As the summer months approach, childcare center directors and administrators are gearing up for the new school year. With so much to do before the rush of back-to-school, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. But by using the summer months to prepare, you can set your center and staff up for success. 

In this article, we'll discuss the key areas you can tackle during the summer, including administrative tasks, staff training, supporting children, and engaging families. By taking the time to prepare now, you can ensure that your center is ready to provide a safe, engaging, and successful learning environment for all children.

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Administrative tasks

Administrative tasks support and maintain your daily business operations and your childcare center can’t operate without this important work. Depending on the size of your center, the amount of time you spend on these tasks can vary, but they will all help you stay organized and save time before the school year starts.

• Review your family handbook and refresh your center policies with any new or updated procedures. This handbook will serve as a guide to your center and establish a common understanding with families about how your program operates. Things like your sick policy, emergency procedures, and billing policies can be revised before the start of a new school year to ensure your program runs smoothly. 
• Consider utilizing technology like an early childhood education software to increase efficiency and save time on tasks like your enrollment process and attendance tracking. A tool like brightwheel's center management feature can help you simplify administrative tasks by streamlining your record keeping and reporting and offering easy access to child and staff information, while keeping operations consolidated and centralized through one app.
• Streamline your billing workflow by choosing a reliable payment processing software that can help you save time and manage your payments. The start of a new school year can be an excellent time to update your billing process to be more organized and user-friendly to improve the financial health of your business. 
• Reference your state or local licensing and compliance requirements to ensure your program is meeting all applicable laws and regulations.
• Create a detailed preschool calendar with important dates and events that staff and families can reference to plan and prepare for the year ahead. For families, this information can include enrollment periods, school closings, and special events at your center. For staff, include dates and deadlines for training and license renewals.

Training and developing staff

Your teachers and staff are the backbone of a quality childcare program. Their core responsibility is to provide children with the knowledge and experiences they need for education and development, but that’s not all. They’re also responsible for ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of the children in your program. Staff training and professional development are two elements to consider when preparing your childcare facility for a successful year.

• Improve your childcare program and emphasize the importance of childcare staff training for educators by recommending online childcare training courses and requiring health and safety training for all employees.
• Promote team building by organizing activities before classes start that allow your preschool teachers to get to know each other, create strong bonds, and align on goals for the upcoming year.
• Plan a professional development day to help your staff acquire new skills and strengthen existing ones.
• Motivate your staff and set them up for success by improving your onboarding process with a new teacher orientation. Take the time to plan how you are going to invest in your employees throughout the year and create opportunities to keep your staff engaged and show your appreciation regularly.

Supporting children

How do you plan to support your children during the school year? The purpose of your early childhood education program is to help children learn and develop the skills they’ll need to be successful in the future. To do this, you’ll need to make sure you equip your program, educators, and classrooms with the resources and tools they need to support children throughout this process.

• Create an effective curriculum for your program by learning how to design an early childhood curriculum or choosing a childcare curriculum plan that aligns with your center’s educational philosophy and the needs of your children. To simplify the process, consider evaluating preschool curriculum kits that make providing high-quality early childhood education easier than ever. With brightwheel’s Experience Curriculum you’ll have access to digital lessons in brightwheel and hands-on learning materials mailed to you. This easy-to-implement curriculum system incorporates 35 research-based skills into playful games and discovery projects and allows you to easily log observations and track each child’s progress.
• Prepare your childcare center with the essential preschool supplies to provide your teachers and preschoolers with the materials they need to facilitate learning and provide comfort and safety. Examples of supplies include blocks, bookshelves, art supplies, and cleaning supplies.
• Start brainstorming and create activities and lesson plans to support your children and keep them learning and engaged throughout the year.
• Ensure your facility is thoroughly cleaned by establishing a daycare cleaning routine that helps you and your staff keep track of supplies and procedures.

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Engaging families

A successful early childhood education program will be built on collaboration between educators and families. Family involvement is an important part of any learning experience, and strategizing ways to engage families is a significant element in planning for a successful school environment.

• Keep families engaged by creating a preschool newsletter to share information on school events, update families on policies and procedures, and ask for feedback on your program.
• Refresh your effective communication skills and strategies while strengthening relationships and engagement by using a parent communication app and creating surveys for parents. It’s important to regularly collect feedback from your families to evaluate your program and understand the areas you can improve.
• Welcome new children and families to your childcare program by planning a new family orientation.
• Plan activities and events—like hosting a back-to-school night—to introduce yourself and your staff to families while creating an opportunity for families to get to know each other.

Prepare now for a successful school year

Summer is a season that is known for being tied to fun, rest, and relaxation. As a childcare provider, you’re more than deserving of this break. With that in mind, the summer months are the best time to set your center up for success before the exciting and sometimes chaotic back-to-school season. Use the information in this article to accomplish some of the important management tasks early on so you are prepared to welcome new and returning children and their families.

Brightwheel is the complete solution for early education providers, enabling you to streamline your center’s operations and build a stand-out reputation. Brightwheel connects the most critical aspects of running your center—including sign in and out, parent communications, tuition billing, and licensing and compliance—in one easy-to-use tool, along with providing best-in-class customer support and coaching. Brightwheel is trusted by thousands of early education centers and millions of parents. Learn more at mybrightwheel.com.