Book

The visionary director : a handbook for dreaming, organizing, and improvising in your center / Margie Carter, Deb Curtis.

Carter, Margie, 1942- (Author). Curtis, Deb. (Added Author).

Record details

ISBN: 9781605540207
ISBN: 160554020X
Physical Description: xxiv, 370 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm
Edition: 2nd edition.
Publisher: St. Paul, MN : Redleaf Press, 2010.

Content descriptions

General Note:	Previous edition cataloged under Curtis, Debbie.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references.

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Subject:

Day care centers > United States > Administration.
Early childhood education > United States.

Available copies

1 of 1 copy available at Westcoast Early Learning Library.

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0 current holds with 1 total copy.

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Location	Call Number / Copy Notes	Barcode	Shelving Location	Holdable?	Status	Due Date
Westcoast Early Learning Library	731.202 CART 2010 (Text)	35200000729017	Professional Development	Volume hold	Available	-

Location

Call Number / Copy Notes

Barcode

Shelving Location

Holdable?

Status

Due Date

Westcoast Early Learning Library

731.202 CART 2010 (Text)

35200000729017

Professional Development

Volume hold

Available

More information

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► Summaries & More

▼ Additional Content

Summary

Table of Contents

Author Notes

Reviews

Foreword to the Second Edition

xvii

Paula Jorde Bloom

Foreword to the First Edition

xix

Marcy Whitebook

Acknowledgments

xxiii

Introduction

(1)

How Can Directors Become Leaders?

(1)

Imagination and Activism Are Key

(1)

The Director on Fire

(2)

Using This Book

(3)

Guiding Your Program with a Vision

(36)

Searching Your Heart for What's Important

(2)

Imagining How It Could Be

(1)

Fortifying Yourself with a Vision

(6)

Rethinking What We Need

(2)

Distinguishing a Mission from a Vision

(4)

Cultivating a Vision

(1)

Going Beyond Managing to Leading

(1)

Looking for Models

(2)

Create a Process for Developing Your Vision

(1)

Regularly share memories of favorite childhood experiences

(2)

Represent childhood memories with found objects or art materials

(1)

Use children's books to unearth childhood memories

(1)

Use children's books regularly in staff meetings

(4)

Get to know families' dreams

(2)

Reinvent the idea of quilting bees

(1)

Seek the children's ideas

(1)

Put images and words together

(1)

Develop a vision statement together

(3)

Represent pieces of your vision with blocks

(1)

Practice Assessing Yourself as a Visionary Leader

(4)

A Framework for Your Work

(26)

Looking for Tips and Techniques

(3)

Learning about Balance

(3)

Taking Bright Ideas from the Business World

(2)

Considering a Triangle Framework

(5)

The Roles of Managing and Overseeing

(1)

The Roles of Coaching and Mentoring

(2)

The Roles of Building and Supporting Community

(1)

Consider How Different Directors Respond

(4)

The Scenario

(1)

Rhonda's Approach

(1)

Donovan's Approach

(1)

Maria's Approach

(1)

Analyzing the Three Approaches

(2)

Using the Triangle Framework

(2)

Building and Supporting Community

(1)

Coaching and Mentoring

(1)

Managing and Overseeing

(1)

Practice Using the Triangle Framework

(4)

New Director Dilemma

(1)

Messing with Michael

(2)

Practice Assessing Yourself

(2)

Your Role in Building and Supporting Community

(46)

Creating an Environment That Nurtures Community

(1)

Make the Center Feel Like a Home

(1)

Incorporate elements from home-design magazines

(1)

Explore professional architecture and design resources

(1)

Give the Program the Feel of a Real Neighborhood

(1)

Use homebase rooms and make time for children to roam

(2)

Set up larger programs as villages

(1)

Design space to resemble a neighborhood

(1)

Use natural shapes and soft lighting

(1)

Use the beginning and end of the day

(1)

Involve Parents and Staff in Considering the Space

(1)

Assess how a space makes you feel

(6)

Explore the environment as a child might

(1)

Create ``a place where I belong''

(1)

Create the skeleton of a grant proposal or the inspiration for a work party

(2)

Planning Your Community-Building Curriculum

(1)

Use Time Together to Strengthen Relationships

(1)

View staff meetings as circle time

(5)

Learn about listening

(1)

Set ground rules, share feelings, and develop facilitation skills

(1)

Use a fuss box

(1)

Make tear-water tea

(1)

Become storytellers

(1)

Create visual stories of your life together

(1)

Refocus parent newsletters

(1)

Grow Community-Building Curriculum from the Lives Around You

(1)

Rethink daily routines

(8)

Grow curriculum from family life

(2)

Grow curriculum from teacher passions

(1)

Find curriculum in your wider community

(1)

Connect people to one another

(4)

Working with Differences and Conflict

101

(2)

Acknowledge and Respect Differences

103

(1)

Create a representation of a community

104

(5)

Explore different values

105

(2)

Name your assumptions

107

(2)

Explore and Mediate Conflicts

109

(1)

Explore different communication styles

109

(8)

Design a conflict resolution process

112

(2)

Cultivating New Roles, Dispositions, and Skills

114

(1)

Practice Assessing Yourself

115

(2)

Your Role of Mentoring and Coaching

117

(54)

Coaching versus Managing Staff

120

(3)

What Do Adult Learners Deserve?

123

(3)

The Golden Rule Revisited: Treat Adults as You Want Them to Treat Children

126

(2)

Give Thoughtful Attention to the Environment

128

(1)

Plan a nurturing environment for the adults

128

(3)

Provide time and resources

130

(1)

View Teachers as Competent Thinkers and Learners

131

(1)

Reflect on a teacher

132

(3)

Expand your focus for coaching

132

(1)

Compare your view with their view

133

(2)

Emphasize Dispositions as Much as Skills and Knowledge

135

(1)

Identify how dispositions look in practice

136

(2)

Discover with dots

138

(1)

Know Your Adult Learners

138

(2)

Play True Confessions in Four Corners

140

(3)

Provide Choices for Different Needs and Interests

143

(1)

Think of something you have learned as an adult

144

(4)

Train with multiple intelligences in mind

145

(1)

Uncover and cultivate passions

146

(2)

Promote Collaboration and Mentoring

148

(1)

Practice active listening, informally and formally

149

(3)

Set up a peer-coaching system

149

(1)

Build collaborative and mentoring relationships

150

(2)

Cultivate Observation as a Skill and an Art

152

(1)

Learn to observe in many ways

153

(2)

Become a community of observers

154

(1)

Create a Culture of Curiosity, Research, and Storytelling

155

(1)

Cultivate deep listening

155

(5)

Use a Thinking Lens for reflection

157

(1)

Launch a research project

158

(2)

Approach Coaching with Inquiry

160

(1)

Develop questions to guide your own observations

161

(10)

Practice responding to Cassandra

162

(1)

Use questions to promote inquiry

162

(1)

Practice with stories

163

(5)

Adopting the Mind-Set of a Coach

168

(1)

Practice Assessing Your Approach

169

(2)

Your Role of Managing and Overseeing

171

(52)

Managing to Make Your Vision a Reality

172

(1)

Cultivating the Organizational Culture You Want

173

(3)

Formulating Long-Range Goals to Support Your Vision

176

(1)

Create a Continuous Cycle of Evaluating and Planning

177

(1)

Conduct regular program evaluations

177

(4)

Develop a clear understanding of the planning process

178

(2)

Take time to plan the planning process

180

(1)

Refuse to Adopt a Scarcity Mentality

181

(2)

Move your budget toward the full cost of care

183

(4)

Invest in your staff

184

(2)

Be generous with your nickels and dimes

186

(1)

Involve others in expanding your nickels and dimes

186

(1)

Adopt a business mind-set when big funds are needed

187

(1)

Creating the Experience of Community with Your Systems

187

(1)

Use Relationships and Continuity of Care to Guide Your Decisions

188

(1)

Design rooms that work for infants and toddlers

189

(2)

Expand the age group for preschool rooms

190

(1)

Have teachers loop with the children

190

(1)

Involve Staff and Families in Active Exploration of Standards

191

(1)

Form task groups

191

(4)

Create games to enliven discussions of standards

193

(2)

Seek to Counter Inequities of Power and Privilege

195

(1)

Seek feedback from all stakeholders in your community

196

(1)

Expand your approach to communication

196

(1)

Make diversity and antibias work part of your orientations

196

(1)

Formulate personnel policies and systems to encourage diversity among staff

197

(1)

Designing Systems to Provide Time for Reflection and Problem Solving

197

(2)

Use Child Assessment Systems That Enlist Teachers' Excitement

199

(1)

Design forms that encourage curiosity and delight

199

(2)

Use Learning Stories as an approach to assessment

200

(1)

Provide time for collaborative discussion among teachers

200

(1)

Involve Staff in All Phases of Evaluating Their Job Performance

201

(1)

Supplement checklists with observational narratives

202

(3)

Plan the cycle of supervision and evaluation

202

(1)

Experiment with different forms

203

(1)

Acknowledge the power differential in the evaluation process

203

(2)

Plan Training to Reflect Your Vision of a Learning Community

205

(1)

Develop individualized training plans

205

(3)

Expand your approach to program-wide training

206

(1)

Provide many ways for achieving training goals

207

(1)

Acknowledge and celebrate progress toward your training goals

208

(1)

View Time as a Building Block

208

(2)

Use colored dots for analyzing how time is spent in your program

210

(2)

Reclaim time on behalf of your vision

211

(1)

Design Meetings around Community Building and Staff Development

212

(1)

Devote staff meetings to enhancing teacher development

213

(10)

Choose a focus for your professional development for the school year

217

(1)

Reallocate your professional development dollars for a mentor teacher

218

(1)

Making Good Use of Your Power and Influence

219

(1)

Practice Assessing Your Organizational Climate

219

(4)

Bringing Your Vision to Life

223

(40)

Put Relationships Center Stage

226

(2)

Focus on People, Not Paper

228

(1)

Invest in initial encounters

228

(1)

Host community-building orientations

228

(1)

Make Communication Meaningful

229

(1)

Invite families to participate in communication systems

230

(2)

Use interactive technology to enhance communication

231

(1)

Bring and Keep People Together

232

(1)

Institute continuity of care

232

(3)

Plan family meetings to build relationships

233

(1)

Hold group family conferences

233

(2)

Invite Meaningful Contributions to Solve Problems

235

(1)

Enlist excitement to build an infant/toddler playground

235

(3)

Invite the village to raise the children

236

(2)

Build Reflective Practices

238

(1)

Invest in Your Teachers Right from the Start

238

(1)

Interview candidates in small groups

239

(1)

Create systems for reflection in your orientation process

239

(1)

Reconceptualize Professional Development as a Daily Experience

240

(1)

Develop teachers as thinkers, not technicians

241

(3)

Design clear accountability systems

242

(1)

Provide side-by-side mentoring

243

(1)

Strengthen Connections to and Care for the Natural World

244

(1)

Use Meaningful Experiences to Build Shared Values

245

(1)

Create a field guide for the center grounds

246

(1)

Plan family field trips to explore the local natural environment

246

(1)

Call for a Curriculum That Focuses on the Natural World

247

(1)

Launch a program-wide science and nature study

248

(1)

Become a designated wildlife habitat

249

(1)

Use Family Interests and Expertise to Grow Your Vision

250

(1)

Form a family club with a mascot

250

(1)

Learn about farms and gardens

250

(1)

Keep Thinking Bigger

251

(1)

Design an outdoor classroom

251

(1)

Raise funds in ways that reinforce your vision

252

(1)

Reach out to the community to grow your vision

252

(1)

Take Charge of Standards, Outcomes, and Assessments

253

(2)

View Standards and Rating Systems as Tools, Not Rules

255

(1)

Expand the definition of desirable outcomes

255

(2)

Form work teams for different accreditation focus areas

257

(1)

Develop Systems to Hold Yourself Accountable to Your Values

257

(1)

Untiming the curriculum

258

(1)

Design your own forms and checklists

258

(1)

Expand Your Thinking about Assessment

259

(1)

Find resources and inspiration outside your borders

259

(4)

Remember to Nourish Yourself as You Nourish Your Vision

261

(2)

Afterword

263

(44)

Larger Institutional Quality Improvement Efforts

264

(18)

McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership

266

(6)

Aim4Excellence

272

(4)

Pennsylvania Keystone Stars Quality Rating System

276

(3)

Alliance for Early Childhood Finance

279

(3)

Examples of Administrative Restructuring

282

(14)

Sound Child Care Solutions: A Consortium of Centers, Better Together

283

(4)

London Bridge Child Care Services Inc.

287

(4)

Chicago Commons Child Development Program

291

(3)

Hilltop Children's Center

294

(2)

Staff Recruitment, Stability, and Retention

296

(7)

Men in Early Childhood Education

297

(2)

Old Firehouse School Staff Stability Plan

299

(4)

Promising Approaches to Professional and Leadership Development

303

(4)

United Way Bright Beginnings (Uwbb): Cohort Model for Professional Development

304

(3)

Harvest Resources Associates: Resources for Early Childhood Professional Development

307

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