Corporate Champions for Change

Overview of the Center

The McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National-Louis University is the premier institution in the country providing early childhood leadership and management training for early childhood administrators. The Center has received national recognition for its work in defining the competencies needed for effective early childhood program administration and delivering high-quality leadership training and technical assistance.

As the only institution in the country dedicated exclusively to the professional development of early childhood leaders, the Center has emerged as a powerful voice advocating for better working conditions and compensation, supporting emerging leaders from under-represented groups, and strengthening professional standards for early childhood practitioners.

Quality Counts

As a family-friendly company, you already know that early childhood education is as much a business issue as it is a social issue. Investing in early care and education means investing in the quality of your current workforce and your future workforce.

Working parents need assurance that their children are safe and well cared for. Poorly run child care programs undermine parents’ ability to perform at optimal levels on the job. Parents who have unpredictable child care arrangements have greater levels of absenteeism and job turnover.

The most important variable impacting program quality is the expertise, passion, and commitment early childhood educators bring to their roles. Well-trained early childhood teachers and caregivers can transform ordinary experiences into memorable moments that enrich a child’s life forever. High-quality programs employ staff with more formal education, provide better wages and benefits, and experience less turnover.

Leadership Matters

The leadership capability of the center director is crucial in the quality equation. Directors set a standard of excellence creating environments that enrich children’s development or a standard of mediocrity that places children at harm. In a number of powerful ways, directors influence the climate of their programs both as workplace for staff and as an educational and nurturing environment for children.

Mission FulFillment

By partnering with the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership, you can support early childhood administrators who serve families in your community. Right now, limited opportunities exist for early childhood directors to receive the specialized management training they need. Even when training is made available for directors, it is usually too expensive and seldom addresses the site‑specific concerns of the individuals involved.

By joining the Champions for Change initiative the early childhood administrators who serve your workforce will receive the management tools and resources they need to administer high-quality programs that promote positive child outcomes and strengthen families.

Investment Opportunities

There are several ways to support the early childhood programs that serve the children of families that work for your company.

Leading the Way to Quality – The Director’s Role: Sponsor a two-day training initiative that underscores the vital role that early childhood directors play in setting standards of excellence in their centers. Participants learn about the nature of individual and organizational change, the director’s role as change agent, and how to use the Program Administration Scale to measure and monitor organizational quality.

A Great Place to Work: Sponsor a three-day training initiative that helps center directors examine their personnel recruitment and retention practices. Topics include interviewing and screening techniques, hiring for a right fit, orienting staff right from the start, and implementing personnel policies that help reduce turnover. As part of this institute, participants will have the opportunity to conduct an organizational climate assessment of their programs and receive a personalized Work Environment Profile detailing the quality of work life at their respective centers.

Family Friendly Directors: Sponsor a training initiative that helps center directors examine their centers’ policies and practices through a “family-responsive” lens. Emphasis is given to developing a family-responsive mission statement as well as marketing and enrollment literature to support that mission. Participants become knowledgeable about ways to build cross-cultural understanding and strengthen communication between home and center including effective parent conferencing, parent forums, newsletters, and structured feedback. 

Benefits for Your Company

Being a part of Champions for Change will provide rich dividends for your company. Not only will your company reap the workforce benefits from enhancing the quality of early care and education in the centers serving your employees, it will also receive local and national name recognition through online and print media acknowledgement of your financial support.

To learn more about Champions for Change and how you can help build a brighter future for children, one leader at a time, contact Dr. Paula Jorde Bloom, Michael W. Louis Endowed Chair at (800) 443-5522, ext. 5055 or paula.bloom@nl.edu.