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Preschool Director

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Preschool Director

Preschool Director

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Childcare Director, Early Head Start Director, Education Coordinator, Education Director, Education Site Manager, Preschool Director, Preschool Program Director, Principal, Site Coordinator

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities and policies and students' behavioral or learning problems.
  • Monitor students' progress and provide students and teachers with assistance in resolving any problems.
  • Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff and recommend personnel actions for programs and services.
  • Teach classes or courses or provide direct care to children.
  • Set educational standards and goals and help establish policies, procedures, and programs to carry them out.
  • Determine the scope of educational program offerings and prepare drafts of program schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
  • Determine allocations of funds for staff, supplies, materials, and equipment and authorize purchases.
  • Direct and coordinate activities of teachers or administrators at daycare centers, schools, public agencies, or institutions.
  • Prepare and maintain attendance, activity, planning, accounting, or personnel reports and records for officials and agencies, or direct preparation and maintenance activities.
  • Plan, direct, and monitor instructional methods and content of educational, vocational, or student activity programs.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    It's useful to be good at
    Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

    Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

    Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

    Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

    Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

    Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

    Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2022
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $16.92 $19.46 $23.89 $30.40 $41.05
    Yearly $35,190 $40,470 $49,690 $63,240 $85,390
    Arizona Hourly $14.80 $17.59 $20.75 $24.59 $32.44
    Yearly $30,790 $36,580 $43,160 $51,140 $67,470
    2022 Median%
    United States $23.89 Hourly $49,690 Yearly
    Arizona $20.75 Hourly $43,160 Yearly

    Employment (2022)
    74,800 employees
    Projected growth (2022 - 2032)
    Decline (-2% or lower)
    Projected job openings (2022 - 2032)
    4,600
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).
    What are accelerated programs?
    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    3 year programs

    These programs allow students to fast-track their studies after admission and earn a bachelor's degree in three years or fewer while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students should talk to their academic advisor to get started.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
    What are concurrent programs?
    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
    What are joint programs?
    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    What constitutes a new program?
    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the “New Programs” option.
    What are online programs?
    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
    What is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)?
    The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a program in which residents of western states (other than Arizona) may be eligible for reduced nonresident tuition. See more information and eligibility requirements on the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program.

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