McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Lindsey Engelhardt | November 18, 2015

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

Ten months ago I put on a new pair of shoes. I had been in the early childhood education field for about a year and, thanks to my job as the McCormick Center’s marketing coordinator, I had absorbed loads of insights about early care and education. But then I became a parent.


Luckily, with insights from the new field I had joined, I knew how and where to start looking for care for my baby. I carefully selected three programs to visit, and eagerly told my husband and friends all about them. Their reactions surprised me. Blank looks were complemented with weak smiles and fake head nods of understanding. Why weren’t they as excited about these programs as I was?


One friend shared my enthusiasm. As I wondered why, I had an “ah-ha.” She taught 3-year-olds. We were speaking the same jargon! Aside from her, my husband and friends didn’t understand the benefits of each programs’ features.


I began to act as a translator for some of the jargon my husband and I encountered during our search.


The feature of accreditation holds the benefit of objective evaluation. The program meets the criteria set by a national early childhood education association. That’s a good sign of a quality program!


Another feature we encountered was long-term staff. The benefit of a long-term staff is that children thrive on routines and benefit from being cared for by the same people, who will develop a deeper connection with and understanding of the children as opposed to having care provided by people coming through a revolving door. Long-term staff is also a sign of commitment to the program and a healthy organizational climate.


The feature of extended hours has the benefit of the program opening early and staying open late so parents can drop their children off before work and pick them up afterward without any care scheduling concerns.


Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is another feature. The benefit with DAP is that the children’s learning will be on an individual basis. They will be encouraged and challenged, but not pushed or forced.


My personal favorite feature we frequently encountered was an educational environment. The benefit of educational environments is that the children get an education through interactions and play, before they even attend “school.” These programs have a curriculum; there is learning intentionality with everything the children do throughout the day. Many parents are unaware of just how much children can learn, beginning at the moment they are born!


By changing how I talked, the reactions of my husband and friends changed. The blank stares turned into full conversations. I realized that as I shared more about the programs, I was actually educating those closest to me and advocating for the field as a whole.


Have you been left with blank stares when talking to parents inquiring about your program? Try the following steps to bridge the communication gap:


1. Write down the features of your program. Include all of your program features and highlight the ones that set you apart from other programs.

  • Is your program located in a central area?
  • Are your staff highly qualified? Do they hold early childhood credentials?
  • Do you have low staff turnover?
  • Are the program hours extended for working families?
  • Do you offer various programming options?
  • Are you nationally accredited?
  • Do you participate in a Quality Rating and Improvement System?
  • Do you implement a curriculum to support children’s learning and development?
  • Are your adult-child ratios low?
  • Do you offer convenience services for families?

2. Poll your current families. There’s at least one reason why they choose your program over the many other early childhood options. Find out why! You may be surprised to see what they say.

3. Consider the “so what?” There’s a reason why you’ve opted to have these features as a part of your program. Are you sharing those reasons with your current and prospective families? By asking yourself “so what,” you’ll begin to look at your program from a family’s perspective.

4. Be intentional about speaking in this new language when talking to prospective families. Be sure to make the connection between your program features and the benefit to families when families inquire about your program.



By using language that’s understood outside of early childhood education, you can build a bridge of understanding with your families and others outside of the field. Not only does this create an awareness of the strengths of your program, but it also educates people on the importance of our field as a whole. Turn your parents into advocates by changing your language and educating them on what the jargon truly means.

Lindsey Engelhardt is the Marketing Coordinator and Graphic Designer for the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. She holds a BFA in art and design from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and is currently pursuing her MBA at National Louis University. Her most cherished title is Avery’s mom.

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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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