Video
Transcripts
Starfest 2023
Dr. Helen Johnson, Board member
I have lived here for almost 20 years and I knew about Childcare Resources really, sort of, from the get-go, but I did not begin to appreciate the scope and scale and quality of the work that this organization does. It is, it is amazing. It's not just the children who are here on this campus or the children who are in our partner facilities. It is the work we're doing with the other educators in this community who come here for workshops and for continuing learning.
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Katy Healy, former Board member
When you walk into a classroom and you see the smiling faces and you see these children who come together and spend a lot of their time together here at this school, you can see why this organization is so important.
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Brian Barefoot, community stakeholder
The kids that come from Childcare Resources into kindergarten are well ahead of most of the other kids. And so it's pretty obvious that whatever goes on in this building is having a major impact on these children.
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Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director
We have been continually asking the question, how can we do early education better in this community? So that means looking at the decades of research and brain science that very clearly demonstrate what a child needs in order to develop optimally. And then reimagining, re-envisioning what early education could be. So taking that framework of knowledge and then taking a look at what's happening here in our community and finding ways to slowly bring these two things together.
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Tracy Sorzano, Board member
I think the most important work we do is directly with our children and families. You know, from birth to age five, it's such a crucial time for development. Early childhood education and high-quality early childhood education is critical to make sure that children have an equal chance to grow and thrive in life. And what we do here is to really help support that, provide the foundation and the underpinnings of that growth and development, and provide a wonderful safe space for children to learn and thrive.
Wanda Lincoln, community stakeholder
It isn't just creating an environment so kids are kindergarten-ready. It's creating a heart for them that they're capable. That's the most important thing because you can do anything if you think you're capable. My hope is that they stay inspired.
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Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director
My hope is that more children and families in our community can access high quality early education programs.
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Jim Beindorf, Board chair
My hope is we can continue to impact as many kids as possible because at the end of the day, that's what's going to impact the future. They're going to be down the road where you have to lean on them some way or another. In these informative years, laying that foundation is extremely important, so my hope is we continue to do that. Again, we just keep finding those kids and those opportunities and not let them slip behind.
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Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director
We're always researching best practice and what's out there and trying to bring the very best to the children of this community. And we're only able to do that with so many people in the community investing in what we do. So we are so grateful for all of our donors, our volunteers, our Board of Directors for giving their time and talent and investing in this work and this very important, very serious work here in our community.
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Classroom students
We wish you well. We wish you well. All through the day today, we wish you well. All through the day today, we wish you well.
Starfest 2021
Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director
Over the last decade, Childcare Resources has experienced tremendous growth in order to help better serve children and families, but also to better serve the early childhood education community at large here in Indian River County. When we opened our doors in 1994, we served 25 children. Today, our childcare program is serving 157 children. And through our outreach programming, Childcare Resources is impacting more than 3,000 young children. The pandemic has taught us how resilient our staff, parents, and children can be. To say that 2020 was a tough year would be an understatement, but we will take the lessons learned, the challenges we faced, and use these experiences to shape 2021 and beyond. In the fall of 2019, our Board of Directors approved a new three-year strategic plan to continue and strengthen our work. Three priority areas were determined, focused on improving the lives of those we serve. The three priority areas are mental health, program expansion, and community awareness. During this past year, we found much of this work more relevant than ever. Today, you will see a glimpse of how our programming is impacting the community through stories told by two board members, a teacher, a parent, and a physical therapist.
You will also hear from a few of our former Starfest speakers about their experience learning about our program. We look forward to when we can safely gather together, and until then, please know that we continue our work. We know that providing high-quality early education is more important than ever before. Thank you for making this work possible.
Karla Spooner, member, Board of Directors
I've been involved with Childcare Resources for over 10 years now. I was first attracted by the children. Let's face it, I was a grandchild-less woman, and here were all these beautiful children who were being given the brighter future their parents wanted for them. At the same time, Childcare was a small preschool in leased space. Under the direction of Shannon McGuire Bowman, a capital campaign was undertaken, resulting in a new state-of-the-art school with room for additional children. At the same time, the faculty was being certified by NAEYC, the highest level of preschool certification. So much of this was made possible by the fabulous leadership of Shannon, but also through the help of all of you. Your financial support and enthusiasm for Childcare allowed the capital campaign to be completed successfully and provided the resources for the staff to start considering how to help the hundreds of preschool children in the county who aren't fortunate enough to attend our school.
Elizabeth Huntley, Starfest 2018 Speaker
Hello, my name is Liz Huntley, and I am an attorney and a child advocate, and author of More Than A Bird. I'm particularly proud of everything that Childcare Resources has accomplished, from its NAEYC certification to the credentialing that's provided through its local partnership with this community college. And most incredible, the expansion of its campus to provide additional classroom settings for children from homeless families. It's an incredible program. It's quite a hub of the importance of high-quality early childhood intervention. I know a little bit about that because I was one of those children. I was a child born of drug-dealing parents in poverty. Mother committed suicide, dad in and out of jail. But it was the intervention of an early childhood program that God used to save my life and to help shape me into who I am today, and is why I so adamantly go across this country to support programs like Childcare Resources. It is truly a game changer.
Susan Donovan, member, Board of Directors
As a retired Minnesota Elementary Principal with 40 years of educational experience, I share with you that I have seen a lot of quality education, and I am passionate about the level of care that Childcare Resources provides children and families here in Indian River County. The teachers and staff are trained in the brain science of early learning, and they recognize the great value of building connections through actions, words, play, and building relationships between child to child and child to adult. When you see the miracle of a brand-new baby that is only minutes old making eye contact with its mother and then attempting to imitate the facial gestures of its mother, you understand that a child begins to learn at birth. Our teachers here at Childcare Resources are providing not only learning opportunities for the child's brain to grow and build those synaptic connections, but they also find those important teachable moments that appear in everyday curriculum activities that lets you know the child's curious mind is ready for more input.
Emily Wilcox, program parent
My name is Emily Wilcox, and my daughter, Winnie Wilcox, has attended Childcare Resources for three years. When I started looking for childcare options, I was really looking for somewhere that worked with my schedule, and I wanted somewhere that was going to be reliable and consistent, as well as somewhere that really advocated for my child's education and her health. When I started looking for a program and was told about Childcare Resources, all my prayers were answered, and I was so excited to learn that my daughter was accepted into Childcare Resources. Having my daughter attend Childcare Resources has really benefited me, both individually and professionally. Being a single mom, I think of Childcare Resources as my better half, and it's been a huge help knowing that they're always going to be there for me. The staff are always checking in and making sure I have everything that I need for myself and for my daughter. It has helped me professionally since I have been working and was able to advance in my career. And since Winnie has been at Childcare Resources, I have received promotions and grown professionally. And just knowing that I have her taken care of and don't have to worry about her education and what she's going to be doing while I'm at work has really been something that gives me peace of mind. I know that she has just such a great family at her school that really helps her educationally and advocates for me and for her.
Susan Donovan, member, Board of Directors
It doesn't stop there. Outreach. Childcare Resources is the hub for teacher training in Indian River County. World class presenters and trainers are brought in to full-day Saturday sessions with the financial help of local grants. Teachers across our county receive best practice in teaching and learning techniques, which in turn improves the quality of childcare at all of the participating preschool centers. Childcare Resources coaches follow up with the teachers at the different centers to build upon their learning and help them to polish their teaching techniques. Because of an Impact 100 grant, a cooperative program with Indian River State College and Childcare Resources was born. Teachers that do not have the preschool certification can join a cohort and complete the appropriate classes necessary for certification. And now, preschool directors also have the opportunity to earn their director's certification with this collaboration. And it's the hope that Childcare Resources can extend the education opportunity to an AA degree and on for these teachers. It is truly amazing and remarkable to know what takes place here at Childcare Resources. And now, through the Homeless Foundation of Indian River County grant, additional children with high needs are welcome to our school.
Sadie Collet, Childcare Resources educator
I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor's degree in Child and Family Studies. I've been working in early education for about four and a half years now. I've been working as a teacher in early education centers for about two and a half years. Childcare Resources offers professional development for all the early educators in our community. They provide four a year. These seminars help me bring new resources into the classroom, to help my children develop across the board, from cognitive to social emotional development. My favorite professional development opportunity was probably our Conscious Discipline seminar. It was really fun, really engaging. And the Childcare Resources School utilizes the Conscious Discipline curriculum, and myself being relatively new to that curriculum, it was a great opportunity for me to learn more on how to better support my children through Conscious Discipline. I love having the resources of education coaches here at Childcare Resources. They do a lot of modeling on best practices when interacting with children, and I'm really able to take in the way they interact and find the best way for me to use those strategies when I'm working with the children. They also provide resources for us, be it materials or information specific to the needs of my classroom.
I've been able to take advantage of a pilot program here at Childcare Resources and I have started to work towards my Master's degree in early educational Leadership. I'm really excited about this opportunity. It's a big professional goal for me. Everything that I'm able to take advantage of, the awesome programs here at Childcare Resources helped me in the classroom in countless ways. I'm able to go out and learn more about best practice, which is always changing, and I'm able to bring these strategies and activities back into the classroom to meet them at the level of their developmental needs.
Susan Donovan, member, Board of Directors
This school provides a whole child learning education. When it was recognized that some of the children needed additional physical, emotional, social therapy and that the parents weren't often able to take their child to outside school therapy sessions, Childcare Resources brought the therapist to the school. Children could get the additional learning they needed. During the school day, teachers were given specific techniques to use in the classroom and parents were given ideas to use at home. Because parents are involved in their child's learning, they are better prepared to navigate public school when their child begins kindergarten. Success comes full circle when everyone works together for the betterment of the child.
Livya Barreirinhas, MSPT (Pediatric Physical Therapist)
I've been here at Childcare Resources for about eight years and the program always caught my attention. I've been a healthcare professional, physical therapist for about 18 years now. And there was always something unique coming from the teachers to the patient care coordinator to everything they had to offer here. It was truly a place that I loved coming to and working with the kids. It's almost that dream come true for a healthcare professional. Here at Child Care Resources, we really, truly have an interdisciplinary program. It starts with the teachers. We're always in the classroom. We're always talking about normal development. They come and they talk to us. "Oh, that child. Do you think they might need physical therapy or do you think they're age appropriate for their age and their motor skills?" And from there, we start our screening process. We have a child coordinator here. She calls the parents, asks the parents if they have any concerns, and that the healthcare professional did see something that brought to their attention that there could be a potential developmental delay. They need services. We have everything we need to provide that services right here. We have our gym, we have all of our equipment, which you don't find anyplace else.
Calyx, in my mindset, and I think I speak for a lot of us here, is really our star child. Calyx really had a rough start and, you know, our hearts were broken for him. But Calyx wasn't even walking at 14 months old. He wasn't even crawling at 14 months old. He was scooting on his bottom at 14 months old. And he didn't really have any developmental skills at that point. But I think we all saw something in him that if he had the right tools, he would really flourish. And that's exactly what happened. Calyx has been in the program for about a year now. He is running all over the place. He is going upstairs. So what we see here truly makes a difference.
Dr. Bertice Berry, Starfest 2019 speaker
It's Dr. Bertice Berry, and I just want to tell you thank you for all that you're doing with Childcare Resources. Several years ago, I got to meet the amazing people and the amazing work that they do, and it truly changed my life. Even though I don't live in that community, it has affected every way I think about children and essential workers and the children of those essential workers, the way they teach and lead and guide is second to none. I brought home a lot of that. Here's my little star, Elena, my granddaughter, who now I use those same principles and guiding lights and information and ideas to make sure that she is okay. When our children are okay, our community is okay. And when the children of our essential workers are okay, the world is a better place. This little light of mine? I'm gonna let it shine? You gonna sing? Go ahead. This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine? This little light of mine? Come on, star.
Elena
I'm gonna let it shine?
Dr. Bertice Berry, Starfest 2019 speaker
Let it shine, let it shine? Let it jazz hands shine. I love you. Thank you.
Elena
Hello.
Emily Wilcox, program parent
We have participated in a lot of after school activities with childcare resources together as well as myself. I've done the parent cafe, which helps me learn some tools that I could bring home that benefit her growth and development. The parent cafe brings other parents together and helps us learn different things with our child's education as well as with different tools that we can utilize with budgeting and managing time. And it has really been helpful being part of that and also just feeling connected to the school and to the parents and the staff. Since my daughter has been at Childcare Resources, the staff has been so helpful being a single mom and reaching out and making sure that I have all the tools and support that I need and advocated for me and have helped me, you know, seek counseling and referrals with the Mental Health Association to make sure that I have all the things that I need. Being a single mom is very difficult, sometimes, and it's just been very helpful. But I just feel really confident knowing that she's in a place that is safe and really cares about her health and her education.
And I honestly think that I don't know what I would do without Childcare Resources.
Dr. Becky Bailey, Starfest 2020 speaker
Hi everyone. I want to again just honor what you do down there. Often we think TMI means too much information. But this little kid the other day got so upset when he raised his hand and a little girl answered for him. He went, “TMI! TMI!” And the teacher wisely said, “What do you think TMI means?” And he said, “Took my idea!” And your idea of how you collaborate within your communities and how you support every child in your neighborhood, in your area, in your county is such a model for the world that I hope whole world TMI - takes that idea - and runs with it. Thanks again for all you do.
Susan Donovan, member, Board of Directors
I've only begun to scratch the surface of the great value this center plays in the daily lives of so many children in our great county. Grateful thanks to the many donors that make this possible. I personally believe that what takes place here should be a model for preschool centers across our great country.
Karla Spooner, member, Board of Directors
My 10-year enthusiasm has been sustained and nourished by several things. As a friend of mine said recently, “Of all the children's organizations in the county, I like Childcare Resources the best. They always do everything right.” And now they are taking their expertise outside of our classrooms into schools in the county through teacher coaches and teacher training. With their dedication for providing the best education possible. In a short time, there will hardly be a child in our county whose life isn't impacted by Childcare Resources.
Students
My name's Rashad and I'm five years old and I want to be a policeman.
My name is Zachary and I'm five years old and I would like to be an engineer.
My name is Samita. I'm five years old and I would like to be a nurse.
My name's Bella I'm four years old and I want to be a ballerina.
My name is Joseph. I want to be artist.
My name is Nolan. I'm five years old and I would like to be a fireman.
My name is Maddox. I'm five years old and I would like to be a lifeguard.
Students [chanting together]
Our hands say, "thank you" with a clap-clap-clap.
Our feet say, 'thank you' with a tap-tap-tap.
Our hearts say, 'thank you' with a beat-beat-beat.
Clap-clap-clap, tap-tap-tap, beat-beat-beat.
I love you.
Calix's Story
Livya Barreirinhas, MSPT (Pediatric Physical Therapist)
I've been here at Childcare Resources for about eight years, and the program always caught my attention. I've been a healthcare professional, physical therapist for about 18 years now. And there was always something unique coming from the teachers to the patient care coordinator to everything they had to offer here. It was truly a place that I loved coming to and working with the kids. It's almost that dream come true for a healthcare professional.
Here at Childcare Resources, we really, truly have an interdisciplinary program. It starts with the teachers. We are always in the classroom. We are always talking about normal development. They come and they talk to us.
‘Oh, that child. Do you think they might need physical therapy or do you think they're age appropriate for their age and their motor skills?’ And from there, we start our screening process. We have a child coordinator here to call the parents, ask the parents if they have any concerns and that the healthcare professional did see something that brought to their attention that there could be a potential developmental delay. They need services. We have everything we need to provide that services right here. We have our gym. We have all of our equipment, which you don't find anyplace else.
Calix, in my mindset, and I think I speak for a lot of us here, is really our star child. Calix really had a rough start, and our hearts were broken for him.
But Calix wasn't even walking at 14 months old. He wasn't even crawling at 14 months old. He was scooting on his bottom at 14 months old. And he didn't really have any developmental skills at that point. But we, I think, we all saw something in him that if he had the right tools, he would really flourish.
And that's exactly what happened. Calix has been in the program for about a year now. He is running all over the place. He is going upstairs. So what we see here truly makes a difference.
25th Anniversary Video Transcript
Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director, Childcare Resources of Indian River:
For 25 years Childcare Resources has been changing the lives of children and families in our community. The organization is built upon a very strong foundation and that foundation starts with our three founders. They were early childhood educators themselves so they deeply understood what children and parents need in order to prepare a child, not only for kindergarten but for life.
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Kathy Marshall, Founding Member, Childcare Resources of Indian River:
From 1988 to 2001, I was the Pre-K Coordinator for the early intervention program which was a school district program. This was a pre-k program that was designed for the free lunch students in the school district. One of the things that became very apparent to me as I would register children for this program, was the fact that many of them were overqualified.
I had these conversations with Sandy Kahle and Sherry Waddell and together I think we pretty much determined that there was this whole segment of the population that needed services and couldn't get them. These families weren't well off and therefore they couldn't, they couldn't afford a quality program for their children even though they were working.
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Sandy Kahle, Founding Member, Childcare Resources of Indian River:
We did a draft of a program that we thought would be helpful and we presented it first to the County Commission and then we presented it to the school board. Developing the mission of Childcare Resources was really one of the very easiest things because the words and the philosophy of it were right there in the NAEYC, National Association for Education of Young Children, literature and we had three centers: Community Preschool, Learning Nest, and Maitland Farm Preschool, and later we added Nanny's.
By the fall of '94, we hired a Family Resource Coordinator. She worked with families. She helped them with housing issues, with mental health issues, education, with work issues. She was a wonderful support to the families which, then in turn, gave support to the children. And so it all came together with the children in the middle, family support on the one hand and center support, in terms of training, on the other. And the basis of it all was the community.
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Sherry Waddell, Founding Member, Childcare Resources of Indian River:
One of the main missions of Childcare Resources was to have quality preschool, and we felt the best way to provide for that quality was for our schools to be accredited with national accreditation, which was NAEYC. So that was one of the standards that we required of our preschools and contracting centers. The priorities of those that I felt were very important were teacher-child ratio, parent involvement, the curriculum provided through accreditation, so that was a priority of any of the contracting centers, that they would have to, within a certain period of time, get their accreditation through NAEYC.
Childcare Resources today is providing for our teachers throughout the county three and four workshops annually. Some of the training has been in STEM, math, fine motor and Conscious Discipline. The exciting thing in the present, 25 years later, is that these standards are still being met. The teacher training, parent involvement. We have opened our own school. I have to say to have been in the beginning of it; It is so exciting and just a wonderful thing to know that we are providing this need in our County.
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Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director, Childcare Resources of Indian River:
Over the years, there have been multiple individuals who have served as a member of our Board of Directors. Their work, vision, and investment in Childcare Resources inspires those of us who are currently working or volunteering on behalf of the mission. The human brain Is built over time and from the bottom up. This process begins before birth and goes well into adulthood. This is why quality early childhood education is so important.
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Sabrina Reese, 2006 Program Parent:
I always wanted to have my child to be somewhere where they could get a good start and I know how important that is. I found Childcare Resources through the United Way. Everyone was very, very helpful, helping us get into the program where normally, someone being a working parent like I was, never really qualified for assistance or anything like that. So that was very instrumental for me being able to get her in there and get that good start.
The most important thing was the, the teachers that were in place at Community Preschool when she was there. They were caring, and, and they were knowledgeable, and they connected with the children. Jayla made connections with her preschool teachers that she still remembers today. When she entered into kindergarten, she was more than prepared.
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Jayla Brown, Former Student:
I go to Oslo Middle. I play for Oslo Middle basketball team. Right now, my favorite subject is math. I want to join the Navy SEAL program.
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Sabrina Reese, 2006 Program Parent:
Having, getting comfort knowing that there are well-rounded organizations that are out there to help young kids, you know, get a start, so that they can learn to love education, to love learning. You know, to make it to where it's not a chore. Coming in here today, has just pumped that up in me and, oh man, look at all this stuff that these young kids can learn and go and grow and I love it.
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Tom Patrick, 1994 Program Parent:
Early '90s, at that time I was a single father, uh, had no clue what I was doing, and Dominic and I needed help. Childcare Resources provided me with the foundation that I needed to know that I could, I could do this. Childcare Resources was there for emotional support, financial support, and directed me in a perfect direction, so I could try to parent as to the best of my ability at such a young age. Childcare Resources gave me what I call the foundation for me to be able to succeed and for my child, most importantly, to succeed and grow up and become a, uh, a phenomenal human being.
He flourished at Nanny's. He became more self-confident at Nanny's. He became more social-interactive. Life lessons for him as he started to figure it out in his formative years, which gave me peace of mind and gave me even more confidence. And all you want is for your child to have a chance at a good life.
He is now 26 years old. He graduated from college over two years ago, head of marketing at Tropic Ocean Airways, which is a seaplane company in Fort Lauderdale. I couldn't have asked for a better child.
Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director, Childcare Resources of Indian River:
In our first year of service, Childcare Resources reached 24 children throughout our community. Today, we're reaching thousands of children through our school, our contracting schools, and our outreach programs, including our professional development workshops, coaching, and early childhood educator credentialing program.
Over the next few years, we're going to be focusing on three main areas. Raising awareness for the benefits of high-quality early childhood education, because all children need access to a high-quality learning environment. We're also going to be working towards strengthening and expanding our current programming to support the early childhood community. And, finally, we will be working towards maintaining and growing our funding and focusing on sustainability so Childcare Resources can be here for generations to come.
Childcare Resources has proven over the last 25 years that when children and families are given access to high-quality early childhood learning experiences, they not only thrive in school, but they thrive in life.
Program Video (2018) Transcript
Alison Armstrong, Program Parent, Childcare Resources of Indian River
Childcare Resources helped me, personally, because I was a single mom, working part-time, struggling to find a babysitter every other day so I could try to work. And when she started here, I was able to finally make the money that I needed and be able to support her myself and be able to get her into a better education program.
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Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director, Childcare Resources of Indian River
We currently have 124 children in our program. 70 of those children are at our school, and the other children are at our contracting centers spread throughout the county. Our school and the contracting schools that we work with have their national accreditation and we do this to ensure that the children in our program receive the very best care. Our national accreditation is through NAEYC – the National Association for the Education of Young Children – and it is truly the gold standard, best practice for early education.
We have a very successful program, and that’s not only because of the wonderful academic component that we have, or that we’re addressing the children’s social-emotional needs. I think one of the biggest reasons for our success is the support that we give our parents. Everyone on our staff is here for our parents in any way that we can be helpful. Four times a year, we host parent success workshops with a variety of topics that are of interest to our parents. The topics we cover include things about healthy habits, sleep, nutrition, teaching early literacy skills in a fun way with your children.
Childcare Resources has had amazing growth the last five years, and we’ve done so by looking at the needs of the early education community here in Indian River County and coming up with innovative, research-based programs that really meet the needs of our community. We strive to be the hub for high-quality early education. We provide additional services that touch children throughout Indian River County whether they are in the Childcare Resources program or not. In fact, our footprint has grown and we now reach about 4,200 children. Each year, we provide four professional development workshops open to any early educator here in Indian River County at no cost to them. With grant funding, we’ve been able to bring in experts in the field of early education from all over the country. Typically, 150 to 200 early educators attend each of these workshops.
Two years ago, we wanted to expand our professional development program, and we did so by adding a coaching component. We now have two early education coaches on our staff who can go to any childcare center in our community who requests it and help implement the strategies learned at our professional eveleopment workshop. Our coaches also help with any other needs that the teachers may have in the classroom, such as classroom management or curriculum development. These ladies are hands-on, boots-on-the-ground in preschool classrooms all over our community modeling best practice in early education.
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Stephanie Herrera, Director, Roseland Christian Preschool
Well, the collaborative partnership with Childcare Resources has helped our school, and the teachers, the parents, the children, everybody, because it’s an opportunity for them to bring quality into what they do in the classrooms, and that’s extremely important. At our preschool, Roseland Christian Preschool, we have ten teachers and all of the teachers participate in the trainings that Childcare Resources offer. Again, that instills the quality into the program for us. The teachers learn so much, they bring it back, they share the knowledge.
One of the trainings Childcare Resources has provided for the teachers in the county is Conscious Discipline. The teachers come back to the classroom, and I always find something new that they’ve implemented, and I’m just so proud of that. I know that they’re listening, and they’re getting it, and they’re sharing it. It’s so important, the children must learn to get along with their peers in a structured environment, so I can’t say it enough – parents need to send their children to preschool. By the time they get to kindergarten, they’ve missed all of that.
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Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director, Childcare Resources of Indian River
Last year, we were awarded a grant through Impact 100 to begin a transformational program. We created a way for early educators to earn their staff credential in a unique way. In partnership with Indian River State College, we created a program to allows early educators to earn their staff credential in a fast and easy way. We recently celebrated graduation for our first twelve graduates.
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Kelly Bowen, Assistant Teacher, Roseland Christian Preschool
I teach, my classroom in the morning, I have about 14 children and that’s the three-year-old class, and then in the afternoon, we have about 18 children, and that’s our VPK class. The skills that I have learned have definitely made me a better teacher. One of the trainings that I went to, it was about music and movement and getting them more involved and using more of their body, actually, you know, widens their minds.
The C.P.E.E. program was seventeen weeks, and it was three days a week. You did two classes the first few weeks, and then you did two classes at the end and your practicum and, um, any of that would have taken probably close to two years to try and get. I was able to take everything that I learned in the credentialing program and bring it back to the classroom that Monday.
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Shannon McGuire Bowman, Executive Director, Childcare Resources of Indian River
Early education is not just about academic programming. If we want our children to thrive, they have to be healthy. This is the reason we started our new wellness program this year. We now have a registered nurse on our staff who’s meeting with each of our families as they enter the program and helping them to navigate the healthcare system to ensure that all of their needs are being met whether that be dental, mental health, physical, immunizations. Our wellness coordinator also helps those families when their children need additional therapies.
In fact, we find about 20 percent of the children in our program are in need of these additional therapies such as speech, occupational, behavioral, and mental health. So we found that many of our families were having a hard time getting their children to therapy during the workday, because our families are working full-time or going to school full-time. So that was the reason we built out two state-of-the-art therapy rooms on our campus, so now the therapists come to our campus and the children receive these essential services while they’re with us throughout the day.
None of this would be possible without the dedication and leadership of our Board of Directors, volunteers, and generous supporters.
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Alison Armstrong, Program Parent, Childcare Resources of Indian River
We found out about the center through a family. Sierra was not even a year old and she definitely has grown immensely since the beginning of it all. Every single milestone has pretty much happened here. At the beginning, it was a little bit more rough, just because it’s always been me and her every day. Even at the time, I wasn’t working full time, but because of her being able to come here, I was able to go to work full-time and actually go back to school. She’s learning to read now. She’s got her alphabet down, her numbers. Without Childcare Resources, I would have never been able to afford any type of daycare by myself.
Program Video (2017) Transcript
Maileigh Duong, Program Parent
It means a lot for me for Ava to be a part of Childcare Resources. For her to go somewhere every day while I’m at work, and I don’t have to worry about her, it means a lot. The two most important things about the program that I enjoy is how much everyone really cares about her. It’s kind of like a family. And then all of the staff work really with me with my schedule and, when the income guidelines change and everything. Everyone’s really welcoming and helpful.
When I pick her up, I ask her how her day was and she’ll tell me about the songs or whatever they’re learning, so I always learn what they’re learning through her. And it’s nice, when I come into the classroom, to be able to see the classroom decorated and the thing that she talked to me about, so I can conversate with her about it.
For all of the people that support Childcare Resources, I would just like them to know that every parent here, I’m sure, appreciates it more than they can imagine. The amount that we pay, compared to what you’d pay at another daycare, yet still have the exceptional teachers, staff, new playground. It means the world. I can only imagine what everyone else feels, especially parents with more than one child here.
The transition from the old school to the new school has been great. It allows the kids to have more space. I like the locked-door system, it makes me feel a little more comforting that not just anyone can walk in. It’s a beautiful facility, and I know they have more rooms available for more children. I can’t wait to see it fill up.
I was on the waitlist. I put her on right after I had her and, honestly, I was going to take two or three months anyways, so I think I had to wait a couple more weeks. At three months, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was a new mom with my first child, but when I got to the classroom and saw that they were very strict with her schedule and worked on simple things like sitting up - it was a relief to me that someone was actually interacting with her and trying to help her improve.
Ava’s vocabulary is much further than some kids that she does play with that isn’t a part of this school. And she catches on to things a lot quicker than some of the other kids her age. I like to think that it has to do with the school. I ask the teachers what they’re working on, and try to implement it at home as well.
As a parent, I enjoy the classes they offer. They’re not the same, so every time you go to one it’s a little different and I think it’s pretty broad for all the parents in the school. I enjoy coming in to do the volunteer hours with the make-and-take and the crafts that they do and I occasionally even take the laundry home to wash. Washing a load of laundry or coming in for some volunteer hours is nothing compared to what I’d be paying going to another school.
I tell Ava everyday that we’re going to school. I don’t tell her we go to daycare, because I think they do a great job of teaching her. They’re just not babysitting her, she’s just not sitting there for the day. They try to increase her vocabulary. They work with her with her colors. I don’t think I’d be happy if she was sitting in a school where she wasn’t doing anything and just watching television. I like the fact that there are no televisions in the school. There’s no watching TV, that they do all interaction. I just think that it’s going to make her transition into real school smoother. She’s going to be used to following a set of rules, doing activities with the class, singing songs together,
It’s a major relief that I can take Ava to school and not have to worry about ‘I need to go get a second job to cover her schooling for her to have a great education.’ So the investment on my behalf is nothing compared to the investment of the people who donate.