Spotlight on Success

Spotlight on Success aims to share stories from local programs that are building community partnerships to strengthen and coordinate childhood programs.

Missouri Supporting Early Childhood Administrators (MO-SECA) hosts a series of learning academies aimed at helping early childhood leaders across the state learn, grow, and connect with other trailblazers in the field to make a lasting impact on the early childhood education community. Recently, Kayla Todaro of the Office of Childhood’s Compliance section and Meghan Leake of the Office of Childhood’s Subsidy section had the opportunity to host a booth at MO-SECA’s Leadership Academy in Branson, Missouri, running through June 6 and 7. Kayla and Meghan are excited to share their experience with this amazing opportunity to collaborate!

The MO-SECA learning academies are a fantastic place to connect with other early childhood leaders. When asked about running the booth, Kayla stated “It was great getting to see providers in-person and talk to them one-on-one and engage with them on where we are at on the rules project and how they can provide feedback.” Meghan echoed this experience; “I was available to take any feedback providers had regarding Child Care Subsidy, as well as answer questions and give some guidance to providers who were interested in applying. My experience was great!”

The theme for this academy was “Foundation of Successful Leadership,” which MO-SECA did an excellent job facilitating. In addition to panels and presentations on the subject, the Academy Learning Lounge held many booths hosted by professionals from across the early childhood education community with invaluable resources. When asked about the theme of the Academy, Kayla stated “A take-away I have from being in the Learning Lounge is that to be a successful leader in the child care world is to use the resources available to you. There is a plethora of free resources for child care providers in the state of Missouri.” Megan also spoke in praise of the organization of MO-SECA, stating “The MO-SECA team was professional and helpful, making sure we had everything we need and went above and beyond to make us comfortable.”

MO-SECA plans to host two more learning academies this season, which you can find further information on through the Academy web page. Both teams are excited to pursue future opportunities in the Learning Lounge; for Compliance Kayla offered “I will personally be attending the MO-SECA Leadership Academy in Columbia in July. Caron Ahlemeyer will be attending the one in Saint Louis in August, representing OOC/Compliance.” For development of future booths for Subsidy, Meghan supplied “I think it would be helpful to bring a second representative from our payment team so they could expand more on those specific, payment-related inquiries. Also adding more fun, unique ways to engage with the conference’s attendees.”

We would like to thank our wonderful OOC staff for representing us on this occasion. We also want to express our gratitude to the staff of MO-SECA, particularly Jacklyn Aldrich for her part in organizing the Learning Lounge. Together with other collaborators across the state, they make the future of Early Childhood Education across Missouri looks bright!