Leadership

Service Overview: Leading with Intention

Strengthening Workforce Stability through Director Supervision and Mentorship
Provided by Pyramid 802 Plus

Overview
Early childhood programs are under increasing pressure due to workforce shortages, underqualified staff, and overwhelmed directors. These challenges hinder program quality and staff development. Leading with Intention addresses this critical need by empowering early childhood directors to build sustainable systems for supervision and mentorship—supporting educator growth and stabilizing their workforce.

Project Goals

• Strengthen the director's capacity to lead as both supervisor and mentor.

• Create structured, data-informed systems for professional development

• Improve workforce stability, staff retention, and overall program quality

• Promote equity by ensuring all educators are supported to meet the needs of diverse children and families

Key Components of the Service

• Dual Role Development
  Directors receive coaching to understand and shift between their supervisory and mentoring roles. Tools like The Leadership Challenge Workbook and Career Match support this development, alongside participation in a peer-based Community of Practice.

• Curated Toolkit Access
  Directors will select and apply tools from a menu of resources—self-assessments, checklists, and open-source training content—paired with coaching to support real-time implementation.

• Program Administration Scale (PAS)
  Directors will complete and interpret the PAS to assess and strengthen their program’s organizational health.

• Data-Driven Professional Development
  Directors will be supported to use a data-driven approach to professional development by learning how to analyze and interpret data from tools they already use—such as CLASS, TPOT, ECERS, and staff self-assessments, to identify clear strengths and areas for growth within their team. With coaching support, they will design short, manageable training sessions focused on one or two priority areas, making learning more accessible and immediately applicable for staff. To help ensure implementation, directors will also be trained in the Five-Minute Coaching strategy, a practical tool that allows them to provide focused, supportive feedback in real time. This approach reinforces new skills through small, consistent interactions, turning professional development into an ongoing process that supports real change in classroom practice.

• Intentional Staff Meeting Structures
  Directors will be supported in structuring staff meetings that boost morale, reinforce skill-building, and create space for reflection and collaboration, transforming meetings into embedded PD opportunities.

Outcome
Well-supported directors create inclusive environments where all families feel welcomed, respected, and connected to needed services.  By the end of the project, directors will have the tools, confidence, and structured systems to lead with intention—strengthening their workforce, increasing program quality, and improving outcomes for children and families. 

Let Pyramid 802 Plus help you strengthen your program's workforce.

Leadership team coaching is a collaborative partnership that helps program leaders build the systems needed to implement the Pyramid Model with fidelity, grounded in Vermont’s early childhood values and context.