Leading and Succeeding (A Guide to Supportive Supervision in Early Childhood Education)

From Supervisor to Leader: Cultivate a Culture of Collaboration, Reflection and Continuous Learning

Supervisors play a foundational role in early childhood program quality. They work within a complex web of expectations, impacting everything from staff retention and job satisfaction to outcomes for children and families. But what comes to mind when you hear the term supervision? Do you picture someone holding a clipboard, checking early learning settings against a list of policies and regulations, and writing down all the things that need fixing? Or do you envision a supportive leader—one who works side by side with staff to create a respectful, growth-oriented environment for children and adults alike?

Grounded in a relationships-based approach and with an emphasis on reflection and professional development, this resource

• Provides a basic introduction to what supervision is and what it can look like across different sizes and types of early childhood programs
• Describes how supervisors grow in their roles and as part of a supervisory relationship
• Outlines effective practices for recruiting, hiring, and onboarding staff
• Discusses how to make performance evaluation and feedback a shared, valuable process
• Includes helpful tools, forms, and rubrics
• And more

Explore the principles and methods that sustain true success for an early childhood education leader and the program as a whole