Growing and Guiding Early Childhood Education Leadership

1. Growing and Guiding Early Childhood Education Leadership Barb Merrill, Executive Director, Iowa AEYC bmerrill@iowaaeyc.org www.iowaaeyc.org

2. Welcome Why does our field need leaders?

3. What are the current challenges for our field?

4. Ready or Not:Leadership choices in Early Care and Education Stacie G. Goffin and Valora Washington Teachers College Press, 2007

5. Those of us in the field resist doing what our knowledge base says is necessary for achieving good results for children. • We are willing to tolerate poor performance by our colleagues. • We hesitate to improve ourselves and our programs if doing so involves too much effort or cost. • We postpone change and thus defer its benefits to future generations.

6. I was invited…. • What is the first leadership responsibility you accepted in our field? • What role (class, job, position) were you in when you first took on the leadership role? • Who first invited you to take a leadership role, and why did you respond?

7. How have you (and those you work with) already practiced and demonstrated leadership? • Even before adulthood – Leading a school project, a club, a committee, taking adult roles within families • In your first job – Someone identified the things you excelled at, and pointed you towards other opportunities • Everyday leadership opportunities – Learn something new, join a committee, write a newsletter article, help a parent find resources he might need, get active in a professional association or club, teach someone who you work with something that is new to them, do a presentation, write a letter to the editor or to an elected official, become an expert on something

8. My EC leadership role models

9. PedagogicalAdministrativeAdvocacyCommunityConceptual Five Kinds of Leadership needed in the ECE field

10. Leadership in Early Care and Education Sharon L. Kagan and Barbara T. Bowman, Editors NAEYC, 1997

11. Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail. Emerson

12. What traits make a leader?

13. Leaders….. • Help organizations clarify and affirm values • Set goals and vision, and chart a course of action to achieve the vision • Like an artist, a leader paints a picture of what the organization could be • A leader creates a healthy tension between current reality and the imagined ideal.

14. What traits does a leader possess? Personal Professional Character Passion Optimism Drive Integrity Courage Takes risks Motivates and inspires Flexibility Openness Unwavering commitment Can articulate vision and direction Professional knowledge Formal education Strong track record Sets organizational culture Shares the credit If running an agency, also needs skills in fiscal and personnel management

15. Do one thing every day that scares you. Eleanor Roosevelt

16. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time, and build your wings on the way down.Ray Bradbury

17. What do we need to do to support leaders? • Within our programs • Within our field • Within our Associations

18. Re-think what we are looking for See – Feel – Change rather than Analyze – Think – Change It’s all about relationships!

19. Are you a manager or a leader? How do you handle a task? How do you tackle a problem?

20. Within our programs • Director competencies and credentials • Specialized education • Mentors and others who can help • Resources for training – where do you go • Handouts - Manager vs. Leader and Traditional vs. Facilitative Leadership

21. What must we do?How to strengthen your own leadership skills, and those of others • Develop a message for which you have passion and real knowledge • Practice delivering it and refining it • Add data, research, and real life stories • Carefully consider what you do well • Really reflect on your own personal preparation, share what worked for you with those who train others. • Consider it your responsibility to mentor others and pass on your knowledge and experience

22. Advocate that education and professional development programs (both in higher ed and in training/in-service) for emerging leaders include administration, advocacy, and leadership courses • Find ways to give teachers and providers opportunities to practice their leadership • Recognize and reward emerging leaders • Build mentoring skills in new leaders • Strengthen best practices in early childhood education throughout our field • Strategize how to engage diverse leadership

23. Professionalism in Early Childhood Education: Doing Our Best for Young ChildrenStephanie Feeney Pearson, 2012.

24. Leaders are not born….people learn to lead.

25. Learning as a way of Leading Stephen Preskill and Stephen D. Brookfield John Wiley & Sons, 2009 Learning …. To be open to the contributions of others Critical reflection To support the growth of others Collective leadership Analyze experience To question Democracy To sustain hope in the face of struggle To create community

26. One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. John F. Kennedy

27. The role of AEYC in supporting leadership for our field Leadership projects of Iowa AEYC • Leadership themed quarterly newsletter • Leadership track at conference • Local chapter leadership opportunities • State governing board recruitment and board development/training • Leadership Fellowship • NAEYC Innovation Grant • Involvement by staff and board members at state and national levels www.iowaaeyc.org

28. Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. Harriet Tubman Thank you for being here today, and everything that you do every day, as together we lead our field to where it needs to be.