McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Sonja Crum Knight | March 22, 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.

Hello McCormick Center Friends,


I am Sonja Crum Knight, fellow traveler on the Whole Leadership journey. Last week our Director of Training, Safiyah Jackson, continued the Whole Leadership dialogue by offering a thought provoking exploration of leadership essentials.


Here’s the definition of leadership essentials offered:


“Leadership essentials are foundational competencies necessary for leading people that are expressed in personal leadership styles and dispositions. These essential competencies include awareness of self, others, and the profession; communication and team-building skills; cultural competence; and ethical conduct. Essential leadership qualities include courage, empathy, vision, inspiration, authenticity, and passion. Leadership essentials are often developed through reflective practice. These qualities are embedded in everything the leader does and are necessary for both administrative and pedagogical leadership.”


After reading Safiyah’s post I began to wonder, do we intuit reflective practice, or is it something we must consciously learn to do? What resources are available to develop the competencies of leadership essentials?


Seeking answers, I have been newly inspired by the writings of the McCormick Center’s founder, Paula Jorde Bloom:


  • From the Inside Out: The Power of Reflection and Self-Awareness,takes readers on a journey of self-discovery to build better relationships. In revisiting this book, I was re-affirmed in the abiding knowledge that leadership starts within. To connect with our authentic selves we must commit to internal processes of self-checking: Why am I doing this? What do I hope to achieve? What are my motivations? What is my impact on others? Self-awareness, it seems, is foundational to reflective practice.
  • Leadership in Action: How Effective Directors Get Things Done, offers practical leadership knowledge and guidance for anyone working in the profession of early care and education. Understanding leadership in context seems critical in developing our capacity for leadership essentials. In re-visiting this book I was reminded that leadership is not merely the domain of those with lofty titles. We must all develop the courage to step up and speak out to do the good work our profession inspires.


I also thought about our work here at the McCormick Center and wondered, how do we support the core ideals of leadership essentials?

I soon realized that much of our work is undergirded by the quest for increasing the competencies reflected in our definition of leadership essentials. A deeply rewarding aspect of my work at the McCormick Center is the time and resources we dedicate to understanding our unique capacities and abilities in relation to our co-workers. Completing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) instrument and StrengthsFinder assessment were required tasks upon joining the McCormick Center team.


  • Based upon the personality theory of C.G. Jung, the MBTI offers insights into the differences in the ways individuals prefer to interact with others, take in information, make decisions, and structure their lives. Understanding my type in relation to that of my co-workers has helped me become more thoughtful in my interactions.
  • The Now, Discover Your Strengths book is required reading here at the McCormick Center. We use this valuable resource to access the StrengthFinder assessment. Completing this assessment reinforced the value of understanding my strengths in relation to co-workers. I have learned that strengths can work both for and against me; understanding my individual propensities has helped me modify my approach and become more appreciative of diverse work styles.


As I continue to reflect on the concept of whole leadership and the premise that leadership essentials are foundational to the development of administrative and pedagogical leadership, I wonder what other tools and resources might we harness for the development of leadership essentials?

Sonja Crum Knight is a Quality Assessment Coordinator for the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. Prior to joining the Center, Sonja worked as a family child care provider and a marketing executive in the cable television industry. She received her master’s degree in early childhood administration from National Louis University and a post graduate certification in online instruction from Roosevelt University. Sonja is currently pursuing a doctorate in education at Capella 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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