Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/rising-to-the-challenge/5025568/
Child care centers are a pillar in our communities, as we rely on them to provide a healthy and safe environment for our young children, which gives peace of mind to parents while they work. Collectively, our views of what quality care looks like have evolved to acknowledge that learning starts from birth. Prior to kindergarten, approximately 1,900 days pass before children enroll in a school-based program (Texas Early Learning Council, 2008). However, formal education actually starts in the infant room. As regulated institutions, child care centers have to follow a framework to meet minimum standards.
Through each legislative session, minimum standards have evolved to extend beyond meeting the basic needs for infants through childhood. Education was added as a way to incorporate constructive learning activities through the day while children are in care. Therefore, directors’ roles have shifted from simply managing business operations to the added expectations of meeting the developing needs of young children.
Taylor Cook and Aziegbe (2020) surveyed center directors in order to contextualize their multifaceted roles and to gain insight into their daily operations. Outreach, marketing, personnel hours, curriculum and care are elements that make up the duties of a child care director. The pandemic has ...