Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/becoming-community-centric/5021334/
To be competent in their role, early educators must be knowledgeable and compassionately aware of local community resources. This includes connecting with neighborhood resources and appropriately matching programs to families’ needs. These local resources include shelters, soup kitchens, rescue animal agencies, and emergency medical organizations.Learning about other agencies in the community can be rewarding and a lot of fun. Collaboratively and collectively, many innovative ideas can arise from building upon these interdisciplinary, interagency partnerships, a vital component to organizational development. Just think about how much better you can serve children and families! Consider stepping out of your usual mode of mandatory workshops and inspire staff to enjoy themselves while learning and growing with their neighborhood colleagues. This kind of enlightened professional development is neighborhood-friendly and connects community professionals dedicated to serving young children and families. You send a clear, positive message to families, as well as to your local community, that you and your staff fully support the community and want to capitalize on its resources to help the neighborhood. This kind of leadership inspires everyone.
Neighborhood-driven initiatives call for creativity, cooperation, problem-solving, critical thinking, and a commitment to ongoing communication. Here’s one way you might launch such an initiative ...