About Your Trainer
Ann McKitrick, MS
As a lifelong educator, I know how much you care about your students. And from working with researchers, parents, and children, I believe there’s one question that every teacher should ask: why do children do what they do?
While every child in your classroom is a unique little learner, your job is often to get them all doing the same things at once. That’s why curiosity and training in child development is essential to better teaching, and it’s one of the reasons I love working with early childhood educators.
I got an early start in my educational career as a seven-year-old who “worked” alongside my mom who ran a childcare center at our church. There I discovered a new favorite activity—reading the files! The combination of how parents talked about their kids and the experience of knowing them in the classroom set the stage for my career.
After receiving my bachelor’s degree in home economics and secondary education, I earned a master’s degree in early childhood development at the University of Arkansas. From running the childhood development center at the University of Houston, to mentoring parents and teachers, to raising three of my own children, to fostering five beautiful babies, I can say with confidence that helping everyone who cares for kids understand them has helped me fulfill a very personal mission: to be an advocate for all children.
Today, I am honored to share both wisdom and science with teachers. Instructing and caring for kids in our modern age has some unique challenges, but I believe that by focusing on how children develop we can better meet their needs and help them learn and grow.
Education & Certifications
- BS in Education: Stephen F. Austin State University
- MS in Human Development and Family Studies: University of Arkansas
- Master Level Trainer, Texas Trainer Registry #1670
- Trainer, Professional Development Network, Teaching Strategies, LLC
- Certified trainer for the Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education (CIRCLE)
- Texas Child Care Health Consultant
- Certified Texas Teacher, Secondary Education
