The U.S. Census Bureau of July 1, 2011 reported that minorities comprised more than half of all children younger than age 1. This report “marked a dramatic shift in the makeup of our nation’s popu

The U.S. Census Bureau of July 1, 2011 reported that minorities comprised more than half of all children younger than age 1. This report “marked a dramatic shift in the makeup of our nation’s population: the first time that minorities comprised more than half (50.4 percent) of all children younger than age 1” (Hearron and Hildebrand, 2015, p. 13). Immigration has also contributed to rising numbers of racial and ethnic minorities (p. 14). This means that many children will enter programs which do not mirror their language, values, and traditions of their home. Administrators of early childhood programs are challenged with “helping those children to learn new ways without cutting themselves off from their cultural heritages” (p. 14). In addition to assessing and meeting the needs of minority and immigrant populations, administrators must find ways to accommodate children with disabilities and to “view differences as potential strengths rather than deficits” (p. 14).

Reference: Hearron, P. and Hildebrand, V. (2015). Management of child development centers. (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Case Scenario for Unit 9 Assignment:

Suppose you just moved into a rural area that is located 40 miles outside of the nearest city. Farming is a big part of the community. There is a large Hispanic population hired seasonally during the high planting and harvest times. While farming has always been the dominant industry, a large industrial plant moved in with employees working 12 hour shifts. Several single mothers work twelve hour shifts at the plant and struggle with finding a program for their children that extends the typical work day hours. Additionally, several of the Hispanic families who desired to stay in the community rather than migrate back and forth during the farming seasons took employment at the industrial plant. You are interested in opening and administrating a new early childhood program which will fulfill the need of children and their families living in this community.

Instructions: For the Unit 9 Assignment, use the case scenario described above and what you have learned throughout the course about administrating programs for young children and their families to write a 5-7 page expository paper using proper APA formatting which includes all 5 parts of the assignment described below. Be sure to include title and reference pages. The Writing Center has information on how to use APA formatting. You can access the Writing Center from the Academic Tools tab or with the following link https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/MyStudies/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingCenter/Index.aspx

Part 1: Based on the scenario, describe the type of program you would create to address the assessed needs of the children, families, and community. Include the following details in your program description:

• • Research Tools: describe the tools or strategies you would use to find out about need.
  • A Needs Assessment: describe how the type of program was decided, and how the potential children and families to be served was identified.
  • Mission Statement: keeping in mind the cultural, educational, and socioeconomic levels of the children and families, create a mission statement that describes the purpose and goals of your proposed program.
  • Type of Program: after assessing the need and developing your program’s mission statement, you must determine and describe the type of program to be offered.
  • Ages of children to be served: remember early childhood includes children from birth through age 8.
  • Space Requirements for program: consider indoor and outdoor space requirements.
  • Days and Hours of Operation: describe how the Needs Assessment was used to determine days and hours of operation.
  • Early Childhood Curriculum and/or activities offered: What considerations will you take into account when choosing a quality early childhood curriculum or activities for the children in your program? How will child development theories be applied in your program?

Part 2: Standards of Practice for your proposed program

All programs for children are expected to provide high quality programs for young children. In addition to applicable local or state licensing requirements, administrators are “expected to go beyond meeting minimum standards established by the states and strive for higher standards of quality” (Sciarra, Lynch, Adams, and Dorsey, 2015, p. 31). The best known and most widely accepted standards for quality practices for programs serving children, birth through kindergarten, are those developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (p. 31). For programs serving older children, there are standards for school-age programs and family child care programs.

Using course readings and 3 scholarly references obtained from the Library, compare research-based frameworks for evaluating early childhood programs for continuous quality improvement. Based on the assessed needs of the children your program serves, choose an evaluation framework and describe how it can be used to establish a high quality program and ensure continuous quality improvement.

Part 3: Program Funding and Marketing

For the community described in the scenario, what marketing tools and strategies would be most effective for your proposed program. What challenges would you face in communicating with families and the community?

What funding sources would you seek for your program?

Part 4: Leadership and Advocacy

Which leadership style will work best for your proposed organization?

What specific leadership traits will help you successfully administrate the program?

Based on the needs assessment, describe opportunities for leadership and advocacy.

Describe your plan specific plan for working with families, volunteers, and the community.

Part 5: The 5-7 page, double-spaced expository essay should have a clear and sustained viewpoint and be written using Standard American English. A minimum of 3 scholarly references obtained from the Library must also be included.