On Cusp Of Universal Pre-K In Philadelphia, One Early Education Leader Sails Into Retirement

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Imagine working for a goal your whole life, and just as it's about to become reality... you're retiring. That's what's happening to a Philadelphia leader in early childhood education, just as the city is about to adopt universal pre-K.

Sharon Easterling is packing up her things at the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, where she's spent 22 years trying to improve the quality of pre-school and increasing public investment.

Now, with a major initiative to provide 65-hundred new, high quality pre-K seats through a soda tax, she is leaving.

Timing's always been an issue for me," she said.

Easterling didn't know this would be happening when she announced, a year ago, she'd be leaving this month, to accommodate a new marriage and life changes.

"It's bittersweet but it's also interesting that as I'm leaving, I'm handing off the torch to a new generation of leaders who will deal with implementation," she said.

Her successor, Carol Austin, says it's 'daunting but exciting.'

With 1,500 new pre-K seats a year coming online, Austin's new job is lot more complicated than the one she applied for  -- but she's looking forward to it.

"I'm thrilled that I get to be a part of this fight in the early years,"  Austin said.