An Inside Look at the Day of a Center Director

This interview has been translated from Spanish to English. For the Spanish version, scroll down!

7:00 AM: I arrive in the morning to greet the teachers who have opened the center in the morning and any parents and kids that are already here! I check out the entire center to confirm everything has gone smoothly in opening the center!

7:30 AM: A lot of my job is to ensure transitions throughout the day go as smoothly as possible- so now I support all the classrooms as they open and kids go to their rooms!

8:00 AM: Another fun thing I get to do is step into the teacher roll every once in a while. Right now, I’m operating as an assistant teacher in the infant room as they are served their breakfast!

8:30 AM: Right now- and throughout the day- I check in on a couple of different things throughout the building. Are all the staff here? Do any classrooms need extra assistance? If they do, then I’ll send a float their way! If there are any pressing matters, that is what I will resolve first! If I have any extra time, I’ll sit down to check my email and respond to any families that have reached out!

9:00 AM: All centers are now using Procare to check kids in and out during the day. Around 9:00 AM, I check the software to see if every child that is at Tierra Encantada today was accurately checked in! This can take a bit of work and classroom check-in, so I visit each room, count who is here and who we might be waiting on. This is also important for teacher-student ratios, which we always maintain!

9:15 AM: After assessing the number of kids and teachers we have in the center today, my assistant director and I make a more detailed plan for our float teachers, so that we can also be sure our teachers have their breaks and that our classrooms can be cleaned throughout the day!

9:30 AM: Tour time! New or prospective families have signed up to see our center, and I bring them around the building, showing them classrooms and answering their questions.

10:00 AM: I make sure that everything is going well in all of our classrooms, popping in and out of different rooms, chatting with kids and teachers. Over the next couple of hours I also sit down to do some administrative work when I can. And I’m always available to support our teachers whenever they need!

1:00 PM: Now it’s around break time- nap times for kids, and time in the break room for teachers- so I walk around and support the quiet, calm (and adorable!) classrooms as teachers take some time to themselves.

3:00 PM: I review more paperwork, any incidents that have happened today, I look at upcoming events (or dress up days!), I review if we had any issues with Procare and if we did, I make sure to fix them!

3:30 PM: More tours! I love showing new families the center, and seeing them get interested in our program.

3:45 PM: I take time to check back in on every classroom. 

4:00 PM:  I continue with administrative work (it ‘s an all day thing!). Around this time, some teachers start to end their day, so sometimes I get to step in to support classrooms in the teacher role (and when I can’t be there, we find someone else to support the classroom in need)!

5: 00 PM: For the next hour things are really winding down, and I offer support and guidance to the staff that are staying until the very end of the day. By now we have closing logistics down, but sometimes there are unique processes and different details we discuss!

And we will be back to have another great day tomorrow!

Version en Español:

7:00 AM: Llegó en las mañanas a saludar a las maestras de apertura y verificar que todo este bien en el edificio y confirmar que no hubo dificultades en la apertura del centro.

7:30 AM: Apoyo a todas las clases para separarse y hacer la transición de ya tener todas las aulas abiertas.

8:00 AM: Apoyo en las áreas de Infantes, tomando el rol de Maestra asistente, ayudo a brindar el desayuno a los bebes.

8:30 AM: Camino por el edificio y Me aseguro de que ya este el staff completo, de haber una emergencia o si algún staff no llego, organizo y me apoyo de nuestras maestras floats para cubrir esta situación. Y a su vez comienzo a responder emails de las familias.

9:00 AM: Revisamos Procare para verificar los niños que las familias no ingresaron en su entrada. (Check-in children.) Visito todas las aulas, contamos cuantos niños tienen y cuantos esperan, así como verificar que el ratio este cubierto en las aulas.

9:15 AM: Junto a mi asistente planeamos el día para nuestras floats, para cubrir todos los breaks de las maestras y la limpieza del centro para el día.

9:30 AM: Conducimos Primeras visitas de familias nuevas o tours, según lo programado.

10:00 AM: Nos aseguramos que todo este funcionando adecuadamente en todas las aulas, hacemos un poco de trabajo administrativo, visitamos las aulas y verificamos si las maestras necesitan algo o si han tenido alguna situación durante la mañana.

1:00 PM Durante estos horarios de break, caminamos por el edificio vemos que se cumplan las políticas de nap en las aulas o corregimos de ser necesario.

3:15 PM: Verificamos si alguna maestra tuvo issues for clok in and out their times on Procare.

3:30 PM: Conducimos Tours cuando están programados.

3:45 PM: Comenzamos a verificar que todo este bien en las aulas y con los niños.

4:00 PM:  Realizamos trabajo de administración y a su vez Comenzamos a coordinar para cubrir a las maestras que se comienzan a ir.

5: 00 PM: Apoyamos al Staff con el cierre del edificio, cubrimos de ser necesario, hacemos logística de cierre para que todo quede limpio y listo para el día siguiente.