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Staff Issues: A View from Directors
October 27, 2006
Becoming a leader is the most crucial choice one can make – it is the decision to step out of the darkness into the light.
-Deepak Chopra
-Deepak Chopra
Getting a handle on current staff issues is a topic I wanted to explore and who better to ask than directors! Here is a sample of some comments provided by the directors and administrators in the Master’s Degree Program in Early Childhood Administration and Leadership.
“With all of the new NAEYC and other program requirements, it is essential that our caregivers/teachers have ample time out of the classrooms to focus on professional development (i.e., reading all new NAEYC assessment material, using resources to improve selves and classrooms, and working with their team outside of naptime). Most child care programs can not afford this luxury. At times I feel we need to close our doors for a week to just read and reflect.”
�" Dianna Scuncio, Director, Child Development Center, I Sub Base New London
“My Head Teachers and I are constantly challenged with managing the multitude of tasks that need to be completed on a daily basis in our child care centers and at the same time coordinating time to support, nurture, and train the staff we do employ in order to retain them and make their experience working with the children and families as well as their co-workers a rewarding one.”
�" Pattie Carbone, Program Director, Child Care, Child & Family Services Newport County
“One issue that we have at our center is keeping seasoned staff challenged within their position when there is no room for advancement within the organization. We have 13 classrooms with one 'lead' teacher and two teachers per classroom. The majority of the staff has been here 10 years or longer. The teachers do not have the opportunity to move into the 'lead' position unless the 'lead' teacher leaves the program."
�" Nancy A. Belliveau, Child Care Assistant Manager, Toddler-Preschool Program, Commerce Insurance Child Care Center
What do you see as the key most important staff issue facing our field today? Add them to our FEEDBACK page below!
Contributed by William H. Strader, Director, Institute for Early Childhood Leadership & Professional Development, Johnson & Wales University, School of Education
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Comments (20)
Displaying 5 of 20 Comments [ View all ]Durham, North Carolina, United States
I appreciate your concern for the administrator/staff relationship. At this point in my professional career, I am vowing to be very careful in securing my next teaching position. I will ask many questions, specifically about philosophies on child development and principles for behavior management. I have been surprised - and shocked - to see young administrators steeped in behaviorist philosophies. I have also been surprised - and shocked - to witness their need to control and monitor the activities of young children and their teacher. We have a long way to go in bringing culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate practices into the public school arena.
Langdon Day Care Center
Langdon, ND, United States
I am the director at a center in a small town in North Dakota. One of our biggest staff issues is finding staff, especially staff that have the patience and stamina to deal with children. I have put ads in the paper and have had literally no one apply. We do not have a lot of money and the pay is not very good, how do I find staff that are willing to work in a very challenging and busy job and not be able to offer good pay or benefits. We do not receive any other monies except for the Food program and parent fees. We are already at the top of the scale for our small town in charging and out town population is dwindling daily. We offer a wonderful program with my staff that have been here for many years and are dedicated but how do I find new staff.
Bloomington, IN, United States
As I read the above comments, I am struck with the realization that all these problems come down to MONEY.
It is time for state and national governments to "underwrite the cost of the nation's child care system" (Linda Smith - NACCRRA -July 20, 2006) and buy into the most valuable time in a child's life. As we know from brain research, children begin learning at birth.
"We need a systemic approach to early childhood development..." (Smith-July 20, 2006). This is what is needed to have high-quality care and to make it affordable and accessible for all families.
What happened to No Child Left Behind?!
United States
Have you ever given thought to Gandhi? How did a man without an office
lead the second most populous nation to independence from England?
When certain positions are held in high esteem, it leads assistants to believe that unless they have a "position", they have no power to ignite positive change in themselves, in their career field and in their relationships with children and parents. It creates a cycle of misbelief. Directors are frustrated because assistants consider themselves powerless until given a "position".
On the other hand, what if people saw themselves with the ability to contribute,
despite their position? And, what if advancement meant "now you're going to serve in some different ways?"
What if our focus was on realizing the potential of every person to influence change? And, then how to nurture this philosophy within the workplace -one position is not more valuable than the next?
One person can lead your staff from the bottom rung of your career ladder when she recognizes her own power to change the world around her.
mumbai4, India
I agree that one should walk for achievment than the success but for staff, to inculcate this its necessary to conduct an awareness progams.I think alongwith the kids,teachers also need some studies and activities that should be interesting and motivating.
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