Ready to Lead Leadership Academy for Child Care Center Directors
Lead With Confidence in Your First Years as a Director
Ready to Lead Leadership Academy for Illinois Child Care Center Directors
Ready to Lead is a leadership academy for new early childhood center directors designed to transform the demands of day-to-day operations into steady, strategic leadership. Funded by the Illinois Department of Early Childhood, with content aligned to the Gateways Illinois Director Credential.
Reay to Lead Benefits
Program Details
Who Ready to Lead is For
Upcoming Fall 2026 Cohorts
The Reality of Being a New Director
You earned the director title because you're exceptional with children and families. Now you're learning staffing, budgets, compliance, enrollment, and a hundred daily decisions. Leadership is its own skill, one worth developing just like the ones that got you here.
Most new directors are promoted straight from the classroom. Suddenly you're supervising people who used to be your peers, making decisions in real time, and building confidence in a new role. It can feel lonely at the top, like you’re the only one who doesn’t have it all together.
You don't have to figure it out alone, and you don't have to learn it the slow way. With the right support, that steep curve gets a lot shorter and the sense of "figuring it out" turns into genuine command of the role.
That's exactly what Ready to Lead is built for. It gives you the strategies, structure, and peer community to move from reacting to leading, so you walk into your center each morning with a plan, not just a to-do list.
88% of participants said Ready to Lead made them better equipped to navigate the transition from peer to supervisor
Who Ready to Lead Is For
This is for you if you are
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A new center director or assistant director with fewer than five years in the administrator role.
- A lead teacher recently promoted into leadership, navigating the shift from teammate to supervisor.
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A director-in-training preparing to take over a program.
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An early childhood leader working toward the Illinois Director Credential.
This may not be the right fit if you are
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A seasoned director with many years of administrative experience looking for advanced or executive-level training (explore Aim4Excellence or our other online learning opportunities).
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A family child care professional, Taking the Lead and Building Better Business are programs built specifically for you.
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Looking for fully self-paced online coursework Aim4Excellence or our other online learning opportunities are offered as self-paced modules.
What You’ll Walk Away With
Confidence in your authority
This means you can set boundaries and have hard conversations with former peers without feeling “mean” and keep their respect.
A path to intentional leadership
This means practical systems for prioritizing, delegating, and protecting your time so that the urgent doesn't swallow the important.
A community of peers who get it
This means you stop feeling alone at the top and join a Professional Learning Community of directors facing the exact same challenges.
The hard skills the role demands
This means you build the administrative and leadership foundation to lead competently — and progress toward the credential many Illinois roles require.
Credit for the work you’re already doing
This means 22 contact hours of Illinois Gateways to Opportunity-approved professional development credit, plus optional pathways to the Gateways Illinois Director Credential and college credit.
Program at a Glance
What's included
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One 2.5-hour virtual orientation (working computer with internet, audio, and video required)
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Three full-day, in-person sessions (lunch included)
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A virtual professional development coaching session
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22 contact hours of Illinois Gateways to Opportunity–approved professional development
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Books, handouts, and materials
Format, alignment & cost
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Format: blended, virtual orientation and coaching plus in-person full-day sessions
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Aligned with: the Illinois Director Credential and Illinois Gateways to Opportunity
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Funded by: the Illinois Department of Early Childhood
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Registration: $175 for Illinois administrators. Out-of-state administrators, please contact MCECL.LA@nl.edu.
The Five Sessions
List of Services
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Session 1 — Orientation and Forming a Professional Learning CommunityItem Link List Item 1
Meet your cohort and build the peer network that carries you through the role long after the program ends.
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Session 2 — New Role, New Relationships: Learning to LeadItem Link List Item 2
Navigate the shift from teammate to supervisor, setting professional boundaries and having difficult conversations while keeping relationships intact.
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Session 3 — From the Inside Out: The Power of Reflection and Self-AwarenessItem Link List Item 3
Understand your own leadership style and how it lands with your team, so you can lead intentionally instead of reactively.
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Session 4 — Leadership in Action: How Effective Directors Get Things DoneItem Link List Item 4
Trade firefighting for systems practical strategies effective directors use to prioritize, delegate, and move their programs forward.
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Session 5 — Professional Development CoachingItem Link
One-on-one virtual coaching to apply what you’ve learned to the real challenges in your own center.
The individuals listed below successfully completed Assessor Reliability training on the Program Administration Scale (PAS). During the training, they achieved reliability, became Certified PAS Assessors, and maintained that certification.
Go Further: Credential & College Credit
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Work toward Gateways Illinois Director Credential credits through AIM4Excellence™ online modules; select up to three modules at no additional cost.
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Bundle specific modules for five undergraduate college course credit hours from National Louis University (additional course tuition charge applies).
How it Works
- Apply. Choose the cohort nearest you and apply for a spot.
- Attend. Join the virtual orientation, three in-person sessions, and your coaching session across the fall.
- Lead. Finish with a leadership plan, 22 professional development contact hours, a peer network, and momentum toward your credential.
Fall 2026 Cohorts
Ready to Lead 14 — Lisle, IL
National Louis University Campus • 850 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532
| Session | Format | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Virtual | 9/8/26 | 9:00 am – 11:30 am |
| Session 2 | In-person | 9/10/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 3 | In-person | 10/8/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 4 | In-person | 11/12/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Professional Development Coaching | Virtual | 12/1/26 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm |
| Session | Format | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Virtual | 9/8/26 | 9:00 am – 11:30 am |
| Session 2 | In-person | 9/10/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 3 | In-person | 10/8/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 4 | In-person | 11/12/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Professional Development Coaching | Virtual | 12/1/26 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm |
Ready to Lead 15 — Bloomington, IL
INCCRRA • 1228 Towanda Plaza, 2nd floor, Bloomington, IL 61701
| Session | Format | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Virtual | 9/8/26 | 9:00 am – 11:30 am |
| Session 2 | In-person | 9/10/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 3 | In-person | 10/8/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 4 | In-person | 11/12/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Professional Development Coaching | Virtual | 12/1/26 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm |
| Session | Format | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Virtual | 9/8/26 | 9:00 am – 11:30 am |
| Session 2 | In-person | 9/10/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 3 | In-person | 10/8/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Session 4 | In-person | 11/12/26 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| Professional Development Coaching | Virtual | 12/1/26 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm |
Why Ready to Lead
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Backed by a university. Ready to Lead is a program of the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University.
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State-funded and credential-aligned. Funded by the Illinois Department of Early Childhood, with content aligned to the Gateways Illinois Director Credential and Illinois Gateways to Opportunity.
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Built for new directors specifically. Every session targets the real challenges of the first five years in the role — not generic management theory.
In participants’ own words
Take the First Step
You don’t have to lead alone, and you don’t have to figure it out the hard way. Join a cohort of new directors who know exactly what you’re facing — and leave with the confidence, systems, and support to lead well.
Apply for the Next Cohort
Just $175 for Illinois administrators — state-funded by the Illinois Department of Early Childhood — covering 22 professional development contact hours, three full-day sessions with lunch, a coaching session, and all materials. Out-of-state administrators, contact MIEC.LA@nl.edu.
Questions? Call 833.532.3323 or email MIEC.LA@nl.edu
FAQs
What is Ready to Lead?
Ready to Lead is a blended leadership academy from the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University, designed for early childhood center directors with fewer than five years of administrator experience. Ready to Lead delivers 22 contact hours of Illinois Gateways to Opportunity–approved professional development aligned with the Gateways Illinois Director Credential.
Who is Ready to Lead for?
Ready to Lead is for new and aspiring early childhood center directors and assistant directors with fewer than five years in the administrator role, including lead teachers recently promoted into leadership. Ready to Lead is not designed for family child care professionals, who are served by the Taking the Lead and Building Better Business programs.
How much does Ready to Lead cost?
Ready to Lead costs $175 for Illinois administrators, funded by the Illinois Department of Early Childhood. Out-of-state administrators contact MIEC.LA@nl.edu. The fee includes 22 contact hours of Illinois Gateways to Opportunity professional development, three full-day in-person sessions with lunch, a virtual coaching session, and all books and materials.
