McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Sarah Hasan | January 18, 2016

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.

Six years ago when I graduated with a Bachelors in Human Resource Management, I was glad to be finally ‘DONE’ with school. And, I had no plans to return. Until recently, I have been content with where I am today. I am blessed to work at a place where I have learned and experienced so much. I have discovered skills that I never knew I had.


But I came to realize the importance of continuing education. The credibility that comes with completing a graduate degree, in addition to the increased chance for a promotion or raise, was only part of what lured me back. My biggest motivation was my daughter. I wanted to become a role model for her, just like my mother is for me. I wanted her be proud of me and my accomplishments. And then I realized the longer I delayed returning to school, the more difficult the return would get.


So, I decided it was time for me to rediscover my strengths and add to my skills to further my professional career. I started a Master’s degree program at National Louis University (NLU). The decision to go back to school wasn’t easy. My tuition was covered through NLU, so I didn’t have much of a financial burden. However, I was nervous about whether I would be able to balance family, work, and professional studies. I had long conversations with myself. To help with my decision, I wrote down the pros and cons of going back to school. While there were many significant pros (as you will see below), I was not able to come up with any meaningful cons.


  1. Continuing education extends your qualifications. Whether you are a center director, family child care provider, trainer, technical assistance specialist, or teacher, you will gain knowledge and practical training that will help you master your responsibilities. Having a degree is always a plus; it provides a competitive edge.
  2. Continuing education demonstrates success. It shows employers your motivation, desire to be successful, and aspiration to gain professional development.
  3. Continuing education builds your confidence.When you have more knowledge of a topic, you are able to speak confidently and make more thoughtful decisions.
  4. Continuing education polishes your skills and helps to rediscover other skills such as public speaking and writing. You will learn from experts in the field who will share their experience and knowledge, giving you insights to the real world.
  5. Continuing education helps you to become a better team player. Typically, classes involve group projects and assignments. Determining how to divide the workload and assign tasks will help you identify your leadership skills and how to improve collaboration with others.


These are just some of the many pros to continuing education that I have personally experienced. I never would have thought I would be able to write a blog post because writing doesn’t come naturally for me. Yet, it was writing research papers for my coursework that gave me the confidence to do so.


Now that I have successfully completed my first semester with only one year left until I graduate, I am so glad that I returned to school. Meeting people outside of work and family is so important for professional and personal growth. It also helps you expand your social network, exposes you to diverse ideas, and provides opportunities to meet people within the same field. So far, the entire experience has been very enriching and rewarding. I strongly believe that, if there is an opportunity, everyone should continue their education—be it through formal or informal education.


  • When considering a significant commitment such as continuing formal education or long-term educational opportunities, take into account the following factors:
  • Determine what will hold your interest for months and possibly years.
  • Make sure you are ready to invest time and commit to the program.
  • Ensure that you have a support system of family, friends, or co-workers to help you through this major life change.
  • Weigh your financial situation before making a decision.
  • Explore financial supports.


Looking for an early childhood leadership career pathway? The McCormick Center provides options to take select professional learning opportunities for undergraduate or graduate college credits. See how.

Sarah Hasan is an ExceleRate Office Manager at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. Prior to working at the McCormick Center, Sarah worked at RR Donnelley & Sons as a Human Resource Assistant. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Human Resource Management and Development at National Louis University.

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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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