a defendant, a advocate represents the thoughts of others. This is essential for change in this field and bringing awareness to things that may go unseen. 


What do you hope to learn about public policy and advocacy?


1. I hope to learn adequate strategies to obtain issues of concern from the community.

2. I hope to become an effective communicator and person of trust to reach out to the community and supply resources of useful information. 
3. I aspire to bring about change that impacts lives and makes this field even better than it was prior to my presence.