Leaders in the early childhood education profession spent November 9 immersed in professional development during the Mid-Hudson Leadership Day, held at the Chateau in Kingston. More than 100 early childhood professionals and business owners attended the event and learned about subjects including program development, safety and security procedures, business record maintenance and management, and more.
Keynote speaker Sherry Cleary, executive director of the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, said industry professionals play a powerful role in today's society. She defined the audience as people who possess authority, leadership, power, and responsibility. As a moveable society that often leaves family behind, Cleary said, "You become that extended family." She told the audience to recognize their own career weaknesses and delegate those responsibilities to other staff members. Cleary also advised them to work on growing their own strengths to benefit the children that belong to their early childhood education centers.
Ulster County Community Action Committee/ Early Head Start Director Laura Meara was looking forward to hearing from Cleary. "Early childhood education does not get the 'props' it deserves," says Meara who works out of the agency's Kingston site. "A lot of these programs are looked at like glorified baby sitters," she said. Meara explained high performing programs provide cognitive, language, literacy, social, and emotional skills to the children who are enrolled in them. "These are all things children need to be successful in school and beyond."
Education consultant Debbie Collette-Cromp of Teaching Improves Performance in Malone, New York, said she made the four-plus hour drive in hopes of replicating a similar event closer to home for early childhood education professionals in the Lake Placid area. "I'm also looking for information and the sharing of the minds and ideas," she said. "That all helps to enrich programs."
The Mid-Hudson Leadership Day was a collaborative effort of various agencies and businesses including Ulster BOCES, Community Playthings, Kaplan Early Learning Company, and the Early Care & Learning Council.
