{"id":40017,"date":"2021-10-28T20:08:05","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T20:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/ftf\/?post_type=family-stories&p=40017"},"modified":"2021-11-04T14:13:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T14:13:55","slug":"professional-development-program-through-community-college-helps-teachers","status":"publish","type":"family-stories","link":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/professional-development-program-through-community-college-helps-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"Professional development program through Tohono O\u2019odham Community College helps teachers get their students ready for kindergarten"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the <\/span>First Tohono O\u2019odham Nation Region<\/span><\/a>, 74% of the 3- and 4-year-old children are enrolled in early education services creating a demand for educated teachers and support staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mariena Mendez and Danelle Jose are two students who recently graduated with valuable skills they acquired while in the Early Childhood Education program at Tohono O\u2019odham Community College.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendez and Jose were part of the Tohono O\u2019odham Community College Community of Practice, which is one of the 17 communities of practice developed by <\/span>United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona\u2019s<\/span><\/a> Great Expectations for Teachers, Children and Families.<\/span><\/p>\n

First Things First funds the program, which provides early childhood educators with in-depth professional development that allows them to earn college credit and work toward degrees in early childhood. It\u2019s a part of the\u00a0FTF\u00a0Tohono O\u2019odham Nation Regional Partnership Council\u2019s work to help boost the quality of child care provided to young children in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

The community of practice at the college called, <\/span>A\u2019al Ha-Mascam<\/span><\/i>, which means children and their learning in O\u2019odham, focuses on improving kindergarten transitions for children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Danelle Jose serves as a community health representative for the Tohono O\u2019odham Nation, and said she was able to find the connection between her current role and the resources offered through her college classes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendez works as the family and community partnership specialist for all of the Nation\u2019s Head Start Centers. She plans to continue her education in social work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During her time in the college\u2019s community of practice, Mendez appreciated the support of those in her cohort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved working with children, but with the help of my teachers, I was able to see there are so many career options within early childhood,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both agreed on the support they received from their teachers in the early childhood education program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had really good teachers throughout my life that have helped inspire me to be a teacher,\u201d Jose said. \u201cI had a teacher\u2019s aide in preschool that I will always remember because she always made sure to impact us [students] positively every day and interact with us. I want to be the same way with the children I work with.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now with early childhood education degrees under their belts, Mendez and Jose plan to continue their education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jose plans to remain with her current position. However, after a short break from school, she wants to look into being a special needs teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time they asked us in school what we wanted to be, I always said, a teacher. I\u2019ve just always known,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both now look forward to working with families to help their community\u2019s young children be ready for success in kindergarten and beyond.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The FTF Tohono O\u2019odham Nation Regional Council funds the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona\u2019s Great Expectations for Teachers, Children and Families program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tags":[137,164,273],"class_list":["post-40017","family-stories","type-family-stories","status-publish","hentry","tag-tribal","tag-tohono-oodham-nation","tag-professional-development","regions-tohono-oodham-nation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProfessional development program through Tohono O\u2019odham Community College helps teachers get their students ready for kindergarten - First Things First<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The FTF Tohono O\u2019odham Nation Regional Council funds the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona\u2019s Great Expectations for Teachers, Children and Families program.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/professional-development-program-through-community-college-helps-teachers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Professional development program through Tohono O\u2019odham Community College helps teachers get their students ready for kindergarten\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The FTF Tohono O\u2019odham Nation Regional Council funds the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona\u2019s Great Expectations for Teachers, Children and Families program.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/professional-development-program-through-community-college-helps-teachers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"First Things First\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AZFirstThingsFirst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-04T14:13:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AZFTF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/professional-development-program-through-community-college-helps-teachers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/professional-development-program-through-community-college-helps-teachers\/\",\"name\":\"Professional development program through Tohono O\u2019odham Community College helps teachers get their students ready for kindergarten - 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