McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Iris Corral | May 26, 2020

“We will respect family life. We will develop it and encourage it in any way we can, for strong families are the foundation of strong communities.” – Tony Blair


Families come in all shapes and sizes. Each is as unique as a fingerprint. Each with individual needs. Yet, families may or may not choose to share their needs with your program. As early childhood administrators, we should work to develop a relationship with families, to meet each family “where they are at” so we can be ready if they need our support. I learned this firsthand when I began my early childhood director position years ago. Little did I know how meaningful and powerful our impact could be on the lives of children and families.


During my time as a director, a family in our program experienced the death of the father, who was also the sole income provider. News of the father’s death was shared by the child in the classroom, not the mother. For the remainder of the week, I would greet the family, talking with them during arrival and departure; however, it was not until the next week that the family opened up to the staff about what had happened. At that time, the family expressed the need for resources in the community. Our team was able to immediately assist the family by sharing information in our “Community Resources” binder. We had recently updated the binder, so all of the resources and contact information were current. Our team also gathered a basket of household essentials to give to the family that included laundry detergent, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. The family was clearly surprised by this gesture. They later expressed how appreciative they were for the basket and how grateful they were to receive our support during such a trying time. This experience left me wondering why the family did not immediately share about the father’s death and what we could do to let families know that we were not only able to support them in times of need, but wanted to do so.


While family involvement was always a priority for me, the experience above made me realize the connection between family engagement and family support. I realized the more we engaged families in our work, the more we would interact, and the stronger our relationships could be. I wanted it to be obvious to families that the staff were there to support them through happy and sad times if the family was willing to share. We began seeking opportunities to engage families in our work.


One of the ways we encouraged family engagement occurred when we first implemented the Ages and Stages Developmental Screening tool. It was extremely important that we not only train the families on how to complete the forms, but also to fully understand its purpose. This tool became a guide that helped families learn about children’s developmental milestones and allowed a pathway to addressing concerns families had with the teachers. By directly involving families, we communicated how valuable their role was to their children’s development and our work, and how we could work as a team. They began to share more, and we felt confident they saw us as a source of support.


Administrators, coordinators, support staff, and teaching staff play an important role in supporting families by providing information on child development, parenting, or supports in the community. It is important that staff work on creating relationships with the families they serve. In some cases, this may be easier than others. We found that making an effort to know families benefits everyone – families, children, and staff. Administrators can help staff understand the importance of building relationships with families by offering professional development on topics, such as: cultural diversity and sensitivity, core principles to effectively engage families as partners, and building communication skills needed to work with families in a respectful and supportive way.


In addition, programs need to network with each other! Share community resources with other early care and education programs in your area. It really does take a village.


Are you interested in learning more about early childhood leadership? Check out the upcoming events on the McCormick Center website.


Resources

National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement. (2018). Understanding Family Engagement Outcomes: Research to Practice Series. Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/about-us/article/national-center-parent-family-community-engagement-ncpfce


R., D. (2018). Family Engagement: A Partnership Between Childcare Centers and Families. Retrieved from https://childwatch.com/blog/2018/11/02/family-engagement-a-partnership-between-childcare-centers-and-families/


LaLiberte, C. (2019). Strategies for Family Engagement. Retrieved from https://www.childcareexchange.com/article/strategies-for-family-engagement/5025058/


Koralek, D., Nemeth, K., & Ramsey, K. (2019). Families and educators together: Building great relationships that support young children. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.


Talan, T.T. & Bloom, P. J. (2011). Program administration scale (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Iris Corral, M.Ed., is the Leadership Training Specialist for the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. In this role, Iris conducts training for the Leadership Academies, the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS), and the Program Administration Scale (PAS). Iris holds an associate degree in social service from Harold Washington College, a bachelor’s degree in integrative studies from Governor’s State University, and a master’s degree in early childhood administration from National Louis University. She has also earned her Illinois Director Credential-Level III and an ECE Credential-Level V. In addition to her role at McCormick, Iris also serves as adjunct staff at Morton College where she teaches early childhood education courses. Prior to joining our team, Iris spent eight years working as a preschool director in a Preschool for All (PFA) program. Iris also worked at Erie Neighborhood House in Chicago for eleven years as a teacher assistant and the parent support/health coordinator.

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Scaffolded Beginnings: Navigating Orientation with Intentional Design: Part 2: Making It Stick

By Leslie Layman • November 12, 2025
BY LESLIE LAYMAN Introduction: Building on Intentional Design In part one of this “Scaffolded Beginnings” series , Emilie Austin, McCormick Institute for Early Childhood’s Manager of Learning Design Experience, spoke to the importance of intentional design and scaffolding to support new employees in deepening their learning during orientation. This second part of the series covers the importance of operational leadership in helping that learning to “stick” so that employees can successfully apply skills learned in orientation to their new roles. Many organizations structure orientation as a “big day” of meeting people, reviewing handbooks and procedures, and maybe sharing coffee and sweets. On that day, new employees are taking on a new role, expectations, and culture while trying to understand and memorize functional processes and procedures. Going beyond the big day by applying intentional environmental design and contextual, participatory learning theory in your day-to-day helps your employees own and grow into their place in your organization’s culture. Applying a Reggio-Inspired Approach to Onboarding Intentional leaders are responsible for both the administrative leadership of the workplace environment and the strategic leadership and guidance of the organization. Both areas are involved in scaffolding new employees from understanding what they have learned during orientation to applying that information in their new role throughout and beyond the onboarding and training process (Talan, Masterson, & Bella). Loris Malaguzzi’s Reggio approach to early childhood education is a useful framework for thinking of and planning for new employees as learners and participants in the environment, as well as educators and carers of children and families. “To make a lovable school, industrious, inventive, liveable, documentable and communicable, a place of research, learning, re-cognition and reflection, where children, teachers and families feel well - is our point of arrival.” -Loris Malaguzzi (Sourced from: Institutionzione del Comune di Reggio Emilia ) Each of the Reggio Values can be used to create a shared learning space where educators and children can thrive. A few examples include: Children are active protagonists in their growing processes And so are adult learners! Find ways to make new employees the “lead” in the story of their onboarding. New employees can participate in individualized goal setting to help them feel in control of their professional development. Progettazione/Designing People of all ages learn by doing. Support new employees to participate in designing training and learning experiences rather than providing only pre-planned or scripted training. The Hundred Languages People bring all of themselves, their experiences, and their ways of being to learning and work environments, and they gain new knowledge through active co-construction. Integrating learning experiences into the work environment can help training become more memorable and easier to apply. One example is implementing training on technology or documentation tools as they are being used in context. Participation New employees need opportunities to participate in the environment as they are learning and to experience the emotions and culture of the role. Observation time is important, and being an active team member early on is also important. Organization and the Environment Intentional planning of the way in which employees will interact with the space makes learning more fluid. Some ideas include: making sure that the resources needed for tasks are in functional locations, having deadlines for documentation or responding to family communications built into the daily schedule, and modeling intentional care for children by demonstrating deliberate care for the space. Thoughtfully organize adult materials and create a welcoming, inviting environment for adults and children. Leadership Insight: Apply what you know about Learning and environments The same principles of guiding the learning and independence of children in the educational environment can be applied when helping new staff to move beyond understanding their role to actively embodying their role on your early care and education team. This process can be applied using the early education and care philosophies that are most important to you and relevant to your leadership context. Reflecting on the philosophical and curricular choices you have made for your program and why you chose them can help you think about how you may want to apply those approaches for adult learning. This strategy works because it is integrated and intentional, and it builds skills by modeling skills in the “real world” context to make them stick. Resources for Further Exploration Scuole E Nindi D’Infanzia, Institutionzione del Comune di Reggio Emilia. (N.D). Reggio Emelia Approach. Reggiochildren.it, https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/ Beirmeier, M. (2015). Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent Curriculum in Relationship-Driven Learning Environments. Young Children, 70(5), https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2015/emergent-curriculum Schlieber, M. & McLean, C. (2020). Educator Work Environments Are Children’s Learning Environments: How and Why They Should Be Improved. Sequel, January 21, 2020. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/blog/educator-work-environments-are-childrens-learning-environments-how-and-why-they-should-be-improved/ Citations Scuole E Nindi D’Infanzia, Institutionzione del Comune di Reggio Emilia. (N.D). Values. Reggiochildren.it, https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/ Talan, T., Masterson, M., & Bella, J. (2023, April 4). Whole leadership: A framework for early childhood programs – 2023. Whole Leadership: A Framework for Early Childhood Programs – 2023 | McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.
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