Why Administrative Tasks Are Among Early Education’s Biggest Risks, and the Way Forward

ECE program director Ani Adamian explains how she tackles widespread staff burnout and reshapes systems for managing administrative tasks, redirecting energy to providing high-quality care.

The early childhood education (ECE) sector is facing a growing workforce crisis as a result of high teacher turnover caused by burnout and extreme emotional stress. To make matters worse, professionals are struggling to balance taking care of children with managing an overwhelming load of administrative work. The Global Status of Teachers 2024 report highlights the severity of this issue, acknowledging teacher shortages as a global crisis driven by inadequate compensation, excessive working hours, and career stagnation. Yet, it notes that these situations are exacerbated by poor school leadership, excessive administrative tasks, inadequate teacher well-being, and insufficient professional development, among other factors.

To address these problems, the field needs leaders with a high level of administrative skills to restructure the system. Now, that is an area where Ani Adamian, an early childhood education program director and development consultant, has expertise in. Her strong background in academics, with a master’s degree in pedagogy and psychology, prepared her to handle challenging educational roles. She built her strong skills during her years as the manager of Junior Club Child Care Center in Armenia from 2013 to 2019. This center is well-known across Armenia, where she oversaw all teaching, management, and daily operations. Today, she uses the same trusted approach in the U.S. as the founder and CEO of Adamian Family Child Care, a licensed childcare service in California. This places her in a key position to design effective plans to support and strengthen the current ECE workforce.

The main issue causing teacher burnout comes from the overwhelming amount and difficulty of non-teaching tasks, such as keeping detailed records, handling billing, and meeting regulatory requirements, all of which redirect their focus from working with kids. This heavy administrative load causes stress and pushes many teachers to leave their jobs. Fixing this problem means ECE directors need to rethink how the system works and restructure it. When Adamian managed the Junior Club, she tackled this challenge by simplifying how the center operated. She used modern digital automation to handle tricky billing and reporting processes, combining compliance, training staff, and focusing on helping children grow. Now, she brings the same strict approach to running her U.S. program, creating systems that reduce the administrative workload for teachers. “A program’s quality hinges on the consistency of its staff,” she points out. “When you take away the hassle of administrative work, you give teachers back their most precious asset: time to teach. That is essential to top-notch early childhood education.” 

Also, teachers deal with heavy emotional exhaustion and compassion fatigue. This is often exacerbated by a lack of organized, paid time to reflect and connect with peers. To address this problem, therefore, requires that teachers be paid to participate in professional development and reflective practices. These practices offer hands-on, trauma-aware strategies that improve skills and resilience. Adamian, drawing her background in pedagogy and psychology, prioritized consistent professional reflection in her previous role. Now, she continues to uphold this standard by ensuring regular, paid time for reflection, making it a core part of daily operations at her childcare program. This approach is a significant part of what sets her high-quality service model apart. 

Yet, ECE professionals often have a nurturing spirit, which can push them to take on too much, leaving them with poor work-life balance and leading to faster burnout. Leaders need to set and adhere to clear shift schedules while ensuring that professional boundaries are respected. To minimize unnecessary contact after work hours, they should adhere to specific communication guidelines. As a manager, Adamian prioritized work-life balance and professional boundaries for teachers under her supervision. In her program, she focuses on defending consistent schedules and maintaining clear communication to respect free time. “A director’s main job is to act as a shield for their team, guarding their time and energy from avoidable requests,” she notes. “We cannot get quality teaching from tired professionals without boundaries.” Valuing and respecting professionals helps build a workplace that people appreciate, ensuring high-quality instruction and low teacher turnover.

Additionally, a significant challenge in the ECE field is the shortage of skilled workers and uneven application of key safety methods for children’s well-being. A limited understanding of handling infectious diseases, preventing injuries, and preparing for emergencies can lead to risky settings. “This also undermines public trust and adds pressure to staff,” Adamian explains. “So, the answer lies in using experienced professionals to share proven knowledge.” Based on the high standards she set as a manager, Adamian built a plan that focuses on the safety of children in her care. Now, she oversees all training efforts, utilizing her certifications in Pediatric First Aid, CPR AED, and mandated reporting for child abuse and neglect. Her program requires staff to attend detailed workshops to learn about emergency readiness and preventing the spread of diseases. By focusing on quality care, she helps improve public health and ensure child welfare.

Again, the scarcity of dependable, quality childcare remains a significant issue worldwide. This limits economic growth because it stops many parents in crucial industries from working. Therefore, expanding licensed, high-quality early education centers is one solution to this problem. These centers act as key infrastructure that supports the economy. Adamian is focused on expanding her program across multiple U.S. states while helping working parents stay active in their jobs. For example, her client, who works in healthcare, managed to continue her education and grow in her career thanks to Adamian’s efforts. This shows that her service contributes to the growth of important community sectors. 

The current crisis in early childhood education stems from issues in its foundation that makes it harder for skilled educators to provide proper care. Ani Adamian’s reforms at the Junior Club Child Care Center and her purposeful and quality leadership as the founder and CEO of Adamian Family Child Care demonstrate how operational systems can be redesigned to address this problem by creating more effective processes and establishing robust safety measures. By treating ECE as a vital and professional industry, her model provides a clear plan to guarantee stability, improve staff efficiency, and ensure that reliable childcare continues to support the global workforce and economy.