Bess Emanuel leads financial management course for directors, administrators, and leaders of early education and care programs at Wheelock College
Bess Emanuel, the co-director of the UMass Donahue Institute’s Early Childhood Development group, taught a financial management course this semester to students enrolled in Wheelock College’s Gwen Morgan Leadership and Administration of High Quality Early Education and Care Program. The month-long course “Financial and Legal Aspects of Administration in Early Education and Care” uses the textbook "The Bottom Line for Children's Programs: What You Need to Know to Manage the Money,” co-authored by Emanuel and Morgan, a former Wheelock faculty member who was a pioneer in developing coursework and supports for early childhood administrators.
The course and certificate program are offered through Wheelock’s Graduate Department of Early Childhood Education, where Emanuel received her Masters in Early Childhood Leadership and first studied with Morgan. The course was developed to help directors, who are often flush in resources on child development but in need of guidance on the management end of things. It covers specifics in liability, informed consent, confidentiality, insurance, use of technology, cash flow and break-even analysis, accessing and sustaining multiple funding sources, and how to control expenditures and maintain balanced budgets
“This group of students was typical of most of the groups: directors, managers and teachers from child care and Head Start programs, all seeking to gain skills in an area that is outside of their comfort zone, but which they realize is crucial to the success of their programs,” says Emanuel. “My mission is always to help the students understand the connection between the fiscal and program sides of an organization, to become familiar with the 'jargon' of fiscal management, and to practice their skills at developing budgets.”
The Gwen Morgan Leadership and Administration of High Quality Early Education and Care Program provides comprehensive professional development for directors, administrators, and leaders of early education and care programs (Birth-6) to enhance program quality, administration and practice. Through courses covering communication and collaboration, leadership, and organizational and change theory, the program helps directors create and sustain healthy organizations and multicultural early learning communities.
February 15, 2014
