S1. Episode 3: Debbie LeeKeenan - Leadership Lessons Learned - Pt 1.
Part 1 of 2, Leading Early Childhood Programs is continued in Season 1, Episode 4.
On this episode Debbie LeeKeenan shares important lessons learned in her years as a program director and in her work with leaders from across the country. She is full of practical advice, offering leaders simple tools for successfully navigating the complexities of early childhood leadership. Debbie encourages programs to think beyond traditional models of family school partnerships. As families bring strengths and the opportunity to see the child through the family’s lens. How programs can be intentional about moving from a deficit perspective is covered in this session as both Debbie and Nikki share their insight.
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About our guest
Debbie LeeKeenan
Debbie LeeKeenan is a lecturer, consultant, and author, currently residing in Seattle, Washington. She was director of the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School at Tufts University in Medford, MA from 1996 to 2013. In addition to teaching in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University, she has been a member of the early childhood faculty at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and she is a former preschool, special education and elementary school teacher. With professional experience spanning 50 years in diverse university, public school, and early childhood settings in Massachusetts, New York City, New Mexico, Philadelphia and Taiwan, her areas of expertise include anti-bias education, early childhood education, teacher preparation, inclusive special education, curriculum development, project based learning, teacher inquiry, family engagement, professional learning communities and public school partnerships.She consults and lectures locally, nationally and internationally.
Show Notes
Check out the links below to documents and resources mentioned in this episode
Books by Debbie LeeKeenan:
From Survive to Thrive: A Director’s Guide for Leading an Early Childhood Program (2018),
By Debbie LeeKeenan & Iris Chin Ponte
This guide provides the building blocks you need to start, maintain, and improve any early childhood program. It is full of resources and strategies to support early childhood leaders.
