Organizations

After doing some research this week, I was able to find a few different professional organizations that I might like to be a part of.

The first one is the organization called the Council for Exceptional Children, or the CEC. The CEC is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the educational success of individuals with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. I chose this because as a certificated teacher in both SPED/GEN-ED here in NY State I work with many children with disabilities. We have done a lot towards "mainstreaming" them and getting them the individual help that they need to be successful. However, many times the children who are on the other end of the spectrum (gifted and talented) don't always get the individualization they need. I believe it is extremely important that we don't let these kids slip through the cracks because we are so focused on other things.
At this time there are no job opportunities available. However, they do have a leadership division that I would be interested in learning more about. At this time I have all the qualifications to do this.
http://www.cec.sped.org/

The second one I found is the ACEI or the Association of Childhood Education International. They want to promote and support the optimal education, development, and well-being of children worldwide. I believe that this organization would be extremely helpful to find information on supporting quality ECE programs among other things inside and out of this final class.
http://www.acei.org/

The third one I found was Learning Forward. This was an interesting organization because it is based on the education of young children, by educated staff. Learning through professional development and they set up a series of standards to help make sure that the expectations of quality staff and continued training is being met. There are no available positions at this time, but one that would be interesting would be to be a Leadership Consultant. They do presentations on their standards, professional development as well as offering professional development itself. I think this would be incredibly interesting as it would hold both ends of teaching that I love.
http://learningforward.org/

to promote and support
the optimal education, development, and well-being
of children worldwide. - See more at: http://www.acei.org/#sthash.NyoJVjc9.dpufpro

to promote and support
the optimal education, development, and well-being
of children worldwide. - See more at: http://www.acei.org/#sthash.NyoJVjc9.dpuf

Work Opportunities

I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York state and to be honest there is no where else I would want to be. I love it here in NY, yes... even the snow!!!

The first place I found was Happiness House. This is the cerebral palsy center of New York and they specialize in children with all different disabilities. They specialize in autism which is something every near and dear to my heart. They have multiple sites and host not just to young children's education but to the continuation of care into adult hood for those with disabilities. They have a whole department just for those who have suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries!

I would like to be a special education teacher in their autism classroom. This is not an inclusive classroom,  but one with specific designs for students on the autism spectrum. The goal for these children is to be introduced into other classroom in the school as they are ready to "mainstream".
There are no positions available at this time but I would like to one day be here. It doesn't list the salary, but I hold the requirements of a bachelors degree in special education, and also experience in the field.

The Geneva Lakefront Childcare Center is the next place that interests me. This program works to give high quality care from 6 weeks to 12 years of age. They work based on income so they can give affordable care and education to those in the community that might not be able to afford quality education. 

The position is not available at this time, but I think that I would like to be the curriculum coordinator. This person works hand in hand with the director to make sure that they are using a developmentally appropriate curriculum that spans all of the age groups they work with. They determine also how to make sure their staff is being held accountable and work with the assessments of the children to evaluate the curriculum that has been put into place. 

Hillside Family of Agencies provides comprehensive health, education, and human services for children and families whose challenges threaten their ability to realize their full potential. Hillside offers many different settings: residential treatment, in schools, in homes, or in the workplace.

They have  a position open at this time called a Program Manager.  This person  responsible for the overall leadership, management and performance of program operations including the delivery of quality direct service to client and families. The Program Manager develops and maintains systems to facilitate the integration of services; the Program Manager coaches and mentors teams in order to implement and maintain these systems. Must like the position I looked at above. But this one is community based on classroom based. Master degree and 3 years of experience working with children and families. Also a drivers license is required for this position. I assume there would be traveling in the surrounding area.