Back to School
Chia Her has worked in child care for five years. Her current family child care program includes her own five children. Also in her home, are her in-laws, her husband, and his brothers and sisters. At the end of a day of providing child care, it is Chia’s job to cook dinner for the entire family. Needless to say, she is busy. After choosing to participate in YoungStar since its inception, despite her busy schedule, she is also only the second Hmong provider in her area of the state to achieve 3 Stars. “At first YoungStar was hard,” said Chia. “It was really hard.” Chia’s program started with a 2 Star rating, and her Technical Consultant, Kao Xiong, encouraged her to further her education to increase her rating. With Kao’s support, and a T.E.A.C.H. scholarship, Chia decided to “go for it,” and enrolled to receive her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood. Her first semester she was taking 21 credits while still maintaining her full time child care program and caring for her own five children. “I thought I wasn’t going to make it.” said Chia. “But, I just kept going with the flow, and after the first semester things got easier, and I kept on going.” Despite the enormous amount of time and effort that it required, Chia has only two classes to complete before she graduates this fall. Her program has now earned a 3 Star rating.
Changes and Connections
Chia’s education is not all that has changed. “Before YoungStar, before school, I thought I knew everything about child care,” said Chia. “No, I didn’t.” Thanks to the knowledge she has gained through schooling and YoungStar trainings, Chia no longer sees herself as a babysitter, but as a professional. She sets more of a structure to her program, paying attention to things like good nutrition, staying active, and filling the child care space with tools and toys to encourage learning and exploration. “YoungStar helps you run your business with the grant that they give you,” said Chia. “My kids love the toys we have purchased.” Home life has also been affected by the knowledge Chia has gained. Her family has more nutritious meals, she said, and they eat together more often. She also maintains supports for her business and herself, such as her regular Hmong provider meetings, where she first met Kao and got the information to get started in YoungStar. “This group was really a big opportunity for me.” said Chia. “It really helps…we go to seminars and they speak English and some of these Hmong providers don’t know what they are talking about. So we come back and have a group meeting, and we talk about it.”
Opportunity
With all of the supports she has through YoungStar and the confidence those have given her, Chia is already looking towards the future. “Now with my school almost being done I have so many goals,” said Chia. “I just have so much in mind that I want to do.” Chia would love to expand her child care program, maybe shoot for her bachelor’s degree, and continue to improve her YoungStar rating. “I just want to go down so many roads,” said Chia, “I feel so excited!”
Get the PDF:
