Preschool or Childcare Center Director

Plan, direct, or coordinate academic or nonacademic activities of preschools or childcare centers and programs, including before- and after-school care.

On the job, you would:

Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities and policies and students' behavioral or learning problems.
Monitor students' progress and provide students and teachers with assistance in resolving any problems.
Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff and recommend personnel actions for programs and services.

Important Qualities

Business skills. Preschool and childcare center directors manage childcare centers and need to be able to operate the business effectively.

Communication skills. Directors inform parents and staff about the children’s progress. They need good writing and speaking skills to convey this information.

Interpersonal skills. Preschool and childcare center directors must be able to develop relationships with parents, children, and staff.

Leadership skills. Preschool and childcare center directors need leadership skills to supervise staff and inspire diligence. They also must enforce rules and regulations.

Organizational skills. Directors need to maintain clear records about children and staff. In addition, they must be able to multitask when several people or situations require their attention.

Personality

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Characteristics of this Career
		98%	Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
		93%	Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
		92%	Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
		88%	Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
		87%	Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
		86%	Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
		85%	Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
		84%	Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
		84%	Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
		83%	Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
		75%	Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
		74%	Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
		71%	Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
		65%	Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
		65%	Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
		64%	Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Strengths
		83%	Social - Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
		83%	Enterprising - Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Values of the Work Environment
		95%	Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
		78%	Achievement - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
		78%	Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
		61%	Working Conditions - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
		61%	Recognition - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Aptitude

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Abilities \| Cognitive, Physical, Personality
		78%	Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
		75%	Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
		75%	Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
		75%	Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
		75%	Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
		72%	Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
		72%	Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
		72%	Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
		72%	Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
		69%	Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
		63%	Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
		60%	Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
		56%	Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
		53%	Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
		53%	Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
		53%	Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Skills \| Cognitive, Physical, Personality
		59%	Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
		59%	Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
		57%	Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
		57%	Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
		57%	Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
		57%	Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
		57%	Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
		57%	Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
		57%	Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
		55%	Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
		55%	Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
		55%	Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
		55%	Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
		55%	Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
		55%	Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
		52%	Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Job Details

Responsibilities

Advise others on career or personal development.

Maintain operational records.

Maintain regulatory or compliance documentation.

Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.

Develop educational goals, standards, policies, or procedures.

Develop organizational policies or programs.

Monitor performance of organizational members or partners.

Approve expenditures.

Manage organizational or project budgets.

Evaluate employee performance.

Conduct employee training programs.

Recruit personnel.

Supervise employees.

Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.

Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures.

Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.

Estimate labor requirements.

Determine resource needs.

Determine operational compliance with regulations or standards.

Evaluate program effectiveness.

Advise others on business or operational matters.

Teach classes in area of specialization.

Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.

Prepare proposals or grant applications to obtain project funding.

Develop promotional materials.

Analyze forecasting data to improve business decisions.

Communicate with government agencies.

Present information to the public.

Supervise employees.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent
		100%	Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
		98%	Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
		97%	Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
		96%	Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
		90%	Responsibility for Outcomes and Results - How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers?
		89%	Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
		88%	Responsible for Others' Health and Safety - How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?
		87%	Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
		86%	Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
		85%	Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
		84%	Coordinate or Lead Others - How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?
		81%	Letters and Memos - How often does the job require written letters and memos?
		78%	Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer?
		76%	Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
		76%	Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
		75%	Physical Proximity - To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
		73%	Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
		71%	Consequence of Error - How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not readily correctable?
		69%	Deal With External Customers - How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
		67%	Frequency of Conflict Situations - How often are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?
		67%	Importance of Repeating Same Tasks - How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job?
		65%	Spend Time Sitting - How much does this job require sitting?
		56%	Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People - How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements?
		83%	Duration of Typical Work Week - Number of hours typically worked in one week.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Tasks & Values
		84%	Training and Teaching Others - Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
		83%	Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
		83%	Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
		82%	Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
		81%	Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
		79%	Communicating with People Outside the Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
		77%	Performing for or Working Directly with the Public - Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
		77%	Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
		77%	Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates - Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
		76%	Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
		75%	Coaching and Developing Others - Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
		74%	Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
		74%	Developing and Building Teams - Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
		73%	Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others - Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
		72%	Performing Administrative Activities - Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
		71%	Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
		71%	Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
		70%	Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People - Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
		70%	Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
		69%	Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
		68%	Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
		68%	Monitoring and Controlling Resources - Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
		64%	Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
		64%	Staffing Organizational Units - Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
		64%	Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
		63%	Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
		62%	Providing Consultation and Advice to Others - Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
		60%	Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
		59%	Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
		54%	Selling or Influencing Others - Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
		53%	Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others - Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
		52%	Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
		52%	Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information - Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

What Preschool and Childcare Center Directors Do

Preschool and childcare center directors assist staff with caring for and teaching children.

Preschool and childcare center directors supervise and lead staffs, design program plans, oversee daily activities, and prepare budgets. They are responsible for all aspects of their center’s program, which may include before- and after-school care.

Duties

Preschool and childcare center directors typically do the following:

Supervise preschool teachers and childcare workers
Hire and train new staff members
Provide professional development opportunities for staff
Establish policies and communicate them to staff and parents
Develop educational programs and standards
Maintain instructional excellence
Assist staff in communicating with parents and children
Meet with parents and staff to discuss students’ progress
Prepare budgets and allocate program funds
Ensure that facilities are maintained and cleaned according to state regulations

Some preschools and childcare centers are independently owned and operated. In these facilities, directors must follow the instructions and guidelines of the owner. Sometimes, the directors are the owners, so they decide how to operate them.

Other preschools and childcare centers are part of a national chain or franchise. The director of a chain or franchise must ensure that the facility meets the parent organization’s standards and regulations.

In addition, some preschools and childcare centers, such as Head Start programs, receive state and federal funding. Directors need to follow the requirements set by Department of Health and Human Services for program, staff, and facilities.

Work Environment

Preschool and childcare center directors held about 74,800 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of preschool and childcare center directors were as follows:

Child day care services	71%
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations	8
Self-employed workers	7
Elementary and secondary schools; state, local, and private	6

Although preschool and childcare center directors work in schools and childcare centers, they spend most of their day in an office. They also visit classrooms to check on students, speak to preschool teachers or childcare workers, and meet with parents.

Preschool and childcare center directors may find working in an early childhood educational environment rewarding, but they also have significant responsibilities. Coordinating and interacting with staff, parents, and children may be fast paced and stimulating but also stressful.

Work Schedules

Most preschool and childcare center directors work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. They are on the job while the childcare center is open and may work early in the morning and late in the evening, particularly in centers that provide before- and after-school care. In large facilities, the director and assistant directors may stagger their schedules to ensure that someone is always onsite.

Getting Started

Education:

32%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

26%

High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

How to Become a Preschool or Childcare Center Director

Preschool and childcare center directors need to be able to interact with children, staff, and parents.

A bachelor’s degree and experience in early childhood education are typically required to become a preschool or childcare center director. However, educational requirements vary. Additionally, some employers require these directors to have a nationally recognized credential, such as the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential.

Education

Most states require preschool and childcare center directors to have at least a bachelor’s degree, but educational requirements vary by state. Employers may prefer candidates who have a degree, or at least some postsecondary coursework, in early childhood education. These programs teach child development, provide strategies for instructing young children, and show how to observe and document children’s progress.

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

Most positions for preschool and childcare center directors require several years of experience in early childhood education. The length of experience required varies by job.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

States may require childcare centers, including those in private homes, to be licensed. To qualify for licensure, staff must pass a background check and meet a minimum training requirement. Some states have more requirements, such as requiring staff to have certifications in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid.

Some employers have additional requirements, such as the CDA credential offered by the Council for Professional Recognition. Candidates need to pay a fee, take coursework, obtain experience in the field, and be observed while working with children. This credential needs to be renewed every 3 years.

Job Outlook

Employment of preschool and childcare center directors is projected to decline 3 percent from 2022 to 2032.

Despite declining employment, about 4,600 openings for preschool and childcare center directors are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

Early childhood education is widely recognized as important for a child’s intellectual and emotional development. However, the rising cost of childcare may limit the demand for preschool and childcare center directors over the projections decade.

Contacts for More Information

For more information on childcare centers, visit

Child Care Aware

For information about early childhood education, visit

National Association for the Education of Young Children

For more information about professional credentials, visit

Council for Professional Recognition

National Early Childhood Program Accreditation

Similar Occupations

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of preschool and childcare center directors.

Occupation	Job Duties	Entry-Level Education	Median Annual Pay, May 2022
Childcare Workers	Childcare workers attend to children's needs while helping to foster early development.	High school diploma or equivalent	$28,520
High School Teachers	High school teachers teach academic lessons and various skills that students will need to attend college and to enter the job market.	Bachelor's degree	$62,360
Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers	Kindergarten and elementary school teachers instruct young students in basic subjects in order to prepare them for future schooling.	Bachelor's degree	$61,620
Middle School Teachers	Middle school teachers educate students, typically in sixth through eighth grades.	Bachelor's degree	$61,810
Preschool Teachers	Preschool teachers educate and care for children younger than age 5 who have not yet entered kindergarten.	Associate's degree	$35,330
Special Education Teachers	Special education teachers work with students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities.	Bachelor's degree	$62,950
Teacher Assistants	Teacher assistants work with a licensed teacher to give students additional attention and instruction.	Some college, no degree	$30,920
Elementary, Middle, and High School Principals	Elementary, middle, and high school principals oversee all school operations, including daily school activities.	Master's degree	$101,320