The Director's Role

01/22/2009

As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.
Steve Maraboli, speaker and author

In their now out-of-print early childhood classic, Day Care as a Child Rearing Environment (Washington, DC: NAEYC, 1972), Elizabeth Prescott, Elizabeth Jones, and Sybil Kritchevsky make these observations about the role of the director in an early childhood program...

"The role of the director in implementing flexibility and communication at all levels is crucial. If care of children is to be personal and meaningful, it must also be spontaneous and innovative. If it is both of these, the program will not be smoothly predictable nor predictably beyond criticism. The director not only must take responsibility for the decisions which she makes, but also must constantly communicate her reasons and convictions as to why children's needs are more important than efficiency. Specifically, we feel that she must take major responsibility for initiating communication with parents, and for interpreting and defending (if necessary) policies, practices, and needs to decision makers outside the center.

"With her own staff, her role of providing enrichment and simplification of the environment for all staff is not unlike a teacher's responsibilities toward children. Teaching in day care can be monotonous and boring unless balanced by participation in center planning, opportunities for some contact with other adults, and the professional stimulation of visiting other centers and participating in opportunities for in-service training. The director's role of simplification requires a sure administrative hand which will clear away obstacles to personal solidarity between staff and children."

Are You an Effective Director?

Check out the popular Exchange guidebook and textbook, The Art of Leadership: Managing Early Childhood Organizations. The comprehensive guide includes contributions from the leading experts in the field on the following management areas:

Leadership
Advocacy
Getting organized
Legal issues
Financial management
Fundraising
Personnel policies
Recruiting and selecting staff
Supervising and developing staff
Evaluating your program
Shaping your curriculum
Working with parents
Marketing your program
Community outreach

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