You support your team,
let us support you

  • Personalized Coaching
  • Professional Development Training
  • Free Resources

Missouri Supporting Early Childhood Administrators (MO-SECA) provides early childhood administrators across the state with the knowledge, skills, and connections they need to effectively lead and operate sustainable, quality programs.

MO-SECA is sponsored by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Childhood and provides professional development to support participants in their business and career growth. Through group training, participants connect with fellow child care providers in their area and one-on-one coaching supports reaching personalized, self-directed goals.

Program participants receive a stipend for participation, clock hours for state licensure requirements, free resources, subscriptions, and more.

Already a part of MO-SECA? Get registered for training:

You support your team,
let us support you.

  • Personalized Coaching
  • Professional Development Training
  • Free Resources

Missouri Supporting Early Childhood Administrators (MO-SECA) provides early childhood administrators across the state with the knowledge, skills, and connections they need to effectively lead and operate sustainable, quality programs.

MO-SECA is sponsored by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Childhood and provides professional development to support participants in their business and career growth. Through group training, participants connect with fellow child care providers in their area and one-on-one coaching supports reaching personalized, self-directed goals.

Program participants receive a stipend for participation, clock hours for state licensure requirements, free resources, subscriptions, and more.

Already a part of MO-SECA? Get registered for training:

Who is MO-SECA For?

Admins at all career stages

Whether you’re in your first year as an admin, opening your own business, or you’ve been working in early childhood education for decades…

MO-SECA is for you!

Family Providers, Small, Large, and Multisite centers

Are you a home-based early childhood business owner? Are you an admin at a small center? Do you support multiple sites?

MO-SECA is for you!

...and other administrators!

If you work in corporate child care, at a school-based or after school care program, or are an administrator for any child care program…

MO-SECA is for you!

The 3 MO-SECA Program Components

Three major components of MO-SECA work together to set you up for success in your child care business and career.

The 3 MO-SECA Program Components

Three major components of MO-SECA work together to set you up for success in your child care business and career.

MO-SECA ACADEMIES: Group Training

MO-SECA group training offers a chance to connect with fellow early childhood providers and learn together about proven  leadership and business strategies.

Interactive training on leadership in early childhood and business topics teach critical skills to support your early childhood businesses and careers. Tailored sessions for larger early learning organizations, smaller independent early learning centers, and family child care businesses prepare you to build effective, sustainable programs.

One-on-One Coaching

Work with a highly trained early childhood specialist dedicated to supporting you and your self-identified goals in a personalized coaching experience.

Using the Practice-Based Coaching model, you and your coach will collaborate to implement strategies from your group trainings and respond to specific areas of need determined by evidence-based assessments. You’ll work together to cultivate your leadership and administrative business skills to enhance your child care business and career.

RESOURCES

Access to business development tools and resources curated to support your growth beyond MO-SECA including:

  • Building on Whole Leadership: Energizing and Strengthening Your Early Childhood Program
  • A Show Me Child Care Resources subscription which provides materials, information, and savings opportunities
  • Free initial LivePlan and QuickBooks licenses

Already a part of MO-SECA? Get registered for training:

MO-SECA FAQ

If you’ve made it this far and still have questions, see if they are answered below. You can also review a deep dive into the details and check out the contact page to send the MO-SECA team a message or schedule a call with a program administrator.

How does MO-SECA participation work?

What happens after I register for MO-SECA?
After you register, you’ll receive a confirmation email to let you know your registration went through. After that, you can expect the following from the MO-SECA Team:

  • An invitation to sign up for MO-SECA Orientation
  • An invitation to sign up for trainings
  • Show Me Child Care resources membership access information

Can I just participate in one component of MO-SECA?
Absolutely! While MO-SECA is designed as a wholistic experience, you are empowered to choose how you’d like to participate, by registering for MO-SECA you are signing up for the whole program and will receive information about each portion. From there, you can tailor your experienc!

What is the time commitment?
On average, 30 hours over the course of the full program. These hours are distributed across the various componants of the program:

Group training: There are 18 total hours recommended for participants in group trainings (leadership and business trainings) combined over the course of their time in MO-SECA. Most group trainings last 3 hours each (some are 2.5 hours and one is 1.5 hours). Trainings take place throughout the state and we are happy to help you identify which ones are closest to you!

Coaching: We adjust our coaching timeframe to meet your needs and availability. On average, the in-person coaching sessions will take 30 minutes to one hour and virtual visits will take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.

Assessments: Our program quality assessments are provided using the Program Administration Scale (pas) or Business Administration Scale (bas). These are collaborative interviews with your assessor and are scheduled at your availability.

Who is MO-SECA for?

Who is eligible to participate?
Administrators of Missouri child care programs. Multiple administrators representing a given program may participate in MO-SECA.

MO-SECA is for program staff who provide administrative, operational, and/or teaching leadership for their programs (e.g., child care business owners, directors, assistant directors, program coordinators, owners, and other leaders). MO-SECA is not a good fit for classroom teachers who don’t have leadership responsibilities.

Can I invite other staff from my program to participate? Will they also be eligible for the stipend?
Yes, if they have leadership responsibilities at your child care program and meet the working definition of “administrator” above.

Stipends and Clock Hours

Will MO-SECA count toward clock-hours for licensure?
The group trainings will count toward clock-hours within the MOPD registry. One-on-one coaching will not.

How much is the stipend?
Participants receive a $25/hour of training sessions completed, for up to 9 hours of business training and up to 9 hours of leadership training (up to $450 total). The stipend goes to the person who participates in the training (not the program they represent).

Stipends are offered for participation in group trainings, but not for one-on-one coaching or program assessments. You can expect to receive your stipends within 90 days of your session attendance.

UPDATE 8/1/2024: Due to funding restrictions, we are not able to accept new paperwork for stipends after the deadline (July 31, 2024). We are no longer able to accept updated or new W9s or Direct Deposit forms.

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary of Education Office of Childhood logo. Includes slogan Success at Every Stage
UMKC Institute for Human Development logo
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UMKC Bloch Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadersip
Missouri Small Business Development Center logo

Supporting leadership and business excellence in Missouri’s early childhood programs.

Interested in learning more?