Greetings from the Principal!

Margaret has over 30 years of experience in the field of early childhood.  She is passionate about quality care for children and support for the people who provide that care.  She understands that dependent care is not “one size fits all” and that a variety of options must be available to meet the unique needs of every family.

Margaret has worked in all aspects of the field of Early Care and Education in Minnesota, California and Arizona. She has been a teacher, director and regional manager of child care centers, both for profit and non-profit. She has taught and managed programs for Head Start. Her center management services include assuring budget compliance, hiring and managing staff, food servicing, managing daily operations, overseeing curriculum development and assuring national accreditation. She manages a comprehensive employer sponsored child and elder care resource and referral service which assists many employee parents in finding affordable, quality child and elder care services.

In addition, Margaret has developed and manages employer sponsored family child care initiative and quality enhancement program. Included in her role, she facilitates training and workshops for the professional development of family child care providers and provides support for all aspects of their individual businesses

Margaret has also been involved in developing and monitoring on-site play spaces for children.  These spaces provide developmentally appropriate activities for children in a fun environment with qualified staff, which are used while parents are on the premises.

Margaret is well versed in local, state and national regulations and standards for programs for children. She is considered an authority in the design, development, management and evaluation of quality early childhood programs.

She is experienced in child care center operations and her background is in early childhood development. She understands how to efficiently coordinate a network of family child care homes and is extremely well versed in child care program design.

Margaret currently consults with business and government agencies seeking to establish effective child care options for employee groups and communities. She works with clients to develop contracts and programs tailored to meet the needs of the employees and the surrounding community. She facilitates workshops on a variety of topics that are tailored to meet the needs of the audience.  She is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Family Child Care. In addition, she is a member of the Professional Development Network for Teaching Strategies.

Margaret is originally from Minnesota and has a degree in Early Childhood Development and Family Studies from the College of St. Benedict. She is the oldest of six children and uses her Midwestern background to share her business and life experiences. Margaret has lived in Arizona since 1994 with her husband Steve. They have a daughter who attends the University of Arizona and has given Margaret lots of hands on experience in parenting, practice, patience and setting priorities. One of Margaret’s favorite sayings is “Parenting is very easy to teach, but so hard to do.”

In her spare time, Margaret volunteers at her church with such activities as visiting the sick and facilitating grief support groups.  She loves to read and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.