McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Kathryn Graver | April 3, 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.

Several months ago I was asked to be a mentor for a new employee here at the McCormick Center. As I began thinking about how to approach this mentoring request, I remembered how I was mentored at one time.


Years ago, I worked for a very gentle and kind man at a social service agency. As an education major with not much background in social service, I went to Kent many times for guidance and mentoring. After several years of working with him, I felt that I had learned much from his example and words of wisdom; he never tried to tell me what to do or how to do it and respected my ideas and creative approach to situations. As my mentor he would often make suggestions, offer help, and encourage me to reshape my thoughts on a topic by giving me a journal article to review, a few pages in a book to read, or by asking me to contact someone who might have had a similar experience. I learned so much from this experience. I think that whenever I have had the chance to guide or help anyone I have used this exact approach.


MENTOR! WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN?


One type of mentoring is a relationship that is formally established for an introductory or short period, often to meet specific organization objectives. For example, a new employee may be paired with a senior employee (Shea, 1992). 


After doing a little homework, I learned that my mentoring job at the McCormick Center was just that. I would be helping a new employee become familiar with our culture and norms. 


I found the formal mentor title a bit intimidating, so in preparation for my new role, I decided to create a job description to help sort out what the responsibilities could be. I found myself reflecting on my experience as Kent’s mentee. Here’s what I scribbled down: 


Job description of a good mentor: 


  • Serve as a guide and coach 
  • Answer questions 
  • Provide assistance and direction (but don’t do the work for them)
  • Be a good listener
  • Lead without pushing 
  • Provide referrals
  • Mentor, don’t supervise (These are different roles)


Does this list look familiar? Does it fit into your job description? As an early childhood leader, it seems to me we all take on these roles as we work to cultivate a strong team. 


In many ways I feel that my mentoring experiences have come full circle since I was able to channel much of Kent’s mentoring style into my own. By sharing my knowledge and ideas I was able to steer the new employee in the right direction when he needed resources or additional information. 


RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR ROLE AS MENTOR:


  • Bloom, P. J. (2007). From the inside out: The power of refection and self-awareness.  Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons. 
  • Bloom, P. J. (2005). Blueprint for action: Achieving center-based change through staff development (revised edition). Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons. 
  • Shea, G. (1992). Mentoring: A practical guide. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications. 
  • Edelman, M. W. (1999). Lanterns: A memoir of mentors. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

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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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