Ideas for Honoring and Supporting the Early Childhood Education Workforce

Honoring the dedicated professionals who work to ensure successful development and learning for all Texas children is a great way to reinvigorate energy within the field. Supporting early childhood education and development professionals links this work to the larger community and provides opportunities for partnerships that range from everyday gestures to community-wide events.  Whether you are a parent, center or program director, elected official or concerned community member, there are a wide variety of ways to improve the working lives of early childhood professionals through recognition, advocacy and community-based support.

PUBLIC RECOGNITION
Publicly recognizing an early childhood professional for his or her dedication to children and the field will not only show them that their work is valued but will also encourage others to strive toward higher levels of service while strengthening the public’s view of this critically important workforce.

Awards Nominations:
Do you know an early childhood care professional who is making a phenomenal impact on his/her community? Nominate them for any of these prestigious awards to show your appreciation and respect for their work and commitment to the field.

Scholastic’s Early Childhood Professional Award  
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/ect/ecpa.htm

National Association of Child Care Professionals Awards:
Director of the Year     View Flier        View Application
Center of the Year     View Announcement Letter

Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TAEYC)
o Administrator of the Year
o Advocate of the Year
o Classroom Teacher of the Year
o Legislator of the Year
o Susan Hargrave Trainer of the Year
o Teacher Educator of the Year   http://www.texasaeyc.org/

ADVOCACY EFFORTS
If you would like to make a difference through advocacy, visit TECEC’s December Public Awareness Campaign website for tools to orchestrate interactions between elected officials and early childhood settings. Tailor the December toolkit to create a grassroots campaign within your community based upon professional development and recognition for members of the early childhood workforce.
Visit http://www.tecec.org/pages.php/Public_Awareness_Campaign:_December.html periodically—the toolkit will be posted shortly!

Get involved in advocacy work by creating an issue brief that describes an issue that affects early childhood professionals’ ability to provide optimal education experiences for young children. An issue brief presents an issue through statistics and data, and in doing so provides alternatives, solutions or suggestions for improvement. Examples of issues include professional development opportunities, benefits offered, as well as support services needed. An issue brief will enable you to start conversations with legislators, other elected officials and community members.
For an example of a policy brief regarding paid sick leave that was created by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), visit http://www.clasp.org/publications/get_prescription.pdf

Build a Support System and Network
Form a PTA-like support group for local child care centers and programs. Parents, grandparents, extended family members, god parents and community group members can join together to promote learning and positive interactions in early childhood care and education by assisting with clerical work so teachers and directors can focus more of their time on teaching and professional development, coordinate and organize center events, and facilitate positive relationships between members of the staff and families.

COMMUNITY-BASED SUPPORT
Form a PTA-like support group for local child care centers and programs. Parents, grandparents, extended family members, god parents and community group members can join together to promote learning and positive interactions in early childhood care and education by assisting with clerical work so teachers and directors can focus more of their time on teaching and professional development, coordinate and organize center events, and facilitate positive relationships between members of the staff and families.

On-Site Volunteer Activities to Assist Early Childhood Professionals (and young children!) in Your Community
No gesture is too small to be appreciated! A card, bouquet of flowers, or special snack will always be welcomed and will acknowledge and show respect for the work of any early childhood professional. For larger efforts, seek out community involvement and tap into the resources of various businesses and individuals.

Organize a group work day at a center: clean up, add a fresh coat of paint, rearrange furniture and redecorate walls to keep the center looking fresh and well cared for. Parents, extended family members make great volunteers and local cafes and coffee shops can be recruited to provide complimentary snacks and drinks.

Create a Staff Appreciation Week
1. Show early childhood professionals that their work is valued by creating individual treat boxes for each staffer. Treat boxes can include small things that the teacher enjoys, such as gift cards to favorite stores, thank you cards and gift items. These boxes will communicate that the teacher is appreciated by members of the center or program’s community, so don’t worry about the price of items— it really is the thought that counts.

2. Pick one day during the week to deliver a simple lunch meal to staff members. Pizza and balloons are always a hit, and local businesses, especially those with connections to the center or program, can often be recruited to donate food and drinks.

3. An outdoor picnic can be easily accomplished with the help of your local city or parks department. Donation of space for an evening of food and games will provide fun for everyone while celebrating the work of early childhood professionals.

Collect the dates of each staff member’s anniversary of working at the center or program. Circulate this list to parents and interested others, and bring in flowers or other small gestures to commemorate each professionals’ commitment to young children.

Help early childhood education and development professionals get a break from their hectic schedules by organizing volunteers to come into classrooms so teachers can enjoy a few minutes for themselves. Even one volunteer for 30 minutes during nap time or read aloud will provide staff members with enough time to refocus their energies and get organized. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents, extended family members and community volunteers to experience the joy of working with young children first hand. Organizations dedicated to volunteer service are ideal for this kind of work and can be reached through public service groups such as your local United Way.

Many centers and programs pay staff members every other week. On off-pay weeks, select a few people to bring in treats, such as cookies, fresh fruit or magazines.

Orchestrate a community donation drive to bring in new books, puzzles, learning games and art supplies for local child care programs and centers. This is a great year-round project because a new center can be chosen every few months to receive new and gently used donations. Ask the staff at each center what materials they are particularly in need of or would like to have. Recruit local grocery stores, public libraries and community centers to serve as drop-off points. Enlist local media outlets to announce the drive at the beginning of the campaign and provide a schedule of centers that will be receiving the donations at each point.

Work with local lawmakers and community leaders to encourage people to become interested in the movement to expand access to and raise quality standards for early care and education.

Subscription to Texas Child Care Quarterly
http://www.childcarequarterly.com/
This journal published by the Texas Workforce Commission in collaboration with several other state agencies makes a thoughtful gift and professional development tool for anyone working in early care and education.

Unique Opportunities for Corporate Partners
Corporate partners are equipped to contribute to the professional development of early childhood education and development professionals through sponsorship. Training programs that yield accreditation, such as the Child Development Associate credential, are made accessible to teachers (communicates that only teachers in the most formal sense can do this?) through scholarship funding. Professional development can mean sending teachers off-site or bringing trainers and materials to campus; either way, teachers, directors, families and children alike are guaranteed to benefit from early childhood education and development career development.

Centers and programs are encouraged to contact community relations representatives from area corporations to discuss potential partnering opportunities.

Corporations can produce brief written materials that outline the high costs of professional development for members of the early childhood education and development field. Distributing this list to parents and community members not only increases public knowledge, but also lends itself to opportunities for community enrichment through workforce and child development.

* Thank you to Tere Holmes, Director of Operations, The Children’s Courtyard; LaShonda Brown, Executive Director, Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TAEYC); and Ginger Meyners, Director of Marketing, National Association of Child Care Professionals (NACCP) for their contributions. For more ideas, email Tere at tholmes@childrenscourtyard.com . If you have ideas you’d like to share with others, please contact Kara at kjohnson@tecec.org .