LEADING TODAY
McCormick Institute for Early Childhood: Scholarship, Practice, and Impact
McCormick Institute for Early Childhood (MIEC) at National Louis University is a nationally recognized center of expertise and impact in early childhood education and care (ECEC). As the only administrator of Quality Classroom Assessments for the ExceleRate Illinois Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS), MIEC is contracted to conduct approximately 2,000 class-room assessments annually. Contracts with the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) Chicago Public Schools demonstrate the substantial investment public partners are making in the Institute’s expertise and capacity. MIEC is also extending that expertise through scholarship, professional learning, and national leadership. Staff from across the Institute presented at over 30 conferences on issues ranging from workforce recruitment and retention to family engagement and advancing leadership across the ECEC profession. Dr. Lisa Downey, Executive Director, continued to represent MIEC on the national Commission for Professional Excellence in Early Childhood, helping advance work toward a more unified, cohesive, and equitable early childhood education profession. The Institute is also translating knowledge directly into practice through Leadership Academies, professional learning, leadership coaching, and technical expertise to state and system leaders across the country and beyond. During the 2025-2026 academic year, over 4000 ECEC leaders engaged in professional learning with MIEC. The Institute is advancing it’s mission to elevate the early childhood profession through innovative and responsive programming informed by practice, applied research, and community and policy engagement internationally, as well. In April of 2026, Dr. Xiaoli Wen and Leslie Layman represented MIEC and NLU at the World Forum on Early Care and Education in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, connecting with over 10,000 professionals from 151 countries.
Jessica Landola, Marissa Javier, and Elizabeth Martel at INAEYC.
Dr. Xiaoli Wen and Leslie Layman at World Forum for Early Care and Education, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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