Making a Difference
Creative Child child care program is in its third year since Director Nancy Volden first started it, and has a Star for each year. “We just got 3 Stars,” said Nancy. “Working with my Technical Consultant Nancy Meyers has been great. She has helped me every step of the way.” Creative Child is at full capacity with 40 children enrolled, ranging from 6 weeks old to 6 years old. With the support of a T.E.A.C.H. scholarship, Nancy is currently working towards her Associate’s Degree in early childhood and working alongside her staff on perfecting their program environments, and taking advantage of the training and education benefits of YoungStar. “What I am working on is to get teachers to the point where they feel that what they are doing makes a difference in the classroom,” said Nancy, “that they are not just quote unquote, ‘baby-sitters.’” Instead, said Nancy, she tries to impart to her staff the impact they have on the physical and emotional development of the children in their care, such as when doing portfolios and assessments. Through assessment and observation Nancy and her staff found that one 2-year-old child in their program had sensory issues. They were able to pinpoint what was going on and get this child assessed by a pediatrician so that the child and family could get the support they needed.
Parent Engagement
Creative Child staff also makes an effort to involve parents in the program, hosting four annual program-wide parent events, including a Spring picnic, plus several smaller events at a classroom level. There is a parent committee with both parents of children attending Creative Child and staff members. This committee meets on a regular basis to plan events, projects, and other issues surrounding the program. One project this committee worked on was through a program called “Terra Cycle” a company that donates money to schools and other entities for collecting and turning in their recyclables. Creative Child has families bring in their recyclables and regularly combines them to send in. The money they raised from this project thus far went towards purchasing new playground equipment for the program.
Future Plans
As they move forward, Creative Child has a lot in store. They are partnering with their school district to have a 4K in the fall, which is perhaps a first step forward in the growth and expansion that Nancy said she would like to see for the program. While she plans to maintain small class sizes to keep that one-on-one attention alive, Nancy would love to increase their enrollment capacity to serve more children. Meanwhile, though they are very proud of the rating they have achieved so far, they will also continue to reach higher, and go for a 4 Star rating. “YoungStar is a lot of hard work, “ said Nancy. “I tell my staff every day that this is not simple. But once you get it, it will all start to fall into place.”
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