Recently I received an unexpected phone call from an individual whom I had not heard from in years, and instantaneously I knew to whom I was speaking. 

Prior to my role with the Head Start Collaboration Office and ECIC I spent seven years working for the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Project both as a counselor and the program director.   During my tenure I had the honor of working with hundreds of licensed and registered child care providers each year, and assisting them in their pursuit of a higher education degree. 
 
I can recall the day this particular individual applied for our financial supports and her first goal of receiving an Associate degree, her eventual dual enrollment at a community college and university to speed the process of her next goal, and to the completion of a Bachelor degree as if it were yesterday. 
 
Throughout her pursuit and our connection with one another she was continually looking for the next logical step and together we identified gaps or barriers before she reached them. She has always been on the lookout for the next available opportunity, and asking why certain resources were not available at the time.
 
She is an example of an individual who has worked through our existing professional development system, and an example of an individual who was proactive in avoiding the gaps.   There were many frustrations including lack of financial supports, issues with transferability of credits, dealing with a complicated and frustrating infrastructure, exhausting the options of community based training, low wages, and doing this while being a successful business owner and mother.
 
She is a reminder to me of the dedication that many individuals in our field that have the desire, willpower, and knowledge to reach heights far greater than the expectations many place on early educators. Her example reinforces that the system development in Michigan is critical to achieving our goals as a state, and the inter-connected pieces including professional development. 
 
Michigan has many of the supports this individual needed to succeed, and through improved coordination, collaboration, and policy work this system is and will be more effective in producing our intended results. It will be less frustrating for individuals not nearly as proactive as she, and for those who are just learning how to connect to the resources available within their communities and in Michigan. 
 
In case you were wondering she contacted me to discuss options related to her next steps and the potential resources available to assist her.  
 
For more information on the elements of a professional development system please click here.

Jeremy Reuter is the Director of the Head Start Collaboration Office