
From the recipient of Sixpence home visits to becoming a young mom, then a home visitor, read Yesenia’s uplifting story.
The former retail space that houses the Early Learning Academy (ELA) in Lexington, Nebraska, may seem like an unusual setting for innovation in early childhood education, but this preschool program that serves children 3 to 5 years old houses such proactive initiatives as an early intervention program for special needs students and a migrant community classroom to serve English language learners.
In 2015, when Boone County, Nebraska was considering plans to address their childcare shortage, Jay Wolf, and other Boone County Foundation Fund (BCFF) core team members, said, “We know we have a childcare shortage; we need solutions, but we’re not interested in building a center.”
Five years later, the team broke ground for Boone Beginnings, their early care center.
So, how did this happen? Read on.
Although life and the weather are ever-changing, quality childcare and education is a constant need. To do this, we need Early Childhood initiatives like Sixpence Child Care Partnerships (Sixpence CCP). Early care and education professionals have a short but crucial time to help young lives bloom. We and Sixpence CCP can help. Read more about Shannon Crosby, the director of Cherry Park Creative Corner, LL, and her Sixpence Child Care Partnership.
For a sapling to thrive and to grow into one of the majestic oaks we see today, first it must be rooted deeply within the ground. The same applies to children’s early years. Sixpence, one of our early childhood initiatives, focuses on setting infants and toddlers up for success during those first three years of their life.
Read our latest blog, which features an interview with Stephanie Allen, who tells us all about her takeaways from collaborating with Sixpence CCP.
Today, we asked Stoney Straatmann, a licensed childcare provider and one of Sixpence Child Care Partnership Programs (Sixpence CCP) from Hastings, Nebraska to talk about her experiences and benefits of the partnership. Before we speak with Stoney, we’d like to explain how Sixpence and its Child Care Partnerships work together.
When childcare’s future looks cloudy, McCook’s Communities for Kids brainstorms and creates a silver lining by collecting families’ responses through an in-depth survey and creating a childcare incentives program! Read about how the team forged quality care incentives to improve the presence of their community’s childcare programs and providers.
We are excited to be part of some incredible community-based efforts, particularly Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach’s recent ones to provide housing for the homeless. Throughout these last few months, we can’t deny the pandemic’s gravity or community accomplishments to help families thrive. As the saying goes, if it…
Although many professions, from retail to bartending to hospitality, have felt COVID-19’s impact, there is one, essential part of our workforce whose efforts occasionally remain unsung: our early care and education providers.
We realize, who better then, to speak to the struggles and hopes childcare providers face than a provider herself? Today, Roxann Bihlmaier, the Director of Kinder Haus Child Center in Eustis, Nebraska, is that person. Although every childcare provider’s story is unique, their hardships, hopes, and fears are all very real. Let us allow Roxann to tell us her story.
Our early care providers are strategizing, struggling, and helping – even amid this potentially fatal illness. We are glad to hear and share their stories. It is undeniable that early care workers have been duly impacted by COVID-19. It is, however, equally undeniable that this demographic has proven itself to be hard-working, resilient, and resourceful.
As we spoke with Chantel Tonkinson, the director of Ladybug Crossing Early Learning Program in North Platte, Nebraska, our vision of a brighter future and eventual new beginning sharpened into focus. She is reopening Ladybug Crossing on May 11!