Young Children - May 2008 - (Page 66) OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS Mark R. Ginsberg, Executive Director OBSERVACIONES Y REFLEXIONES todas partes, la primavera es una estación de renovación y promesas, incluyendo la NAEYC. La NAEYC ofrece muchos servicios y recursos nuevos, y continuamos mejorando y aumentando nuestros esfuerzos por ayudar a que los profesionales en educación inicial y las familias les ofrezcan a los niños experiencias de desarrollo y aprendizaje temprano de alta calidad. Veamos algunos puntos a destacar: Desarrollo del personal. La NAEYC está realizando un nuevo esfuerzo por crear un proyecto de política de alcance estatal para el desarrollo profesional y los sistemas de carrera profesional de los maestros de educación inicial. Las experiencias vertidas por los administradores y expertos en desarrollo profesional tanto estatales como nacionales contribuyen a la elaboración del proyecto, que será presentado para su revisión y perfeccionamiento en una reunión especial de los equipos estatales. Esta reunión se llevará a cabo en conjunto con el Instituto para el Desar- En of renewal and promise everywhere, including NAEYC. Many new NAEYC services and resources are available, and we continue to improve and grow our efforts to help early childhood educators and families provide high-quality early development and learning experiences for children. Here are some highlights: Workforce development. NAEYC is undertaking a new effort to create a policy blueprint for state professional development and career systems for early childhood educators. Input from state and national professional development administrators and experts is contributing to the development of the draft blueprint, which will be presented for review and refinement at a special state teams’ meeting. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the NAEYC National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. The policy blueprint outlines key state policies essential to the establishment and support of a comprehensive, cross-sector early childhood professional development system. This initiative is generously supported by the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and Cornerstones for Kids, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Teaching Young Children. The Association’s newest magazine continues to grow in both readership and popularity among early childhood educators nationwide. Launched in November 2007, the magazine is designed for preschool teachers. It highlights current thinking on best practices in early childhood education, research and its applications, and interesting ideas for and from preschool teachers. An accompanying publication, NEXT, the Teaching Young Children Guide to Staff Development, offers ideas for using Teaching SPRING IS A TIME Young Children (TYC) for teacher education and in workshops. TYC and NEXT are both available in Spanish and English. In addition, the TYC Web site (www.tyc.naeyc.org) offers preschool teachers useful resources and opportunities to exchange ideas. Building a Lasting Legacy. The year 2008 sees the continuation and fortification of a new annual giving program that offers NAEYC leaders and members, early childhood education stakeholders, and others a way to support and advance the field of early childhood education. The Building a Lasting Legacy campaign will help NAEYC foster national leadership development, fund scholarships, and provide resources for Affiliates. See page 64 for further information on the campaign. NAEYC National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. In June the Association will host its 17th National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a focus on technology in early education and the influence of media on children. The Institute will include a voluntary service day for participants to help rebuild New Orleans. Newly accredited programs. Please join the NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation and me in congratulating the more than 1,500 programs that recently achieved or maintained their accredited status as of March 31, 2008. We look forward to recognizing many more programs for meeting the mark of quality. Revision of Developmentally Appropriate Practice position statement. For some months, work on revision of the NAEYC position statement on developmentally appropriate practice has been under way, based on the thoughtful contributions of the Working Group appointed by the Governing Board in late 2006. The field has participated extensively with input in a variety of forums, including response to the draft statement posted on NAEYC’s Web site in late February. Later this year the Governing Board will again review the statement to determine if it is ready for official Board approval. In the end, it takes more than superior products and meetings to make a successful early childhood movement. It takes superior people like you. As impressive as the many products and resources our Association provides may be, our future success as a profession and that of the nation rest on making the rhetoric about the importance of young children a reality. At NAEYC, we have every confidence that you—the educators, advocates, researchers, and other members of the field—and we can make early childhood education a matter of national pride. Copyright © 2008 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See Permissions and Reprints online at www.journal.naeyc.org/about/permissions.asp. 66 Young Children • May 2008 http://www.tyc.naeyc.org http://www.journal.naeyc.org/about/permissions.asp
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