High-quality program leadership and management make a significant contribution to program and child outcomes. Leadership can be thought of as influence; a strong leader can rally others around key values. In comparison, management refers to achieving goals in efficient and effective ways. To provide the best education to children, programs need strong leaders and managers working together, balancing vision with procedures. Although a school’s objectives are typically dictated by external sources—like the government, for example—school leaders and managers can interpret those regulations through the lens of their vision. For example, if a program values the role family members play as a child’s first and most important teachers, they might dedicate some of their required training hours to family engagement topics.
Through required coursework, directors learn how to establish and maintain an organized system for managing everyday business operations and staff. Program management consists of the operations and supports provided by program administration to families and staff. The Texas Rising Star measures related to program management not only capture the ways that programs offer support to families and staff but also score the evidence of the implementation of these supports.
Stop and Reflect
What systems are in place to manage operations and staff at your program? How can they be improved?
What support do you need from your Texas Rising Star mentor to improve your program’s leadership and management efforts?
Define
Texas Rising Star has three goal statements related to leadership and management:
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- Business Management Skills: Establish and maintain an organized system for managing the everyday business operations of the program.
- Staff Management Skills: Establish and maintain an organized system for managing staff.
- Leadership Management Skills: Establish and maintain a plan to support leadership skill building for the program’s administrative team.
Learn
The Texas Workforce Commission is offering FREE business coaching for centers and family care providers. In multiple sessions with you, your professional business coach can help you define and reach goals, offer best practices and tools, and create action steps.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Training
You’ve hired talented staff—but how can you ensure they stay at your program? This article outlines several strategies to keep staff happy, engaged, and productive.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Publication
This webinar explores how the strengthening of certain Human Resources (HR) practices can directly support a culture of safety for children and families. It examines the issues and costs of staff turnover and offers research-based retention strategies. Explore how cultivating teamwork and autonomy can drive engagement.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Webinar
This course will focus on leadership fundamentals. You will be introduced to critical leadership concerns and how managers can effectively build and support a high-performing team. Additionally, you will complete a leadership self-assessment, which will be used to assess individual competencies. This is course 1 of 8 in the Child Care Business Training courses.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Online Course
This training was designed for use by early childhood administrators. These competencies represent the range of knowledge and observable skills needed to effectively manage early childhood programs. They are intended to serve as a guide to those interested in acquiring a better understanding of the scope of responsibilities associated with early childhood program administration.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, PreschoolResource Type: Online Course
The career pathway relates a professional’s training hours, education, work experience, and other factors to a position on the career pathway, from entry-level to expertise in the early childhood field. The Texas ECE Career Pathways support those who identify as Practitioners, Administrators, Trainers, and Coaches.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, PreschoolResource Type: Guide
Practice and Improve
This is an example of a Professional Development Profile Report for Administrators and Practitioners from TECPDS. This report can be used to analyze staff education, experience, and training to ensure staff are meeting requirements for training hours and topics. The report can also help inform staff training plans if some training topics have less coverage than others.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Example Document
The Professional Development Profile Report for Practitioners from TECPDS can be used to assist in analyzing education, experience, and training. The assessor will use the Individual Professional Development Profile Report to help score the director’s education, experience, and training measures. Program staff files should be used to verify these documents if the report is incomplete or unavailable.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Example Document
Before beginning child care duties, all teaching staff members receive documented in-person interactive orientation with the director/administrator to improve knowledge of the childcare operation, specific job responsibilities, and children’s needs. Here is a sample document that provides evidence that this onboarding has taken place. This documentation should remain in the teacher’s staff file.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Example Document
Here is a performance evaluation template for directors or administrators to document annual staff performance evaluations. Program leaders can use a staff’s performance evaluation to provide monetary compensation and to recognize an employee’s performance in the 12 months. The document will download automatically.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Template
Here is a template of a form current program staff can use to refer prospective employees and receive monetary compensation. Program leaders can implement a similar referral program as a type of compensatory support to encourage staff retention. The document will download automatically.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Template
This calculator intends to simplify the process of estimating the costs of providing child care. This tool can assist you with identifying the most common expenses incurred when providing child care services for infant to school-age children.
Age group(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-ageResource Type: Toolkit