Administrator Certificate

The Louisiana Pathways Early Learning Center Career Development System Administrator Certificate recognizes you as a professional in early childhood. Receiving the Administrator Certificate helps you to have the skills and knowledge to operate a quality other early childhood program.

When child care centers fail, it is often because the administrator does not have the necessary skills to budget, supervise staff, and manage the many other tasks involved in running a highly regulated business. Receiving such training will help you be sure that you are prepared for the daily activities required of a child care center director.

Objectives for the Administrator Certification System

  • to provide the specialized training that directors want and need;
  • to encourage aspiring directors to get training prior to seeking a director position;
  • to facilitate caregivers’ ability to apply what they learn in their training by addressing the needs of directors in supporting caregiver efforts;
  • to assist administrators in designing staffing patterns and financial incentives to create opportunities for promotion increased responsibilities, and financial benefits

Some levels of the administrator career ladder require a national administrator credential. In order for an administrator credential to be accepted, Pathways must receive documentation that the credential meets the criteria documented in the form below.

Other levels of the career ladder require a Pathways Administrator Certificate as follows:

Categories of Required Training for Administrator Certificate
ADM 1 Regulations (Licensing, health, fire, and other) 6
ADM 2 Financial Management (Budgeting, cash flow, purchasing, taxes, and collections, business plans) 15
ADM 3 Program Management (Hiring, training, supervising, terminating, employment, creating job descriptions, evaluating processes, creating an employee handbook, staffing patterns, establishing rewards, and recognition strategies) 15
ADM 4 Food Service (Menu preparation, portion control and serving sizes, purchasing and inventory, sanitation, Child and Adult Care Food Program and/or licensing regulations) 15
ADM 5 Marketing, Professionalism, and Image (Maintaining full enrollment, working with families, creating an image in the community, telephone issues, networking, etiquette, customer service, ethics, legal issues, advocacy, Pathways, Leadership 12
ADM 6 Other (For example: Quality programs, facility design and equipment, working with boards, shared space, and multi-site centers) preventing and dealing with stress in yourself staff 12
Total 75