A Great Start for Every Child in Michigan: Leaders Promote Quality Care and Education for Young Children

by Lindy Buch, Ph.D., Director, Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services, Michigan Department of Education

Imagine these scenes:

• A Head Start teacher sitting at a low table with four preschoolers stirring a batch of playdoh.
• A child care center director discussing changes needed on the playground to accommodate a new child with a physical impairment.
• An early childhood event planner negotiating a price for hotel space for a conference.
• A large group discussing changes to learning expectations for young children.
• A lobbyist meeting with a state representative about additional funding for the state’s pre-kindergarten program.

What do all of these scenes have in common? They all portray early childhood leaders working to promote quality care and education for young children!

What Is Early Childhood Education?

Early Childhood Education generally refers to education and care services for children from birth to age eight. Children in this age range, when not home with their families or in-home care providers, learn and develop in settings as diverse as family child care homes; classroom-based infant/toddler and preschool programs such as child-care centers, preschools, Head Start, and pre-kindergarten; and kindergarten and primary classrooms and schools. There are many opportunities for the adults concerned about these young children to exhibit leadership skills in the field of early childhood education.

Teacher Leadership Makes a Difference in Early Childhood Education

Every teacher of young children is a leader. It takes the leadership skills of communication, problem solving, decision making, and organization to effectively manage a group of young children, not to mention the interpersonal skills required to motivate and energize the kids!

Teachers of young children often work in teams of co-teachers or teachers and assistants. Someone in the team, for example, may take on a permanent role as leader, or the team members may rotate taking the lead. The Head Start teacher leading a group of children to learn the scientific transformations that occur in mixing up a batch of playdoh also probably leads within her classroom group of adults, collaborating with aides and volunteers to provide a high-quality program for the children.

Administrative Leadership Leads to Quality Programs

Classroom-based early childhood programs, generally clustered in schools or child-care centers, are managed and led by a director or principal. These managers, as well as leaders, directors, and principals, find ways to get things done while seeking to improve quality and provide better services. The child-care center director who involves his staff in decision making and planning to meet the diverse needs of young children is leading them to great levels of effectiveness, as well as responding to state and national requirements for inclusive practices.

Early childhood leaders also are found among state and federal program administrators, as well as in associations and policy organizations. Like local program administrators, state and federal program officers look at both getting things done efficiently and improving effectiveness of the programs they manage. Working together on changing learning expectations for children, the group is providing vision and values to the state’s early childhood professionals. An event planner, for example, provides opportunities for teachers, caregivers, and home visitors to collaboratively increase their skills and the quality of programs available to children and their families. A lobbyist plays his or her part by seeking funding and resources to make sure all young children in the state have opportunities to learn and succeed. Together, the men and women involved in making policy decisions work hard to provide vision and develop standards for their state’s early childhood professionals to adopt.

Pathways to Leadership in Early Childhood Education

The path to managerial leadership usually starts with giving direct service to children. Most early childhood center directors and principals, for example, begin their careers as teachers. They are usually experts in working with children and families and eager to share their expertise in managing programs and mentoring newer classroom staff. Many early childhood professional development programs offer experiences or courses in program administration and working with a variety of other professionals in a team. Often, early childhood teachers do not have experience in budgeting, accounting, facility management, and other managerial skills needed by directors. The National Association for the Education of Young Children recognized this need in its latest review of its national program accreditation standards and added administrative course work to the requirements for program managers, as well as knowledge of child development and early education.

The path to becoming a policy leader in early childhood education is less clear. Some policy leaders have come from the early childhood managerial ranks; others come from more policy-oriented backgrounds and have chosen early childhood as a field for their focus. Most early childhood leaders are motivated by the overwhelming evidence that improving outcomes for young children is a cost-effective and ethical way to change the trajectory of children’s lives for their own benefit and for the economic and social well being of our country.

Michigan has adopted an ambitious vision for young children—A Great Start for every child in Michigan: safe, healthy, and eager to succeed in school and in life. With the support of early childhood leaders—including teachers, managers, and policy advocates—we can carry on this vision and transition to action now.

Lindy Buch, Ph.D., is the Director of the Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services at the Michigan Department of Education, where she leads the group responsible for the management of state and federal early childhood programs. She has been a child-care center teacher and director, preschool special education teacher, and college faculty member. She is a leader in state and national organizations, and is a past president of both the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education.

For more information, contact: Lindy Buch, Ph.D., Director, Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services, Michigan Department of Education, P.O. Box 30008, Lansing, MI 48909, (517) 241-3592, buchl@michigan.gov.