Who Supports the Leaders? Creating Psychological Safety for Indiana’s Early Childhood Leaders
By Cori Kerns, Early Childhood Education Strategist
We talk often about supporting Indiana’s early childhood workforce.
We talk about recruitment. Retention. Compensation. Credentials. Quality. Access. Affordability. We ask how we can keep educators in classrooms, strengthen programs and ensure families have access to reliable, high-quality care.
Those conversations are necessary.
But there is another workforce question we are not asking nearly enough:
Who is supporting the people responsible for supporting everyone else?
Across Indiana, child care directors, owners, administrators and program leaders are carrying enormous responsibility. They are managing staffing shortages, licensing requirements, enrollment, family concerns, budgets, quality initiatives, employee conflict, professional development and the emotional needs of their teams – often simultaneously.
When a teacher calls off, the director finds coverage.
When a parent is upset, the director handles the conversation.
When enrollment drops, the director worries about revenue.
When regulations change, the director figures out what they mean.
When an educator is overwhelmed, the director is expected to support them.
When something goes wrong, the director is expected to have the answer.
But when the director is overwhelmed, where does the director go?
Too often, the answer is nowhere.
Leadership Should Not Require Isolation
For years, I have participated in a weekly Provider Support Group with early childhood leaders from across Indiana.
It is not a formal leadership academy. There are no elaborate presentations or complicated frameworks.
There is something much more fundamental happening.
There is trust.
Leaders come into that room and talk about what is actually happening inside their programs. They celebrate wins. They bring problems. They ask questions. They admit when they do not know something. Sometimes they need advice. Sometimes they need another perspective.
Read the rest of Cori’s op-ed HERE
