Success Story: Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow Educator Takes Leadership Initiative
by Robin Alford

Strong local leadership is the future of Pennsylvania’s communities.  Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow, a program of Penn State Cooperative Extension, was designed to help individuals recognize and strengthen leadership skills in order to fulfill positions of leadership in their communities.  LTLT offers a curriculum for leadership training sessions, consisting of four units with three modules each.  Units and modules can be taught in succession or as “stand alone” training for specific purposes.  The curriculum provides a foundation for educators.

This past spring, Mercer County Cooperative Extension Educator Frasier Zahniser conducted two Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow training sessions with the coordinators of Early Childhood Community Engagement initiatives in Northwest Pennsylvania.  In February, she tailored Units 1’s “Personal Leadership Skills” to meet their needs by blending the three modules, “The Leader Within You,” “Values and Ethics” and “Understanding Your Leadership Style,” and applying them to their roles within this initiative to build an early learning system throughout Pennsylvania.  Participants reported an increase in their knowledge of leadership styles, particularly their own.    

In June Zahniser led the group through the module “Productive Groups,” within Unit 3’s “Group/Organizational Leadership Skills.”  The Early Childhood Community Engagement coordinators are in charge of building collaborative groups in their respective counties to carry out the work of Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children, a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of providing every young child in Pennsylvania with access to quality early learning opportunities.  Most coordinators reported that after this session they will use their skills more frequently to facilitate group development and build effective committees.

When the members of one of Mercer County’s Community Engagement teams requested leadership training, she once again turned to the LTLT curriculum.  Her instruction focused on leadership for productive staff meetings, since the team members were directors of child care facilities.  Upon completion of the “Effective Meetings” module within Unit 3’s “Group/Organization Leadership Skills” the child care directors reported a greater understanding of the impact of room arrangement on the success of a meeting.  Many reported that they can now more effectively set clear meeting objectives and prepare more useful agendas.

Since these training sessions were well-received, she plans to cover additional modules at future regional Early Childhood Community Engagement meetings and as requested by child care directors.

by Robin Alford

November, 2007