McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Kathy Rousseau | March 6, 2015

A woman wearing glasses and a suit is smiling in front of a flag.

Sim Loh is a family partnership coordinator at Children’s Village, a nationally-accredited Keystone 4 STARS early learning and school-age enrichment program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving about 350 children. She supports children and families, including non-English speaking families of immigrant status, by ensuring equitable access to education, health, employment, and legal information and resources on a day-to-day basis. She is a member of the Children First Racial Equity Early Childhood Education Provider Council, a community member representative of Philadelphia School District Multilingual Advisory Council, and a board member of Historic Philadelphia.


Sim explains, “I ensure families know their rights and educate them on ways to speak up for themselves and request for interpretation/translation services. I share families’ stories and experiences with legislators and decision-makers so that their needs are understood. Attending Leadership Connections will help me strengthen and grow my skills in all domains by interacting with and hearing from experienced leaders in different positions. With newly acquired skills, I seek to learn about the systems level while paying close attention to the accessibility and barriers of different systems and resources and their impacts on young children and their families.”

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

Years ago, I earned my living waiting tables at a high-end restaurant. If a VIP was seated in my section, the host would inevitably say, “That is so and so, make sure they get excellent service.” I was always tempted to ask him to clarify which table, so that I wouldn’t mistakenly provide excellent service to the wrong customer. Everyone seated in my section deserved excellent service regardless of their celebrity status. I’m happy to report that I learned from that experience. 


Today, I’m the first point of contact at our organization. Thanks to that restaurant host, I know the importance of being polite and gracious to each and every person walking through the door or calling on the phone. 


Great customer service is critical to your early childhood program, too. Whether a visiting board member or community leader, a parent, or a delivery person, they all play a key role in your early childhood program and they all deserve the same degree of customer service. 


CREATING A VIP EXPERIENCE


Following are a few tips to help make visitors feel welcome:


Always Extend a Greeting
“Hello, welcome to….. My name is…. How can I help you?” 


Phone Calls are Important, but…
If you are on the phone when someone walks in the door, look up and acknowledge their presence and, if possible, excuse yourself from the call long enough to extend a greeting and let them know you will be with them shortly. 


A Smile Goes a Long Way
There are difficult people in this world but I love turning them around by “killing them with kindness.” It is my experience that even the toughest of them will crumble when confronted with a smile, respect, and kindness. If you look pleased to see them, they will feel happy to come through your door. 


That Smile Can Be Sensed Over the Phone
Even though you can’t be seen, it doesn’t mean that people don’t pick up on your mood while you’re on the phone. A smile and pleasant demeanor are just as important when you are on the phone as they are in person. 


Call People by Name
It pays to ask for a name. (I recommend writing it down so you don’t have to ask twice.) Most everyone loves the sound of their own name and using first names makes people feel important and welcomed. 


Offer Assistance to Waiting Guests
If a parent or other guest is waiting to talk to a teacher or other staff member, take their coat, offer them a glass of water or a cup of coffee, and let them know the location of the restrooms so they don’t have to ask. 


Market Your Program
This is also a great opportunity to give them information about your organization to read while they are waiting. Not only does this help them learn about your organization but it also relieves the discomfort of sitting there staring into space. 

Kathy Rousseau is an Administrative Assistant at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. She serves as receptionist and is the first point of contact for most people visiting or calling into the Center. Her background in Public Relations makes her a good fit for this position.

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The AI-Enabled Administrator: Reclaim Valuable Time

By Dr. Neal Green • February 8, 2026
Tools: Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, Perplexity Spaces Overview The evidence is clear that early childhood professionals' most significant challenge is a lack of time. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, when used strategically, can give administrators some of the time they desperately need, allowing them to focus more on their staff and the children and families in their care. This approach aligns with the foundational goal of strengthening leadership effectiveness and program impact (Abel, Talan, & Masterson, 2023). When I scan the AI landscape of available products and platforms, it becomes overwhelming. There are so many options that it is impossible to keep up with every new development. Focusing on a limited number of AI tools backed by organizations with strong infrastructure and fiscal stability is a wise place to start your AI journey. McCormick Institute for Early Childhood’s (MIEC’s) upcoming professional development sessions will focus on three AI tools. These include Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, and Perplexity Spaces. Think of Gemini Gems as your customized AI assistant that you "train" to follow your rules and meet your goals. Gemini Gems are the right tool to tackle Internal Operations . NotebookLM is perfect for creating Family Support resources that stick. NotebookLM is a powerful AI tool that uses only the documents or other resources you add to generate specific, focused output. Perplexity Spaces is a fantastic choice to address Marketing demands. Like many AI tools, you can toggle back and forth between open web searches and focused documents that are specific to your work. Gemini Gems: The “Specialist Teammate” Gemini Gems allow you to create templates you can use repeatedly for agendas, HR policies, and more. If you have used AI in the past, you know that writing an effective prompt takes time, and they can easily get "lost" if you use AI often. Gems removes that challenge and lets you save your most effective prompts without having to rewrite them every time you use Gemini. It is up to you to decide if you want to create several smaller Gems to tackle common challenges you face or create larger Gems that encompass large swaths of your work. For our purposes, we will focus our Gem work on Internal Operations, addressing Program Administration Scale (PAS) Item 9: Internal Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). Imagine using a Gem to turn messy staff meeting notes into professional minutes with clear action plans in minutes or less! NotebookLM: The "Walled Garden" NotebookLM is an excellent tool for Family Support for your center, addressing PAS Item 17: Family Support and Involvement (Talan & Bloom, 2011). After uploading documents and resources, such as your parent handbook or community referral lists, to your Notebook, you can create several resources that parents/guardians of your center students will love. Just a few of the impressive features available with NotebookLM include audio (podcast) summaries, video summaries, and reporting functions with templates or the option to create your own report with metrics that matter most to you. Perplexity Spaces: The "Research Librarian" Perplexity Spaces is a perfect AI partner for Marketing your early childhood education (ECE) program, addressing PAS Item 18: External Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). You can build your own centralized repository, with control over branding to ensure consistency and present a professional, current image. Adding specific instructions to your space eliminates the need to format documents constantly and saves valuable time. The consistency that a Perplexity Space offers in this regard allows you to upload messages that are the "voice” of your brand. Your marketing efforts are not only more aesthetically pleasing but also enable you to track trends at similar centers in your area, helping you assess the competition. Strategies for Success: Audit your Internal Communications: Identify one repetitive task, such as creating staff meeting agendas (PAS Item 9), and automate it with a Gemini Gem. Curate your Family Resources: Gather three to five existing documents to "feed" a NotebookLM project for more responsive family support (PAS Item 17). Standardize your Brand: Use a Perplexity Space to ensure all public relations tools project a consistent, professional image (PAS Item 18). Reflection Questions: Which administrative task takes the most time away from your interactions with staff and families? How might centralizing marketing materials (branding) impact the professional image to prospective families? Table 1: AI Tools for ECE Professionals
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