Early Childhood Resource Center showcases education in action

Wednesday, December 06, 2017

Tags: Early Childhood Resource Center , outreach

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The Early Childhood Resource Center’s collaboration with Ohio Means Jobs is helping young people start their careers in early childhood. The center profiles a woman named Poetry who is doing just that in the latest issue of the ECRC Community Chronicle newsletter. The full text of the article appears below. 

Education in Action: Poetry Starting Her Career

Poetry’s grandmother is so proud of her, and she has every reason to be. It seems Poetry is following in her grandmother’s footsteps. Her grandmother has worked in child care her entire life, and even spent time as a foster mom.

Poetry helped with the children when she was younger, but wasn’t particularly interested in working in child care. When she graduated from high school, she took medical assisting classes and worked retail jobs. But nothing held her interest.

Until now. Poetry says she has grown to “understand the importance of taking care of kids.” 

As part of a collaborative workforce development program offered through Ohio Means Jobs, Poetry is taking classes at the Early Childhood Resource Center to earn her Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, while also spending two days a week observing and helping in the infant room at the Canton YWCA Child Care Center.

Poetry is one of eight participants taking CDA classes. Together, they will go through 120 hours of training on topics such as child development, first aid and safety, and developmentally appropriate learning environments. Poetry’s instructor provides support, encouragement, feedback, and mentoring. Learning as a group adds critical peer support, so they never feel alone.

At the YWCA, Poetry helps the teachers by playing with and reading to the babies, feeding and changing them, and keeping them safe. She likes that she gets to observe while also being active in their care, so that she can apply the concepts she’s learning. She loves seeing the techniques the teachers use when they interact with the babies.

Poetry now definitely wants a career in child care. She knows that this program will help her get there. But most importantly, she and her grandmother are so proud that she’s working to achieve her goals.