McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY McCormick Center Staff | March 19, 2025

Image of Shadeen Holmes

The Paula Jorde Bloom Scholarship, first awarded in 2019, is intended to support emerging and aspiring early childhood leaders dedicated to providing the highest quality care and education for children and families. Scholarship recipients receive complimentary registration to the Leadership Connections National Conference for Early Childhood Leaders. The scholarship, established by Paula’s family after she passed in 2018, highlights her legendary devotion to improving early childhood professional standards. We extend congratulations to our 2025 scholarship winner, Shadeen Holmes.


Shadeen Holmes


Shadeen works full-time as a Professional Development Facilitator in the Equity Initiatives department at First Up in Philadelphia, PA. She also owns Lotus Tutoring Service, LLC, and is building a non-profit organization, HolmesSchool, which is an extension of Lotus Tutoring Service. 


“Whether I’m facilitating professional development sessions, sharing resources with families and building relationships, providing individualized instruction to children, or advocating for literacy in the community, my leadership is centered around a commitment to fostering equity, personal growth, and collective success for all children and educators,” she said. 


As the Paula Jorde Bloom scholarship recipient, Shadeen was awarded complimentary full-conference registration to Leadership Connections 2025, meals provided to conference registrants, and lodging at the conference hotel.


Leadership Connections, “Leadership in Bloom,” will be held at our new Schaumburg, IL, venue from May 7 through May 10, 2025. The national conference for early childhood leaders features interactive sessions and captivating keynote speakers specifically for leaders in early childhood education: center-based, school-based, and family child care program administrators, program coordinators, technical assistance specialists, advocates, researchers, and more. The second annual Family Child Care Summit will be held on Friday and Saturday of the conference, with specialized sessions designed for those desiring to enhance their businesses and leadership abilities within the family child care home setting.


“I am excited to attend Leadership Connections because I recognize that further developing my skills in communication, professionalism, and self-awareness will elevate my leadership. I am also looking forward to learning, connecting, and building new relationships with like-minded leaders in the field,” Shadeen said.

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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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