Studies have demonstrated the significance of afterschool staff development and have attempted to show the impacts of staff training on program quality and youth outcomes. Professional development, though necessary, wasn't always a priority for the author, especially if training hours conflicted with the author's afterschool program schedule.…

States have begun to incorporate careers pathway programs into their workforce and professional development systems in order to strengthen and support the early childhood workforce. A career pathways approach offers career advancement through a progression of educational qualifications, training, and credentials that build on each other and are…

When search consultants, like the author, are invited to propose their services in support of a college or university seeking new leadership, they are generally asked a fairly standard set of questions. But there is one question that they find among the most difficult to answer: How do they check a candidate's references to ensure that they know…

Who would bet that superintendents would sign up for another layer of accountability--creating portfolios of their best work, tracking their personal growth as superintendents, documenting systemic change initiatives and compiling evidence of impact? The Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) made that bet, and in 2006 the state…

Deciding what to do after high school is a daunting task for any young person, but for students on the autism spectrum, the thought can be paralyzing. Additional questions need to be asked and answered to insure a goodness of fit between the student's strengths, goals, and weaknesses and a post secondary educational program's strengths, goals, and…

Modern school administrators are finding flexible opportunities to pursue doctoral degrees online. Cyber institutions such as Walden University, University of Phoenix and Argosy University--as well as a few traditional universities that have forged into the electronic arena--can accommodate time-strapped educators no matter where they live, as…

As Arizona strives for a first-rate educational system, the foundation of care and education for our youngest children remains far too weak. This new report, "A Decade of Data: The Compensation and Credentials of Arizona's Early Care and Education Workforce," marks ten years of data on trends in the wages, benefits, and education levels…

Describes the growth of early childhood and after-school program administrator credentialing initiatives. Delineates benefits of an administrator credentialing system for program quality. Describes the assistance available through Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives. Includes table describing three national…

Presents a conceptualization for the competence of child care directors based on knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Describes the Illinois Director Credential, earned through validation of accomplishments in five competency components: general education, early childhood/school-age knowledge and skills, management knowledge and skills, experience,…

The TEACH Early Childhood Wisconsin is an initiative to address the crisis in recruitment, compensation, and retention of high-quality early childhood teachers and providers. The plan involves advanced training for infant/toddler caregivers, infant/toddler credential, administrator credential, and scholarships for higher education. Efforts are…

"Taking the Lead" is an initiative of The Center for Career Development in Early Care and Education at Wheelock College, working in partnership with other national organizations and government policymakers. The initiative is intended to build the capacity of the early care and education field to improve program quality by: (1) improving…

"Taking the Lead: Investing in Early Childhood Leadership for the 21st Century" is an initiative to support quality in early childhood programs by promoting director credentialing and leadership development in the early care and education field. In developing its two initiatives, "Experiments in Director Credentialing" and…

This document presents an outline of competencies for early childhood directors. The outline consists of a list of seven required abilities, or goals that is divided into sublists of actions the director should perform to meet the competency goals. Directors are expected to possess the ability to: develop and maintain an effective organization;…

Describes recent state initiatives to improve child care for Mississippi children. Efforts include development of a child care director's credential, on-site training through staff at mobile training vans, initiatives to heighten consumer awareness and help parents make informed choices, voter education projects, and free yearly conferences for…

This document presents some of the questions that are frequently asked about Director Credentialing programs at the individual and national level, and proposes answers. Topics covered include content and competency areas required by director credentialing programs, number of hours or credits required, and their relationships with licensing, higher…