Hi, I’m Jean Shaughnessy Smith.

I began my early childhood education career in 1985 as a teacher, but early on I unexpectedly found myself in an administrative position at a brand new program. I was young, naive, and ill-prepared. Through years of trial and error, along with the guidance of other experienced administrators, I developed and refined the skills and strategies central to running a successful early childhood program.

As the Director of the Schoolcraft College Children’s Center for 32 years, I hired, supervised and scheduled a staff of up to 65 teachers, teaching assistants and adult learners. I provided mentoring, coaching, evaluations and disciplinary action, when necessary. I worked collaboratively with College professors and administrators to improve learning experiences for our adult learners. While juggling State of Michigan Licensing Regulations and NAEYC Accreditation standards, I created administrative systems and organizational tools to improve overall program quality, including staff and family retention. 

In my retirement, I have remained passionate about children’s development. I know that a director’s ability to do their job easily and efficiently has a direct impact on the children that they serve. I now want to use the knowledge I gained over decades to help other programs develop policies and implement strategies to make directors’ jobs easier and better support children’s learning.

My experience includes:

  • Adhered to State of Michigan Child Care Licensing regulations for large program of children ages 0-5 years.  Licensing reviews were consistently positive.

  • Developed administrative systems and organization strategies that ensured everyone was following procedures, resulting in outstanding licensing reviews and high scores on NAEYC accreditation visits. These systems included an orientation program for new staff and families, an interview process to ensure we hired qualified candidates, and regular, meaningful training for teachers and teaching assistants.

  • Organized inspiring staff training opportunities for teachers and teaching assistants. Created an atmosphere of professionalism and camaraderie that resulted in many teachers staying with the Children’s Center for over 20 years.

  • Developed positive, professional relationships with families, which encouraged open dialog.  Created family events and provided opportunities for families to learn about child development by collaborating with the teaching staff. 

  • Collaborated with College professors and administrators to provide opportunities and improve learning for emerging educators by providing hands-on experience with infants, toddlers and preschoolers as a part of the Early Childhood Education Program laboratory facility.

  • Accredited since 1999, the Schoolcraft College Children’s Center navigated the ever changing accreditation standards, consistently receiving high scores on accreditation reviews.