Why is it important to have a dedicated and knowledgeable leader in an early childhood education setting? Describe two to three qualities that you feel are critical for such a leader to possess. Draw either from your own experiences working in the early childhood field or from your own childhood. What do you hope to gain from this course as a future early childhood administrator?

Financial Decisions

Imagine that you are on the board of directors of a church-based child care center. After reviewing the budget for next year, you and your fellow board members realize that the center will have to make some tough decisions. Choose one of the following budget scenarios to discuss.

Budget Cuts: In order to stay profitable, the center will need to make budget cuts. You are concerned because you know that if salaries don't go up, some teachers may resign. On the other hand, if tuition rates increase, some of the families may not be able to afford to stay at the center. How will you and the board go about making these cost-saving decisions?

Budget Surplus: Your center is in the enviable position of having a budget surplus that has resulted from careful financial management over the past several years. The center must allocate the excess funds in order to ensure future funding from the church. How will you and board go about making these spending decisions?

Using information from Chapter 3 and at least one other source (be sure to cite your source), describe two to three specific strategies to either save or spend money while meeting the needs of the teachers and families. Your discussion post should be at least 200 words in length.

Policies and Procedures

Early childhood education administrators are responsible for setting and maintaining the policies and procedures of the child care center or school. Using Chapter 3 of the text and at least one other source (be sure to cite your source), choose one of the following policies and one of the following procedures, and explain how you would address the problem.

Policy (choose one)

Sick Policy: Your center has a policy that children cannot come to school if they have a fever, yet Mrs. Thompson brings her son Tyler to school anyway.

Late Payment Policy: If parents are more than 30 days behind on payments, the child may not attend. Mr. Miller brings his daughter Sophie to school even though he is 45 days behind in payments.

Biting Policy: Your center abides by the "three strikes" rule for biting. Connor has bitten children three times, yet his parents plead with you that he be allowed to still attend school.

Procedure (choose one)

Daily Health Check Procedure: Each teacher is supposed to perform a daily health check for each child but Sarah, the Pre-K teacher, repeatedly forgets. This time, she missed a case of chicken pox which has now spread to several other children.

Time Out Procedure: Teachers routinely use the "time out" method to handle misbehavior in the classroom but Linda, the teacher in the toddler classroom, has been leaving children in the time out chair for long periods of time.

Fire Drill Procedure: During a fire drill, teachers are supposed to keep their children as quiet as possible in order to hear instructions. Every teacher does a good job with this procedure, except Bill, the Pre-K teacher, who allows children to run and scream during fire drills.

In your discussion post,

Explain the difference between a policy and a procedure.

Provide two to three examples of each.

Outline one to two ideas for implementing or enforcing policies and procedures.

Evaluate one to two potential challenges that may arise with your policies/procedures and propose solutions.

Your discussion post should be at least 200 words in length.