Spring 2013Upcoming NJCCA Meetings for 2013January 30th Meeting dates are the last Wednesday of each month, starting with a meet and greet at 10:00 a.m. at Rainbow Academy Corporate Offices, 80 Kingsbridge Road, Piscataway, NJ. The current calendar is always listed on our website along with directions at www.njccainc.org Directors – Earn Continuing Education Credits Free by joining NJCCA and attending meetings.Every month, we feature a workshop or lecture on a topic that will allow you to earn one credit hour of continuing education immediately following the busines meeting! Certificates will be provided to all who attend. January Directors Workshop Topic – HR Issues and How Obama Care Affects UsWatch our website for future topics |
Letter from the President:I am very excited to have this opportunity to tell you about the accomplishments of the New Jersey Child Care Association (NJCCA)! We have monthly meetings and workshops for all our members, 2013 will bring our third annual "Partners in Education" Conference, we have a Facebook page to keep you informed, we have a Facebook page to keep you informed, and we have a lobbyist who protects our intersts in Trenton. The NJCCA is an organization for you - the owner and directors of preschools - as well as for other leaders in the field of early childhood education. The NJCCA provides a forum for your ideas and serves as your voice in Trenton. At our monthly meetings you can learn about the latest research in early childhood education, current events, and legislative proposals and licensing requirements that impact our school programs. The NJCCA also sponsors monthly seminars geared to the needs of owners and directors. Some of our previous presentations have included Gigi Schweikert on, "How Do I Get People to Get Their Jobs Done? Helping Adults Succeed"; Rick Ellis on "Difficult Parents - Creating a Win Win"; and Don Mallo on "Unions and Freedom of Choice Act." Bob Kane presented a workshop on "Successful Workplace Communications." Joe Lancelloti, Abbie Kohut, and Brenda Fabbio spoke about Marketing our programs and keeping up with the new social media. David Manhire has conducted workshops on insurance issues. Presentations and workshops always take place at 10:30 AM. Can you think of any easier way to add two hours of training to your credentials each month? Be sure to "like" us for the latest information! All of our members are volunteers, so our organization is only as strong as our membership! You are welcome to visit a meeting to learn more about the NJCCA. We meet on the last Wednesday of every month at 10:30 AM at 80 Kingsbridge Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854. We are very excited about our "Partners in Education" Conference on Saturday, April 13. It promises to be an outstanding event with Gigi Schweikert as the keynote speaker and presentations by other greats in the field of early childhood education such as Michelle Barnea and Lynette Galante! Watch for updates on our website at njccainc.org or our Facebook page - New Jersey Child Care Association. "Week of the Young Child" is April 14-20. This year's theme is "Early Years are Learning Years." Let's work together to make these early years special for our children, familites and teachers! Kathleen S. Feigley Reforms in EducationBarbara DeMarco For the past 15 months, Governor Christie has turned education in New Jersey "on its head" by pushing for major reforms in terms of school choice; whether that means intra-district school choice or charter schools as well as reforms to teacher and administrator salaries, benefits, and tenure. As it relates to preschool, the Christie administration has stopped any new building from being constructed by public school systems for preschool only and has limited the amount of money for school construction that allows for new elementary school buildings that contain a prschoool component. Governor Christie has attacked funding to the former Abbott School districts with a vengeance. The 2012 State Budget document shows graph after graph how more money doesn't mean better student outcomes. In fact, the Budget shows over a dozen cases where Blue Ribbon Schools in districts throughout the state outperformed schools in the former Abbott Districts in graduation rates, testing scores, etc. These Blue Ribbon schools received these exemplary results with 2/3's the funding of the former Abbott District schools. As it relates to preschool, "choice" is what is presently offered in New Jersey. With over 4000 DCF licensed community based preschools in the State, the push by the NJCCA and others should be to preserve choice as opposed to removing these options by making preschool a function of public schools. Unfortunately, what preschool providers have seen is more and more school districts from the former Abbotts to the most affluent in the state getting into the preschool business. The reasons for this vary. Some school districts see adding preschool as a money maker as they do charge a taxpayer subsidized tuition rate. Some school districts see preschool as a way of filling empty classrooms as public school populations diminish. Others see preschool as a way of mainstreaming preschoolers with disabilities into a typical preschool environment. Regardless of the reason, preschool as part of the public schools increases property taxes as the majority of expenses associated in running the program are absorbed into the overall cost of running a school district. Most taxpayers don't see this. As a result, it is incumbent on community based preschool owners, administrators, teachers and parents to inform their fellow taxpayers. Even if a school district charges tuition, the majority of the cost the facility, the classroom, the supplies, the maintenance, and the teacher's salary is absorbed by the school district adding to the property taxpayers' burden. When preschool is offered by a "for profit" entity in the community, the owner of the facility pays property taxes, absorbs all of the overhead costs from maintenance and supplies, and pays staff salaries. When preschool is offered by a "not for profit" entity in the community, the not for profit may not pay prpoerty taxes but does absorb the overhead costs associated with maintenance and supplies and pays staff salaries. In addition, many not for profit preschools must fundraise to provide the extras a school district or a for profit entity can provide. Another issue owners, operators and parents should be aware of is that most public schools (unless they are brand new) do not conform to the health, welfare and safety regulations required by DCF for licensed preschool facilities, playgrounds, etc. For this reason, the NJCCA strongly believes that any public school offering preschool must have the facility where the preschool classrooms, bathrooms and playgrounds exist, approved by the DCF as conforming to the same health, welfare and safety regulations required by the licensed community based centers. The health, welfare and safety of preschoolers should not be compromised because the preschool is housed in a public school building that does not meet these requirements especially if there are community based preschools who meet these requirements. Preserving choice in preschool enables parents to pick a school that best suits the needs of their child. It gives parents options. Because community based preschool is made to compete, the delivery of programs and services, the quality of a facility and the outcomes achieved by the five and under set will determine whether a preschool survives or fails. With a choice, parents can choose to "vote" with their feet. The same cannot be said for a public school preschool program because once it becomes part of a publicly funded school system, the ability to close or disband the program goes away as it is abosrobed into the greater costs of providing a K-12 education. Supervision is Helping Adults to SucceedGigi Schweikert
There aren't many people who wake up in the morning and say, "Today I am going to really mess up at work. First, I'll be late, then not watch the kids, and after that forget to turn in may paperwork." Absolutely not, adults, like children, don't want to fail. Most of our employees work hard to seek the approval and affirmation of others, the accenptance of and belonging of a group, and the feeling of a job done welll. Unfortunately, there are adults who may feel like failures or even losers. Your greatest role as a supervisor is to help adults be successful, to coach them, to teach them, to role-model for them, just like you would do for any child. If you're a master teacher, you can be a master supervisor. We have to realize even as supervisors that we cannot control those around us. We can try to motivate others to perform and control our responses when they don't. Here's the situation. You are good at your job. You get things dones. But no matter how good you are, you must depend on the performance of others for your program to function well. There is no way, no matter how good you are or how much coffee you've had that you could run your center alone. Every single person on your team is important. That's why you have to build on the success of every adult. And here's the deal with most suprvisors, you may be an overachiever. Do you have unrealistic expectations of others? As supervisors, we need to remember that some of the people whom we supervise may not perform or aspire to perform as we do, and that's okay. Our expectations as supervisors should be that each employee does her job at an acceptable level of competence, according to what we have asked. Are you expecting your staff to be exactly like you? If you are, then your expectations are unrealistic. So part of helping adults to succeed is setting clear and appropriate expectations. Think about this. You know what DAP is, right? Developmental Appropriate Practice. Do you use DAP for adults or do you just want people to be just like you, on your skill level, with the same experience? Can you see the strengths and successes of everyone you supervise and help them perform even better? Do you accept your employees where they are and guide them to learn and grow? You should. How do we help adults succeed? Just as we would do with every child - let's accept every adult where they are. Then we can determine how to help that adult become a better early childhood professional. That's it? That's it. And it doesn't happen over night. And remember some employees will never reach your level of expertise nor will some even want to. That's okay, too. Most importantly, never give up on an adult, just like you never give up on a child. |