Press Releases

September 2009 – The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National-Louis University was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Grand Victoria Foundation to implement Supporting Excellence in Family Child Care. Illinois launched a quality rating and tiered reimbursement system in July 2007. One of the instruments designated in the Illinois Quality Counts plan to measure program quality in family child care settings is the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS). This project will provide training for 15 early childhood leaders in Illinois on how to use the BAS to support family child care providers in improving the business practices of their family child care programs.

Developed by faculty at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership, the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care was designed to serve as a reliable and easy-to-administer tool for measuring and improving the overall quality of business practices in family child care settings. The BAS assesses quality in ten areas: qualifications and professional development, income and benefits, work environment, fiscal management, recordkeeping, risk management, provider-parent communication, community resources, marketing and public relations, and the provider as employer.
The Grand Victoria Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in Illinois whose efforts expand educational opportunities for children, boost the economic vitality of cities and regions and the economic prospects for families, and improve the health of our environment.

Founded in 1985, the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership is dedicated to enhancing the management skills, professional orientation, and leadership capacity of early childhood educators. Funded by grants and contracts from philanthropic foundations, state agencies, and corporations, the Center’s activities encompass four areas: training and technical assistance to improve the knowledge base, skills, and competencies of early childhood administrators; program evaluation to improve the overall quality of early childhood services; research on key professional development issues; and public awareness of the critical role that early childhood directors play in the provision of quality services for children and families.

For more information about this initiative, please contact the Center at (800) 443-5522, ext. 5056 or debra.trudesuter@nl.edu. To find out more about the Grand Victoria Foundation go to www.grandvictoriafdn.org.

June 2009 – The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership and Teachers College Press are proud to announce the release of a new resource for family child care. Written by NLU faculty Drs. Teri N. Talan and Paula Jorde Bloom, the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS) is designed to measure the quality of business and professional practices of center-based early childhood programs.

The BAS reflects the growing professional consensus that the quality of family child care is determined by more than a provider's nurturing heart and caring interactions with children. Research on family child care indicates that providers who utilize effective professional and business practices are more likely to view family child care as a career. They are also more likely to provide a higher quality learning environment and interact more sensitively with children.

The Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care is applicable for multiple uses: program self-improvement, technical assistance and monitoring, training, research and evaluation, and public awareness. The BAS measures quality on a 7-point scale in 10 items: Qualifications and Professional Development, Income and Benefits, Work Environment, Fiscal Management, Recordkeeping, Risk Management, Provider-Parent Communication; Community Resources, Marketing and Public Relations, Provider as Employer. The BAS is currently one of the assessments being used in Quality Counts, the Illinois Quality Rating System.

Founded in 1985, the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership is dedicated to enhancing the management skills, professional orientation, and leadership capacity of early childhood educators. Funded by grants and contracts from philanthropic foundations, state agencies, and corporations, the Center’s activities encompass four areas: training and technical assistance to improve the knowledge base, skills, and competencies of early childhood administrators; program evaluation to improve the overall quality of early childhood services; research on key professional development issues; and public awareness of the critical role that early childhood directors play in the provision of quality services for children and families.

The BAS is available for purchase from Teachers College Press (www.teacherscollegepress.com)

June 2009 – National-Louis University and The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership are proud to announce Aim4Excellence, an online national director credential for early childhood administrators. The credential focuses on the essential knowledge and skills needed to deliver high-quality programming for young children and is designed around the unique needs of a busy adult learner.

Aim4Excellence offers nine engaging modules containing compelling and relevant content that meet the needs of an early childhood administrator:

The program is designed so that the early childhood director can take all nine modules to earn the Aim4Excellence national director credential or take only one or a few to build competence in a specific management area. Modules can be taken for credit or noncredit.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children recognizes Aim4Excellence as an alternative pathway for meeting part of the director qualifications for NAEYC program accreditation. The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership has worked closely with a number of professional development systems to identify Aim4Excellence’s fit with current options for early childhood professionals.

Founded in 1985, the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership is dedicated to enhancing the management skills, professional orientation, and leadership capacity of early childhood educators. Funded by grants and contracts from philanthropic foundations, state agencies, and corporations, the Center’s activities encompass four areas: training and technical assistance to improve the knowledge base, skills, and competencies of early childhood administrators; program evaluation to improve the overall quality of early childhood services; research on key professional development issues; and public awareness of the critical role that early childhood directors play in the provision of quality services for children and families.

For additional information about Aim4Excellence, go to http://aim4excellence.nl.edu or contact Kara Lehnhardt, Project Director, at (800) 443-5522, ext. 5155 or aim4excellence@nl.edu.

McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership Receives $30,000 Grant from Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation

June 2009 – The McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National-Louis University was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation to implement Taking Charge of Change Train-the-Trainer.

Taking Charge of Change is an innovative model of professional development designed to improve the quality of care and education of young children by focusing on the leadership and management skills of the directors who oversee the programs that children attend. This leadership training program has been successfully implemented in Illinois for 16 years, putting the state at the forefront of leadership development for early childhood administrators. The goal of the Taking Charge of Change Train-the-Trainer initiative (TCC-TTT) is to develop a cadre of informed and experienced consultant trainers, college instructors, and technical assistance specialists who can implement the components of the Taking Charge of Change training model to support the leadership development of early childhood center directors in other states.

With the generous support of the Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation, the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership the Center is able to provide a third cohort of Train-the-Trainer participants. Training will span 10 months and coincide with the training of Cohort #17 of Taking Charge of Change directors.

The content of Taking Charge of Change Train-the-Trainer will focus on the nature of individual and organizational change and the coaching and presentation skills needed to support directors as effective change agents in their programs. Participants will learn strategies for supporting quality improvements in center-based programs as well as planning and conducting dynamic workshops using the TCC curriculum. At the end of the 10-month training cycle, participants in this train-the-trainer initiative will be equipped to deliver the nine modules that comprise the Taking Charge of Change experience.

The Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation (PECF) was established in 2003 to support initiatives in the field of early childhood development. The Foundation focuses both on expanding and increasing the effectiveness of programs and practices that have proven successful in providing high-quality services to youngsters in underserved communities. The Foundation’s goal is to furnish children from the prenatal stage to age five with the tools that will help them succeed in school – a goal that can only be realized by nurturing them from the earliest weeks and months of their lives.

Founded in 1985, the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership is dedicated to enhancing the management skills, professional orientation, and leadership capacity of early childhood educators. Funded by grants and contracts from philanthropic foundations, state agencies, and corporations, the Center’s activities encompass four areas: training and technical assistance to improve the knowledge base, skills, and competencies of early childhood administrators; program evaluation to improve the overall quality of early childhood services; research on key professional development issues; and public awareness of the critical role that early childhood directors play in the provision of quality services for children and families.

For more information about this initiative, please contact Ms. Debra Trude-Suter, Director of Training, at (800) 443-5522, ext. 5056 or debra.trudesuter@nl.edu. To find out more about the Grand Victoria Foundation go to www.grandvictoriafdn.org.

Illinois Study Finds Substantial Increase in Qualifications of Preschool Teachers: Marks Progress Toward Preschool for All Priorities and Achievement of Statewide, Coordinated Professional Development System

December 2008 – A new study of the early childhood workforce in Illinois finds that education levels for lead preschool teachers has dramatically increased over the past seven years. The number of community-based lead teachers holding a bachelor’s degree rose to 48 percent in 2008, up from 37 percent in 2001. In addition, almost 20 percent of these lead teachers hold early childhood certification, which qualifies them to teach 3- and 4-year old children in Illinois’ Preschool for All program.

The study, Who’s Caring for the Kids? The Status of the Early Childhood Workforce in Illinois–2008, was conducted by researchers at National-Louis University’s McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership and the Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative at the University of Illinois. The research, funded by the McCormick Foundation, examined progress made since the 2001 publication of the first Who’s Caring for the Kids?

The new study highlights several achievements. Since 2001, Illinois has established an Early Learning Council, implemented Preschool for All, and rolled out a quality rating system, Quality Counts–QRS. State policymakers have also addressed the professional needs of the early childhood workforce through creation of the Professional Development Advisory Council (PDAC), establishment of Gateways to Opportunity, and a credentialing system for the early childhood workforce.

Dr. Teri Talan, study co-author and the Center’s director of research and public policy, says Illinois has emerged as a national leader in the design and implementation of its professional development system. “While our state policymakers have accomplished much over the past seven years, we cannot rest on our laurels,” says Talan. “We must continue to invest in the early childhood workforce—teachers, directors, providers, and support staff—if we are to achieve the goals of Preschool for All.”

The latest report found an emerging and integrated system with a coherent career framework for early childhood practitioners, a significant improvement since the 2001 report found that Illinois lacked a coherent career development system. The 2008 updatetracked workforce changes and the impact of Preschool for All.

“We must have highly qualified staff, especially among center directors and lead teachers, to successfully implement Preschool for All,” says Paula Jorde Bloom, Michael W. Louis Endowed Chair of the Center and professor of early childhood education at NLU. “It’s an important success to find lead teacher qualifications steadily increasing.”

Additional findings include:

Compensation Matters. The wide variation in wages and benefits across sectors is drawing teachers away from community-based programs to public schools. Lead teachers with early childhood certification employed by community-based programs earn 44 percent less than comparably certified teachers in public school programs.

Leadership Matters. Director qualifications, including level of education, specialized management training, and experience, are directly related to program quality. Directors with higher levels of education were better able to support the professional development of their teachers and secure funding for Preschool for All.

Diversity Matters. Early childhood teachers are not representative of or prepared to teach the changing population of children in Illinois. Most early childhood teachers speak only English, yet more than one-third of children in Illinois speak a home language other than English. The workforce also lacks gender diversity. Only 1 percent of lead teachers and directors are male.

The Professional Development System Matters. Illinois has an emerging and sophisticated system of professional development and a career lattice tied to credentials and college degrees. Currently, however, there is little connection between the credentials identified and levels of compensation.

For more information about Who's Caring for the Kids? The Status of the Early Childhood Workforce in Illinois–2008, download the executive summary, full report, or order form.