McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY | August 10, 2016

Coming in 2017: New Leadership Clearinghouse Aimed at Closing the ECE Leadership Gap

When Transforming the Workforce for Children from Birth through Age 8 was published last year, we all heard the call to increase the knowledge and competency of early childhood program leaders in all sectors of the field. But how can we know where to go, if we don’t know where we are?


To address this data gap, the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University has committed to creating a dynamic, interactive national clearinghouse to collect and distribute information on the status of the early childhood leadership workforce; national and state professional standards for leaders; and programs that educate, support, and enhance the competency of individuals who lead programs serving children birth through age 8.


The creation of the L.E.A.D. Early Childhood™ Clearinghouse is part of a Clinton Global Initiative America commitment made by the McCormick Center, in collaboration with the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute and the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood National Center. Together, these organizations have formed the L.E.A.D. Early Childhood™ Collaborative, a partnership open to organizations who share the goal of closing the leadership gap in early childhood education.


The L.E.A.D. Early Childhood Clearinghouse will house data on:


Early childhood program leaders

  • Number and percent by role, sector, program type, accreditation and licensing status
  • Demographic characteristics
  • Wages and compensation
  • Qualifications (education, specialized training, credentials/certification, years of experience)

Leadership Institutes/Academies

  • Number of programs by state, sector, and funding source
  • Specific leadership competencies addressed
  • Alignment to state professional development systems (SPDS) and quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS)

Formal leadership education programs

  • Degrees offered by major or concentration
  • Specialized education in instructional leadership
  • Specialized education in administrative leadership
  • Accreditation status


You’ll be able to interactively explore the clearinghouse’s data in a variety of ways, at both the state and national levels. Profiles will feature infographic and narrative descriptions in standardized templates so you’ll be able to easily compare and analyze the data.


Annually, at our Leadership Connections™ National Conference, we’ll release the publication of the data in a 50-state Profile Report. We hope these reports will advance the understanding of competency standards for early childhood program leaders across settings, sectors, and states, and, over time, will promote alignment of standards and adoption of policies that support consistent and effective program leadership.


The clearinghouse will officially launch at the 2017 Leadership Connections conference.


The McCormick Center is grateful for the funding provided by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation to initiate this project.


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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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