A focus on directors


One important topic that’s being discussed on The 9:30 Call is all the work done by early childhood program directors. 

Last month on the call, Donna Denette, the executive director of Children First Enterprises, Inc., in Granby, Mass., shared the results of her survey of directors. Among the survey’s findings? Directors of early childhood programs continuously devote energy to everyone but themselves. 

That’s a problem, Denette says, because “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

Now, Strategies for Children is helping early childhood directors engage in the work of making change by supporting a group of directors who plan to share their testimony about directors’ challenges at the next meeting of the board of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), on Wednesday, November 13th, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at EEC’s Milk Street office.

Yesterday on The 9:30 Call (see the video above), Denette continued to discuss directors’ challenges.

“We are a group that doesn’t typically ask for help,” Denette says. 

Amy O’Leary, executive director of Strategies for Children, followed up by sharing information and logistical tips that directors could use to testify at the EEC board meeting. 

“Assume positive intent” on the part of the board, O’Leary says. 

In the future, O’Leary adds, one possible option is to have the board accept video testimony to be more inclusive of directors who can’t leave their programs in the middle of the afternoon. 

Are you a director who is interested in attending the next EEC meeting? If so, please let us know by filling out this form

Your input is essential for good policymaking. When practitioners are at the policy-making table, it helps ensure that policy reflects the real needs of children, families, and the workforce.



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