Children, Families, and Communities Guidebook: Community Resources

[CLO: 1]

This week, you will continue developing your Children, Families, and Communities Guidebook by completing the Community Resource section. This week’s required readings include Chapters 11 and 12 of our Gestwicki course text. Additionally, the recommended resources may be helpful in the development of your assignment. 

Effectively working with children and families often requires collaborating with organizations in the community that can assist in meeting the needs of the child, within the context of their family. This often extends beyond academic needs and can include support services that go beyond the program’s or school’s capabilities. In previous weeks, you have explained the importance of promoting community involvement. This week, you will identify resources that will help your program implement these potential partnerships. You might think of this as a community resource scavenger hunt!  For this section of your Guidebook, you will collect artifacts (resources, materials, and information) from potential community partners. As you prepare for this assignment, you may want to consider the following:

• What is your desired work environment (Head start Program)
• The geographical location of your desired environment.
• The demographics of the children, families, and communities with whom you will work.
• Access (either physically or virtually) the community in which your desired work environment is located,
• Collect artifacts (resources, materials, and information) that you can share with the children and families who need them.
• Include a minimum of three resources.

Content Expectations:

• Title page (Children, Families, and Communities Guidebook) must include:
  • Your name
  • The course number and title
  • Instructor’s name
  • Month, day, and year of submission
  • At least one relevant image
• Using the Ideas for Teachers: Creating Resource Files, located in Chapter 12 of the course text, as a guide:
  • Provide one artifact for each of your selected community agencies (pamphlets, referral information, etc.),
  • Explain the types of services or support each agency provides.
  • Include a family and community involvement plan, explaining how you will get families and the community involved in your efforts.
    • List the internal and external stakeholders (key players).
    • Provide a rational for the inclusion of your stakeholders, including a description of how the children and families you work with can benefit from the talents and/or resources of the stakeholder.

Writing and Formatting Expectations:

• Appearance: The visuals of the artifacts (i.e. scan or photo) are clear, visible, and have a professional appearance.
• Rationale: The rational of each artifact is well organized (i.e. formatted with easily read font, appealing colors, has a professional appearance, and includes a logical justification for the inclusion of the community resource/agency.
• Syntax and Mechanics: Writing displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• APA Formatting: Assignment includes citations and references in APA format, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Suggested Assignment Length:
In general, your rationale should be approximately two pages in length, with separate title and reference pages.