OCAEYC Mission and Vision
OCAEYC's Mission is to represent and elevate the voice of Orange County’s diverse early care and education profession; promote developmentally appropriate practice in settings serving young children ages birth through 8 years; serve as a resource for members; advocate for the importance of better pay in ensuring a skilled and stable early educator workforce; and to promote public understanding of issues affecting children and their families.
OCAEYC Vision: The early childhood profession is respected and valued for its critical role in ensuring that all young children thrive, learn, and reach their full potential.
OCAEYC Values
Early childhood is a unique and valuable stage of life.
Respect diversity, equity, and inclusion in the lives of children, families, and colleagues.
Parents and families are the child’s first teacher.
Early childhood professionals deserve worthy compensation.
All children and professionals have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society.
Relationships are based on trust and respect.
All children (and caregivers) deserve to reach their full potential – no matter their culture, color, or condition.
Early childhood education (ECE) professionals are empowered to provide, defend and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), and the rights of children.
Commitment to diversity in members, staff, board, partners, and equitable access to programs, policy formulation, and decision-making.
Professionals are effectively supported by the early learning settings in which they work, and when they and their wider communities embrace diversity and full inclusion as strengths, uphold fundamental principles of fairness and justice, and work to eliminate structural inequities that limit equitable learning opportunities.
OCAEYC Committees
OCAEYC has several committees that help guide our work. These committees are chaired by our Board Members At Large. Some board committees include: board development, fund development, community partnerships, membership services, professional development, communications and conference / events.
Learn more about NAEYC
NAEYC supports the work of these remarkable individuals by serving as their voice and by passionately advocating for what we know to be right for children and for educators. NAEYC also does this by offering a robust suite of national resources, as well as local offerings from our network of Affiliates across the country. NAEYC members have access to cutting-edge content and professional development to support their career growth. Through our online communities, publications, and events, you are connected to peers and the most notable thought leaders in the early learning field.
NAEYC 2020 Annual Conference
This year the conference was offered via a virtual platform and offered over 40 workshop topics, networking opportunities, and resources. Registered attendees have access to view the conference sessions until December 12, 2020. You can find more information and resources from the conference here.
We hope you had the opportunity to attend! OCAEYC helped support the conference by sending out 90 "We wish you were here boxes." The closest location to receive a box was Irvine, California and the farthest one was mailed was to Japan. There was a lot of support from early educators all around the country!
Contents of the "We Wish You Were Here" Boxes.
Sending out the "Wish You Were Here" Boxes.
Support Our Work!
You can donate to OCAEYC and support our work. Donations are used to provide professional training and support to early educators which includes an annual conference, workshops, and scholarships to conferences. It also allows us to expand our ability to advocate for public policy that supports the well-being and success of children.
You can also support our work by choosing the Orange County Association for the Education of Young Children as your charitable organization when you shop on Amazon Smile. Click here for Amazon Smile.