Shows / The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
Because childcare leadership deserves a real conversation.
If you're looking for another leadership podcast filled with corporate buzzwords and theories from people who haven't stepped inside a childcare center in years... this probably isn't it.
I'm Erica Saccoccio—a multi-center childcare owner, leadership coach, keynote speaker, and podcast host who still leads in the work every single day.
This podcast is for childcare directors, daycare owners, assistant directors, preschool leaders, and…
Episodes
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
675 Stop Leaving Teachers Behind! with Jennifer Michaud of MaineAEYC
Send us Fan Mail Why are child care directors attending professional development conferences while their teachers stay behind? Recorded live at the MaineAEYC…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
674 Family Child Care Is NOT Babysitting! The Business Behind Home-Based Child Care
Send us Fan Mail Family child care is more than babysitting. It's early childhood education, business ownership, and leadership—all happening under one roof…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
673 Are We Overlooking the Next Generation of Early Childhood Educators?
Send us Fan Mail What if the solution to our early childhood staffing challenges is already sitting in a high school classroom—and we're overlooking it?…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
672 What If the Best Days of Early Childhood Are Ahead? | Karen Rainville
Send us Fan Mail What if the future of early childhood education is brighter than we think? There are challenges in our profession, but there are also…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
671 Who's Coaching the Coaches? Strengthening the Leaders Who Support Our Educators | Amy Bond
Send us Fan Mail Coaches spend their days helping educators grow, but who's helping the coaches grow? Behind every confident educator is often a coach, mentor…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
670 Everyone Has a Story. What's Yours? | Brian Lee
Send us Fan Mail What happens when two podcasters who love people and storytelling sit down together? You never know where the conversation will take you! Join…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
668 The Joy Is Gone. Can Childcare Leaders Bring It Back?
Send us Fan Mail When did early childhood education become more about surviving the day than enjoying the work we love? Live from the 2026 FLAEYC Conference in…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
669 Parents + Providers: The Power Lawmakers Can't Ignore
Send us Fan Mail What happens when parents and childcare providers stop fighting separate battles and start raising their voices together? Live from the 2026…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
667 Everyone Knows Child Care Is in Crisis. Who’s Fixing It?
Send us Fan Mail Everyone has something to say about the child care crisis, but who is stepping up to create change? Recorded live at the 2026 FLAEYC…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
665 Before We Ask More of Teachers, Are We Giving Them What They Need?
Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to build stronger teachers, support families, and prepare children for success before kindergarten? Recorded live at…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
666 You're Running a Childcare Center. But Are You Leading It?
Send us Fan Mail Are you so busy running your childcare center that you've forgotten to lead it? Recorded live at the 2026 FLAEYC Conference in Florida, Erica…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
664 Who’s Fighting for Early Childhood Educators?
Send us Fan Mail Who is making decisions about the future of early childhood education, and why aren't more childcare directors, daycare owners, and educators…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
663 Stop Chasing Grants! Find the Funding You're Missing with Shannon Maitland, MPA
Send us Fan Mail What if the resources your childcare program needs are already in your community, but you're overlooking them? Too many childcare directors…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
661 Before You Correct the Behavior, Get Them Moving! | Preston Blackburn
Send us Fan Mail What if the answer to some of your biggest classroom behavior challenges isn't another rule, reward chart, or consequence? What if children…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
662 Get Out of the Office! Your Teachers Need You with Mariela Lopez
Send us Fan Mail Are you really leading your teachers, or are you just managing your program? Some of the most important leadership moments don't happen in…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
660 Autism in the Classroom: Are We Supporting Our Teachers Enough? RIAEYC Interview
Send us Fan Mail What if the behavior you're trying to stop is actually a child trying to tell you something? Supporting children with autism in early…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
659 The 6 AM Call-Out: Who's Coming to Save Your Classroom? RIAEYC Interview
Send us Fan Mail Every childcare director knows the feeling. It's 6:00 a.m., your phone starts ringing, two teachers have called out, and suddenly you're…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
658 We're Making Waves, But Are We Making Progress? (RIAEYC Interview)
Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to bring hundreds of early childhood professionals together, and are conferences like these helping move our…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
657 Why Early Childhood Is More About Connection Than Lesson Plans (RIAEYC Interview)
Send us Fan Mail If you work in early childhood education, you know how much of this work happens in the little moments—helping a child feel safe, showing up…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
656 The Hidden Work Teachers Do That Never Shows Up in Lesson Plans (RIAEYC Interview)
Send us Fan Mail What does early childhood leadership look like when someone has done every job in the building? Erica Saccoccio sits down with a Rhode Island…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
655 Bust a Move: Dr. Jamie Lewis on Leadership, Resilience & What Comes Next
Send us Fan Mail What do you do when leadership gets hard, business gets heavy, and the path forward does not look anything like you expected? Dr. Jamie Lewis…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
654 Would You Want to Work for You on a Monday Morning?
Send us Fan Mail Great teachers don’t always leave because of the labor market. Sometimes, they leave because of their experience at work. On this episode of…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
Bonus: Making Waves in ECE: Why This Weekend Matters
Send us Fan Mail This weekend, Rhode Island’s early childhood community is coming together—and this episode is about more than just attending another…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
653 The Toxic Teacher Problem: When Is Enough?
Send us Fan Mail You know the teacher. She may be great with children. Families may love her. She may have been with you for years. But the gossip, negativity…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
652 Check In Before They Check Out: Supporting Your Teachers
Send us Fan Mail What if one of the most powerful things a director could do for an educator was simply ask, “How are you doing?”—and actually listen to the…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
651 You Take Care of Everyone. Who Takes Care of You?
Send us Fan Mail Family child care providers are used to doing it all—caring for children, supporting families, managing the business, maintaining the home…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
650 The One Thing That Makes Children Love Coming to School
Send us Fan Mail What separates a good early childhood educator from a truly great one? Eva from Church Early Learning Center makes the case that the answer is…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
649 Stop Leading Alone: Why ECE Leaders Need Community
Send us Fan Mail Early childhood leadership can feel lonely, especially when you are carrying the needs of children, families, staff, and an entire program…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
648 The Leadership Mistake Early Childhood Directors Keep Making
Send us Fan Mail What if the fastest way to strengthen your early childhood program is not tighter control, but more accountability, empathy, and support? Ruth…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
647 Lead Beside Them: What Great Directors Do Differently
Send us Fan Mail What separates a director who simply manages a program from a leader teachers actually want to work for? In this episode of The Child Care…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
646 What Educators Need From Their Directors
Send us Fan Mail What makes an educator feel truly supported by their director? In this episode of The Child Care Director’s Chair, Erica Saccoccio sits down…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
645 Why Women Keep Minimizing Their Authority at the Table
Send us Fan Mail Women in early childhood education aren’t “just” anything. They’re business leaders, employers, community builders, and decision-makers—and…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
646 A Few Closing Words from Kevin ( Part 2)
Send us Fan Mail One of my favorite moments from my conversation with Kevin from WatchMeGrow came at the very end. After talking about his work, the…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
646 Behind the Camera: Meet Kevin from WatchMeGrow
Send us Fan Mail What really happens behind the camera when it comes to building trust, supporting childcare programs, and helping leaders feel more confident…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
645 What Really Makes a Childcare Professional?
Send us Fan Mail Professionalism in early childhood education is about much more than what you wear to work. In this episode of The Child Care Director’s…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
644 Supporting Educators Through Authentic Leadership
Send us Fan Mail What does it really mean to support educators as a leader? In this episode of The Child Care Director’s Chair, Erica sits down with Annette…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
643 How Do We Believe Children Should Be Educated?
Send us Fan Mail Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how you truly believe children should be educated? In this episode of The Child Care Director’s Chair…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
642 The Courage to Keep Growing
Send us Fan Mail Your next level of leadership may have nothing to do with a new title—it starts the moment you stop treating your experience like it only…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
641 You’re Going to Get Your Feelings Hurt: Leading When You Can’t Please Everyone
Send us Fan Mail You can be the best boss someone has ever had, support a family for years, extend grace, make exceptions, and genuinely care—and still become…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
640 Stop Leading Everyone the Same Way
Send us Fan Mail One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is assuming everyone on their team needs the same kind of leadership. They don’t. In this episode…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
639 Do They Feel Like They Belong? Building Real Connections With School-Age Children
Send us Fan Mail School-age children need more than supervision, snacks, homework help, and activities. They need connection, belonging, respect, and adults…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
637 Why Her After-School Program Became the Smartest Move She Made
Send us Fan Mail The quiet advantage in childcare ownership is not scale—it is fit. A director in Atlanta shares how she built a center around real demand, a…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
636 Build Your Child Care Business Like a Business, Not a Feeling
Send us Fan Mail Miranda Moore on the child care policies that protect your business, your staff, and your sanity If you are a child care owner who is ready to…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
635 Why Child Care Centers Lose Everything at Lease Renewal with Todd Harris
Send us Fan Mail Leasing can look cheaper on paper, but in child care real estate, the wrong move can cost you your business. Todd Harris, known as the Nursery…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
634 When Things Change: Leading Through the Hard Parts Without Losing Yourself
Send us Fan Mail Change is one of the hardest parts of leadership, especially when you care deeply about your program, your team, and the families you serve…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
633 The Confident Childcare Director
Send us Fan Mail If you’re waiting to feel confident before you lead, this episode is your wake-up call. Erica Saccoccio breaks down why confidence in…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
632 Your Center Doesn’t Need More Rules—It Needs Stronger Leadership
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Childcare Directors Chair, Erica makes the case that many childcare centers don’t need another policy, memo, or handbook…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
631 Beyond Babysitting: Professionalism in Family Child Care
Send us Fan Mail Family child care is not babysitting, and this conversation makes that impossible to ignore. Erica Saccoccio and Dacia Dumas unpack how…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
630 Louisiana Family Child Care Grants
Send us Fan Mail Louisiana family child care providers are leaving money, support, and growth opportunities on the table - and Cierra Amar shows you exactly…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
629 HR in Childcare: Protecting Your Program, Team, and Peace of Mind
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Child Care Directors Chair, Erica sits down with Sheika Petteway to break down the HR side of childcare leadership. They…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
628 Your Contract Ended, Your Career Didn’t
Send us Fan Mail What happens when you’ve poured your heart into teaching, built relationships with children and families, and then suddenly hear the words…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
627 You’re Not Rebuilding the Old Program—You’re Building the Next One
Send us Fan Mail For years, child care leaders have been trying to recover from staff turnover, burnout, constant hiring, and the disruption that changed so…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
626 Leadership Beyond the Classroom with Carolyn Bobby Green
Send us Fan Mail What happens when early childhood professionals stop working in silos and start building stronger connections across classrooms, programs, and…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
625 Childcare Leadership: How to Grow Without Burning Out | Danni Christine
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Child Care Director’s Chair Podcast, Erica Saccoccio sits down with Danni Christine, who shares her journey from…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
624 Stop Buying Yourself a Job: From Child Care Owner to CEO with Shelbra McKnight
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Child Care Directors Chair, Erica Saccoccio sits down with Shelbra McKnight to unpack one of the biggest challenges in…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
623 Leading Childcare Programs That Help Families, Staff, and Communities Thrive with Julie Amy
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Childcare Directors Chair, Erica sits down with Julie Amy to explore why great childcare is about much more than getting…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
622 Your Next Chapter in Education: From Classroom Experience to Bigger Possibilities ( See Guests below)
Send us Fan Mail Every year, this small group of educators comes back to the mic for a Power Hour conversation about leadership, play, growth, and the evolving…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
621 Own Your Story: Confidence to Be Seen & Heard with Shemeka Maddox
Send us Fan Mail What if the opportunity you’ve been waiting for is one you’re supposed to create? In this episode of the Child Care Director’s Chair Podcast…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
620 Play Isn’t Just for Kids: Anthony Toombs on Joy, Leadership & Men in Early Childhood
Send us Fan Mail What happens when we stop treating play as something only children need? In this engaging and energizing conversation, Erica Saccoccio sits…
- The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast
619 Before the Doors Open: The Leadership Reset Every ECE Team Needs with Melonie Karrem
Send us Fan Mail A successful school year doesn’t begin with decorated classrooms, completed checklists, or perfectly organized supply closets. It begins with…