Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/five-key-lessons-from--25-years-of-ece-leadership/5027164/
Twenty-five years ago, my partner and I opened our first locations of The Malvern School in the suburbs of Philadelphia. We both had extensive experience in the field of early childhood education and set out to introduce a new model for early learning at a time when families needed more options for full-time, high-quality, educational-based care. Our model—rooted in empowering skilled teachers to deliver individualized curriculum—took off fairly quickly. In just five years, we opened 10 schools, and today there are 27 Malvern Schools serving children from six weeks to 8 years old throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Our continued growth tells us that we have gotten a lot of things right. We have also learned a lot along the way and continue learning every day. As we celebrate The Malvern School’s 25th anniversary (a milestone many well-known companies on the S&P 500 do not even reach), our tenured leadership team has been reflecting on how the industry has changed and on some of the key lessons from our journey. I am honored to share our perspectives in this article, including input from our director of educational programs, Christle Seal; senior program operations manager, Helene Swartz; program operations manager, Pat Zauflik-McGrath; ...