Asia Rand

Mr.Phillips
English 3

1 May 2019

​Early Childhood Education Director

To what extent is a career as a Early childhood Education Director a reliable career path?

Being a preschool director is a reliable career because the skills and the passion for working with

kids is all in one and worth the hard work but the pay is the downfall. Pay for childcare directors,

teachers and assistant teachers are underrated for the amount of work they put into building

minds of children. For example, working more than 50 hours a week to make sure your child is

safe and prepared for the future. Your in control of a entire childcare is a huge responsibility but

the process will have you prepared. All though you will be in a office instead of a class is

unrewarding, the task of hiring brilliant teachers to the set the foundation for young minds of the

future is the matter of fact. Working towards a director you have to gain the experience with

working with children is the first step. To achieve this is to try to do internship if it’s it with your

high school or your university. The more experience the more ready and easy your job is be in

the future. With this purpose in mind, children greeting you and hugging you everyday is worth

it.

Many directors gain experience by being a previous work experience as preschool teacher.

The experience prepares directors to determine curriculum standards .By being a preschool
teacher it makes you prepared for the responsibilities of a director. According to Study.Com a

bachelor’s degree and experience in early childhood education are typically required to become a

preschool director. A bachelor’s in early childhood education or related field offers students

course in child behavior, early childhood curriculum and teaching methods. Employment in 2016

was 61,800, there’s a projected employment of 68,500. ​Preschool directors run administrative

duties and manage the daily operations at a preschool, which they need licensure for. Most of

these positions necessitate a relevant bachelor's degree or possibly higher, though some schools

don't require any formal education. Certification could be beneficial to job opportunity.​ The

aftermath of that process is getting you licensed.

An preschool director has full control of keeping the center as it’s supposed to be.

However they do create policies, manages staff and oversees daily operation.The director is the

lead administrator of the school and handles problems with staff and students. Skills from

working as a director is leadership and professional development. The director assists staff in

solving conflicts between children and help them communicate with the parents and other staff.

They coordinate all operations within the center, so they are responsible for staff oversight,

budget management, curriculum development and safety protocol implementation. They also

ensure that there is a direct line of communication between parents and preschool teachers. In

preschools that receive state and federal funding, they check that all aspects of the program are in

line with state and federal standards. Individuals can apply to become a preschool education

director typically after years of teaching at the preschool level.

Experts Teri N. Talan and Paula S. Bloom states that “a director abilities and retain

effective teachers in their programs, establish norms of ongoing quality improvement.”. They
develop the curriculum and ensure the school meets any standards set by law. Other duties

include teaching classes as needed, determining spending responsibilities and making admission

decisions. Preschool directors work in public and private preschools. Strong center directors do

an excellent job of keeping track of what’s going on under their roof and using their

organizational abilities to help manage their priorities. Having business skills such as finances

working with budgets and managing spending. Also knowing how to communicate with parents

and staff.

All the responsibilities that a director or even a teacher has to do, the pay is not

matching up to it. Everyone in the childcare facilities, in my opinion are underpaid. Teachers and

Directors set the foundation and build skill such as motor, communication, and learning skills to

help develop the child for the future. The median annual wage for preschool and childcare center

directors was $47,940 in May 2018. ​The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in

an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned

less than $30,900, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $83,730. Preschool directors

generally work full-time, Bureau of Labor Statistics says some work more than 40 hours per

week.

Even though early childhood directors spent most of their in an office, they often walk

around to check on teachers and students, also speak to other workers and meet parents. Many

childcare directors notice that working in a early education environment is rewarding, in addition

to the significant responsibilities they have throughout the day. When they go visit classrooms

they generally are there to observe to see if there are things to improve or changed, giving

parents tours, or even help out . Some daycares struggle to keep workers, to being with, a few
workers can’t live off the wages that most daycares provide. Time after time directors get stuck

in the office for example, interviewing or training potential teachers and workers, meeting with

parents, also conversating with management team about advancing the center.

In conclusion, the potential of leadership training for continuing professional

development, commitent to the field and the mentoring of other early education

administrators.69 (50%) indicated that they continued to work as an adminstrator of a

center-based program after completing the TCC leadership training. (43%) indicated that they no

longer work in a child-care center. Early childhood education program managers provide safe,

stimulating environments where young children can thrive. Doing the job right requires vision,

expertise and a commitment to helping children in the opening stages of their development.These

managers use a mix of approaches to supervise and motivate teachers and other staff who nurture

the learning abilities of preschool and kindergarten children. If you’re passionate about

leadership and logistics and you have a strong interest in education, a career in early childhood

education program management may be a good choice.

 Asia Rand
Works Cited

Occupational Outlook Handbook. “‘Preschool and Childcare Center Directors.’”

Bureau of Labor Statistics.​
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/preschoolandchildcarecenterdirector, 12 Apr.
2019. Web. 9 May 2019.

Early Childhood Teacher​. “Certification and Degree.” ​Early Childhood Degrees

https://www.earlychildhoodteacher.org/certification/, Feb. 2015. Web. 1 May 2019.

Study, .com. “Gain Experience.”​ Preschool Directors

https://study.com/articles/PreschoolDirectorJobDescriptionandRequirementsl, Aug.
2003. Web. 1 May 2019.

Teri, Talan. “Current Job Status and Career Decision.”​ Early Childhood Research
and Practice​ http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v16n1/talan.html, 27 Feb. 1999. Web. 1 May 2019.