ECC Participates in the MO-SECA Program

Taking ECC from Good to Great!

Leslie Shaw at the Missouri State Capital in Jefferson, MO.

Last summer, I applied to a training program called MO-SECA (Missouri Supporting Early Childhood Administrators). It is part of the UMKC Institute for Human Development in their Early Childhood Innovation Center. This program focuses on building the knowledge, skills and connections for Early Childhood Administrators they need to lead and operate sustainable .

As part of the program, I participated in 36 hours of training in the Leadership Academy and Business Academy. The trainings took place throughout the state of Missouri as well as at the Bloch Center at UMKC. I attended a series of classes focused on the book Building on Whole Leadership: Energizing and Strengthening Your Early Childhood Program.  Other classes focused on developing my personal leadership style and organizational strengths. I studied topics like:

• Supervision and HR

• From Surviving to Thriving: Building a Sustainable EC Program 

• Understanding Financial Statements

• Strategic Financial Management.

Every course offered insights and clear ways make improvements that benefited Red Bridge ECC.

In addition to the trainings, the program also included coaching sessions. I met my coach, Katie Diemler in August 2023. She came to the school for our sessions and saw the preschool and meet our teachers.

I participated in the “Program Administration Scale (PAS)” to measure Whole Leadership in an Early Childhood Center. This is an extensive survey of what our program is currently doing and areas that could be improved. It included things like:

• Family and Community Partnerships,

• Fiscal Management,

• Staff Qualifications and

• Relational Leadership

• …and more.

We were assessed on a scale of 1-7. After the initial assessment, Katie and I looked for ways to improve the program and to increase the score. We revised our staff evaluation sheet I was currently using to include a self-assessment and to broaden the expectations for review. We created a “Getting to Know You” page for our parents and made plans for a “Back to School” Zoom call to improve communication and relationships with our families. We made many changes that allowed us to increase our PAS score in a number of categories. I was amazed at the impact these training sessions had on our program.

After completing the program, attendees were invited to a special recognition ceremony at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.  There were over 150 administrators from across the state who completed the MO-SECA training program. To present our plaques, they had Dr. Michael Abel, Director of the Early Childhood Innovation Center, and Dr. Karla Eslinger, Commissioner of Education at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The ceremony took place in the rotunda of the Capitol and included the MO-SECA trainers, coaches, staff along with friends and families of the administrators who completed the course. I feel honored to have participated in the MO-SECA training program. It was a great investment of my time and energy, and I can already see where this experience will benefit me, my staff and our families at Red Bridge Early Childhood Center. Let’s take ECC from good to GREAT!

Start your child in preschool at age 2

Why Preschool at Age 2?

Did you know your child can start preschool at Red Bridge Early Childhood center at 2 years old? Some parents might think this age is too young for preschool, but it’s a wonderful age to start. Below are 6 reasons to start preschool at 2 years old.

1. Support. At Red Bridge Early Childhood Center, our priority is to teach children that they are safe, cared for and supported. For many of the students this is their first time away from their caregivers. Children learn that the teachers will take care of them and that their parents will return.

2. Time. While they don’t understand the concept of time at this age, we often tell our students “Mommy will be back at 1:00.”, so the children begin to learn that they can have fun at school until their caregivers return.

3. Socialization. Another reason to start your child in preschool at the age of 2 is to help with socialization. Learning how to make friends, be part of a group, and work together are lifelong skills your 2 year old will learn. Throughout the preschool day, children work on sharing, language skills, playing with others, and more. Not only are they learning to socialize with children their age, but they get to interact with older kids at recess, music and more. As you can imagine, seeing the “big kids” is cool when you’re little! They also learn how to interact with teachers and other adults.

4. Routine. Most children love a routine and thrive with that consistency. At preschool, they learn the rhythm of the day including circle time, recess, lunch time, music, Gym Jam, class, etc.  While there are occasions when our schedule might change, we aim to be consistent so students know what to expect each day. This helps them feel safe and confident.

5. Independence. At Red Bridge Early Childhood Center, we encourage independence on day one of preschool. Two-year-olds are very capable and thrive in preschool settings. For example, putting away lunch and water bottles at the start of each day, placing backpacks in their own cubbies, opening their lunchbox at lunch time, cleaning up after lunch and more. They take pride in their independence as they figure out how to manage things on their own in the classroom.

6. Fun! In our 2’s classes we want them to have fun!!! We want their very first school experience to be one of fun, safety, growing and learning. We love our job and getting to know the children throughout the school year. It’s so fun to see them grow physically, emotionally and in so many other ways.

Interested in enrolling your 2 year old at Red Bridge Early Childhood Center? Call today!