It is a dejavu or not?

    It is a dejavu or not?

    By Michelle Soltero, CAEYC Past President

    “The ability of a group of people to do remarkable things hinges on how well those people pull together as a team. “ Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last

    Our team is you, every California AEYC member. We have so much in common wanting the best for young children in our local communities. Now, we must take the time to get our house [our AEYC affiliates] in order, to continue to be champions for young children through public policy and professional development efforts, while developing strong leaders in the early care and education field across the state.

    There is so much buzz with the NAEYC Dialogue across the state focused on the affiliation process with NAEYC. Cary Larson-McKay, CAEYC President and the CAEYC Board are committed to making this a supportive and interactive process with affiliates. An Ad Hoc Committee was formed: CAEYC National Dialogue. The committee has been meeting to develop an action plan and use their collective thinking as the process unfolds. The composition of the committee is a good representation of the state. It is includes regional representatives, state AEYC executive members, past state board members and past presidents. Committee members are encouraged to bring forth what they are hearing at the local level into the discussion. It has helped shape what questions to ask and raise with NAEYC and formulate our actions as we move forward with the affiliation process.

    From 2001-2003, affiliates were involved with NAEYC re-affiliation. It was a major leadership activity during my tenure as state president. There are similarities and differences between of the re-affiliation process then and the new process of affiliation with NAEYC.

    Similarities-

    • AEYC Leadership are passionate and dedicated and committed to the AEYC Association. I’ve met some of the most incredible people in my life in California and across the country.
    • CAEYC as a reflective partner as affiliates determine if they will continue to maintain affiliation directly with NAEYC or become a chapter of CAEYC.
    • Affiliates must follow, abide and maintain their 501(c)(3) status.


    Differences-

    • CAEYC is committed to ensure there is more communication and visibility with local affiliates during this process.
    • CAEYC will ask the hard questions about the newly revised process with NAEYC in order to help affiliates understand their roles and responsibilities.
    • AEYC membership has been on a decline. This is very serious for all affiliates. The new NAEYC affiliate process is also to strengthen affiliates to better serve the membership and recruitment of new members.
    • NAEYC has collected five years of data to help inform the NAEYC Board of Directors of policy decisions and action steps to support AEYC affiliates through the process.
    • NAEYC has a minimal threshold of membership for AEYC affiliates and minimal financial threshold.
    • NAEYC is committed to more accessible resources for AEYC affiliates as they operate as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
    • NAEYC has a formal process in place to determine if the affiliate meets the criterion as outlined and approved by the NAEYC Board of Directors.

    CAEYC National Dialogue Ad Hoc Committee for California members are:

    Heidi Thumlert, Chair
    Fran Chasen, Co-Chair
    Cary Larson-McKay, President
    Deidre Bryant, Executive Director
    Conan McKay
    Adria Taha-Resnick
    Carolyn Sanders
    Jacque Sell
    Michelle Soltero
    Ginger Swigart
    Jenny Yen

    In closing, it is dejavu or not? It is a different time—the needs have changed and we have learned a lot from our previous experiences. We will take what we have learned and will grow from it.

    I am encouraging affiliate leaders to stay engaged, ask questions and continue to ask questions and provide feedback during this process.

    Feel free to email Heidi Thumlert, Ad Hoc Committee Chair at thumsup@aol.com. We welcome your comments.

     
     
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