LEA ECLI Event materials for Michigan District LCMS

1. Good To Great:
Becoming A Lutheran Early
Childhood Center of Choice
Michigan District
Early Childhood Leadership Institute
June 2015

2. Choices…Choices…Choices!!!

3. Now…Make Your Choice!
Grilled Chicken Crispy Chicken

4. Your Choice!
Pepsi Coca Cola

5. Your Choice!
Milk Chocolate Dark Chocolate

6. Your Choice!
Professional Sports College Sports

7. Your Choice!
Crayola Products Prang Products

8. Your Choice!
Meat Pizza Veggie Pizza

9. Your Choice!
Mountain Vacation Beach Vacation

10. One More Choice…
Early Church Service Late Church Service

11. Parents Have Choices, Too!
What are some choices parents have today
related to care for their children?
It’s so important to know what makes our
program special and unique.
Why are parents choosing our program? Or
the program down the street? Or…?
Or…???

12. Think About It…
Is becoming a
Center of Choice
REALLY a CHOICE for our
Lutheran Early Childhood
Programs and Classrooms
today?

13. A Lighthouse
We need to be a
lighthouse to our
community.
What do we offer?
How do we show
everyone we can lead
the way?

14. Exceptional Quality
What constitutes exceptional quality?
Think about licensing requirements and
state standards. Are these something we
just try to meet, or do we exceed them?
Do children and families deserve
mediocrity?

15. What Are Families Looking For?
Easy Access
Safety
Special needs assistance
Diversity
Technology
Quality – as defined by themselves
Value
Added benefits

16. Doom & Gloom
Sadly, there are Lutheran EC programs and
Elementary schools closing each year.
Why is this happening?
Can it happen to us?
We must be proactive!

17. If & When It’s Time to Say
Goodbye
Make a decision
Make a written plan
Allow time to grieve
Make a timeline of
tasks to be completed
Provide some type of
closure for parents,
staff, and children to
adjust to the change

18. Resources
Is it really enough to be
good?
How often have you
said “it’s good
enough”?
Let’s take it all to the
next level together!

19. The Spiritual Dimension of
Applying “Good to Great”
Concepts to Lutheran Schools
“I am the vine; you are the
branches. Whoever
abides in me and I in him,
he it is that bears much
fruit, for apart from me
you can do nothing.”
-John 15: 5 ESV

20. Good is the Enemy of Great
Mediocrity and contentment
may seem safe but usually
just for the short term but
often are deadly in the long
term.
“Good enough never is.”
-Jim Greenman

22. Self Assessment
Of Attitude Concerning
Learning & Change

23. Level 5
(Servant) Leadership
“A paradoxical
blend of personal
humility and
professional will.”

25. Level 5 Leadership
“They display the fierce resolve to
do whatever needed to be done to
make the organization great.’

26. The Importance of Having the
Right Person on the Bus
And Keeping Them There!

27. The Hedgehog Principle
You are passionate about
it. What can you be the
best at? “I love that I get
to serve the Lord in this
way.”
You can make a
living doing it. “I can
see myself serving
the Lord with this
type of ministry.
Don’t compromise for only two of these three circles
You are genetically
encoded for it. Become
a resource engine to
deliver superior
performance relative to
our mission. “I was just
made to serve the Lord
with this ministry.

28. What Can Our Lutheran Early
Childhood Center Hedgehogs
Look Like?

29. Technology
in Good to Great Concepts
Technology does not play the principle role in
the decline of companies
Technology is important…don’t be lax with it
and strive to be great
Technology is not a primary reason for either
greatness or decline.

30. Accelerators to Success

31. Is It Good To Be Different?

32. What Makes _____ Different?
What makes your early childhood program
different than the others in your community?
What makes your program different from
other Lutheran programs?
Most importantly…what makes YOU
different than others in the EC field?

33. It’s Good To Be Different
It sets us apart. We are known…for
something good.
Become a legend…
Respect, awe, positive relationships.

34. What We Don’t Want…
Good teachers
WHAT? Do you think we’re crazy?
We want GREAT TEACHERS!
We want GREAT LEADERS!
How does that happen?

35. Top-Notch Resources!!!
For Teachers For Leaders

36. You Are On The Right Track!
You are here today!
One of the challenges
of any profession is the
ability to self-reflect –
accurately!!!
Unfortunately, many
good teachers feel they
are doing a good job.
When do you have a
chance to reflect? How
often?
How can we be most
effective? How can we
lead teachers to raise
the bar?
CHANGE???!!!???!!!

37. Do You Know These People?
What else can you share about them?
Mrs. Crabby
Negative, knows it all, “barks” at the
children, says “this class is the worst”,
always criticizes but never has a solution
or idea…and the list could continue…
Mrs. Happy
A gem! Always smiles – even when
cleaning up vomit, glad to help out in any
area, new ideas, kids and parents love
her, Christian example…

38. People, People, People
How can we create a “culture of happiness”?
It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.
It’s about the people – kids and parents.
Expectations…but whom?

39. A Few of the 14 Things That
Matter Most…
Behavior tool – prevention!
Consistently strive to improve.
Keep relationships in good repair.
Ignore trivial disturbances.
Plan and purpose for everything.
Ask, what will the best people think?
Know and understand their students.
From “What Great Teachers Do Differently” by Todd Whitaker

40. Now…For YOU, the LEADER
Is this you? Or is this you?

41. The Million Dollar Questions!
What makes a leader
great?
Remember our earlier
conversation? Let’s
recap.
How can I move from
good to great?
Remember…reflect!
Learn!
Pray!
Think!
Be positive!

42. It All Begins With YOU!!!
Scary thought, but it’s true!
The best teachers find value
in examining and following
the footsteps of great
leaders.
What have YOU done
recently do grow
professionally?
How do we improve our
program?
1. Get better teachers.
2. Improve the
teachers we have.

43. Expectations
Great leaders have high
expectations…
For others
For themselves
These leaders know the
job is hard, but YOU
would never know it.
Don’t complain
My church won’t give me
the money…
My pastor won’t…
The kids won’t…
The parents won’t…

44. Helping Teachers Get Better
It always happens…
We hear about bad
teachers…or the
previous bad director…
How can we help those
we know need help?
Congratulations! You
are here today! You
want to learn from
others!
Let those “poor”
teachers learn from
others, too!
Let them see it with
their own eyes!

45. Hiring Teachers
Don’t hire a good teacher!
Many leaders are willing to settle for a good
teacher.
Be a great leader and hire an exceptional
teacher.

46. Staffing…
We talked before about staffing.
We know that we must hire well.
What are some concrete things YOU do to
help teachers?
New teachers? Non-degreed teachers?
Teachers from another Christian church?

47. Leading The Congregation
You are likely THE person to educate the
entire congregation about…
Education of young children
Children in worship
Promoting healthy families
Reaching families and the community

48. Do You Feel Alone?
Many EC leaders feel
alone when working
within the congregation.
Ministry left-overs
Children are members,
too. They are the future
of the church.
Relationships with
pastors…
Children in worship…
Connecting your EC
Center families to the
congregation…

49. Yes, It’s True…
There is sometimes a
difference between the
“culture” of the
educational
program/school/early
childhood center and
that of the congregation.
How can we
bridge this gap?
Discuss with
those around
you!

50. The Future…
Where do you honestly see your Early Childhood
Program in 10 years?
Are you a risk-taker, a care-taker, or an under-
taker?
Sadly, some of our Lutheran programs, centers,
and school are struggling.
How can we support those in tough situations?

51. Gaining New Students
Marketing, Development, Advertising, and
Recruitment
How do you currently advertise your
program?
What really works? What doesn’t?

52. Getting The Word Out
Times are changing…Families are changing!
Internet, Internet, Internet!!!
How would a prospective family search for the best
childcare/preschool for their child?
Research…we all do it!
Hotel reviews, airfares, weather, etc.!!!

53. Utilize Technology & People!
Positive word-of-mouth
advertising
Internet/Website
Community Sites
Email
Don’t just sent our
information in the mail!
Don’t just say, “let me
know when you can
visit.”
Get them to schedule a
visit NOW!

54. As The Leader…
Ultimately, it’s OUR RESPONSIBILITY to
make sure our program runs smoothly and
that our program is highly regarded both in
the congregation and community.
What are some specific things WE – THE
LEADERS – can do to accomplish this?

55. As a Lighthouse, YOU are a
beacon to the world!
Ounce of Prevention video

56. Input & Comments from You