Don’t Miss Out
by Laura Shallow
It can be hard to dedicate a few hours a month to attend a meeting. Sick staff, broke furnace, a desk piled high etc. This can be especially true if you are a new director or a new center. There are so many questions and not enough time in the day. My first year in business I spent 12 hours every day working as a teacher, cook, director, marketing person, janitor and couldn’t even fathom getting away. It has been 8 years and occasionally things do come up that prevent me from attending a conference or meeting but for the most part I have come to understand the enormous benefits of collaborating with my peers. Here is my partial list:
-
It can be very comforting to talk to someone else who has been in your shoes. At almost every WCCAA meeting I attend other directors commiserate with me. I had a problem with a particular staff and one director told me how to deal with it, another told me her problem, which was worse, and we both laughed. Both very helpful. You may feel alone at your center but chances are whatever you are experiencing others have gone through before and knowing you have a place to go to find answers and get support can be comforting and a great stress reliever.
-
As a small center in a quiet town, I start to feel secluded. Attending meetings helps me to keep up on what’s happening out there. My latest and greatest (handbook, room arrangement, playground-you could fill in almost anything here) may have been good but now something better is out there and if I want to stay competitive I need to know what this new thing is and if it could benefit my center.
-
Sharing information and resources can help me save time and/or money. A casual conversation may lead you to a new and cheaper vendor. A new policy may save you from liability issues. A seminar on what other centers are doing for their summer programs may help you to increase enrollments. At the meetings I attend I find I am always picking up some useful information and many times this information comes from other directors while eating lunch, before the quest speaker has even arrived.
-
And lastly, if you are not attending these meetings chances are another center in you area is and what great information are they getting that you are not? When changes in licensing or state funding or 4K come to your area are you going to be prepared? I strongly believe that a director who is active in WCCAA is going to be a much better prepared center. I want to be more of a leader than a follower.
This is my personal list, please feel free to share your stories. How has WCCAA helped you and your center?