Secondary Education: Professional Groups

Expanding diplomatic interactions to advance education, promoting skills children need for a 21st century life, and transforming today's education into education for tomorrow.

Child Care Aware® of America is a national membership-based nonprofit organization working to advance affordability, accessibility, development and learning of children in child care. Learn more about us, and our national program, Child Care Aware®.

The Council for Exceptional Children is a professional association of educators dedicated to advancing the success of children with exceptionalities. We accomplish our mission through advocacy, standards, and professional development.

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) promotes policies and advances evidence-based practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of young children (0-8) who have or are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities. DEC is an international membership organization for those who work with or on behalf of young children (0-8) with disabilities and other special needs and their families. ​

HighScope Educational Research Foundation is an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization with headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Our focus is on early childhood education and the professional development of those that are in the field. Our mission is big, but it is clear: to change the trajectory of the world, one child at a time. This takes passionate people, ready to roll up their sleeves. It takes driven educators who truly want to make a difference. It takes visionary leaders, dedicated to the long view. Our research has shown the way. Our curriculum has proven it in practice. And our results have shown the extraordinary impact, long into the future. How do we do it? We engage. We play. We encourage. We teach the teachers. And then we study the results day to day and decade to decade.

The work of the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) is focused on ensuring quality educational opportunities for all military children affected by mobility, family separation, and transition. A 501(c)(3) non-profit, world-wide organization, the MCEC performs research, develops resources, conducts professional institutes and conferences, and develops and publishes resources for all constituencies.

NAFCC has lead the family child care accreditation program for over 25 years. The standards are research-based and demonstrate principles of child growth and development as well as current best practices in the early childhood field. Accreditation is not just a mark of quality, but a demonstration of commitment to continuous quality improvement.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.

For more than 40 years, the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) has been at the forefront of engaging leaders, policymakers, professionals, and parents around critical and timely issues that directly impact Black children and their families. We are a trusted partner in delivering culturally relevant resources that respond to the unique strengths and needs of Black children around issues including early childhood education, health, child welfare, literacy, and family engagement. With the support of our Affiliate network in communities across the country, we are committed to our mission “to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and their families through education and advocacy.”

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) is a nonprofit organization committed to the belief that every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in life. NHSA is the voice for more than 1 million children, 200,000 staff and 1,600 Head Start grantees in the United States. Since 1974, NHSA has worked diligently for policy changes that ensure all at-risk children have access to the Head Start model of support for the whole child, the family and the community.

Our mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. At ZERO TO THREE, we envision a society that has the knowledge and will to support all infants and toddlers in reaching their full potential.

The Office of Head Start (OHS) administers grant funding and oversight to the agencies that provide Head Start services. OHS also provides federal policy direction and a training and technical assistance (T/TA) system to assist grantees in providing comprehensive services to eligible young children and their families.