Becoming a mom at a young age is tough. You feel overwhelmed by the idea of taking care of a newborn baby and doing all the adult things that are required to care for a family. But there is an untapped resource in our community that can help through pregnancy and early childhood education. The program helps not only the children, but the parents as well.
Carroll County Child Development Center is that untapped resource.
The federally funded program is open to the public, though some services are based on income, others are based on a child’s need or developmental issues. They even offer a home-based service where home-based teachers come to you and help you prepare for having a child and educating the child.
Darian Skirvin, Dailee Johnson, Madi Carli and Ashley Morris are a few moms who enrolled their children in Early Head Start and discovered a career pathway in the process. Not only does Head Start help prepare children for kindergarten, it can also help adults get an education and become Head Start teachers.
These four have all completed their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. This allows them to be Early Head Start (birth to 3-year-old) teachers. Once that’s complete, they can obtain an associate’s degree and become a Head Start teacher.
The best part is their education is gained at no cost to them. Head Start pays for the entire process.
“I have watched all of them grow professionally,” said Director Leah Spencer. “They have all grown so much and grown as moms too. That’s what Head Start is all about.”
Morris was just 19 when she had her son. She was in a difficult relationship, which ultimately ended. “I felt like I was really doing it all on my own,” she said. Then she found Head Start.
She applied for a job and she and her son both started at the same time. “I’ve grown so much since I’ve been here,” she said. “It was like this job was the job I never knew I needed, but I really needed it.”
Her little boy, who is now 6 years old and flourishing in kindergarten, has been through a lot but Morris said the leg up he received from Head Start and all of its services has made a lasting difference in his young life. It’s done the same for her. She now owns her own home and has obtained her CDA to become an Early Head Start teacher.
It’s clear the toddlers in her room adore her and she adores them. They learn and teach through playing. Morris is at home with two or three children in her lap while teaching colors, numbers and motor skills.
Madi Carli has a similar story. “I’ve always had a calling of sorts to work with kids,” she said, noting she learned about Head Start because her mom and the director are friends. She began on the Head Start side but decided she wanted a little less chaos and a little more toddler so she moved to the Early Head Start, where she’s now a lead teacher in the 2- and 3-year-old room.
“It’s a very good opportunity. It’s good for first-time moms who want to work here and put your child in here,” said Carli, who had her baby in 2021. “You can put your child in here and it makes you feel safe. We have so many opportunities to help young mothers.”
Her daughter has learned social emotional skills such as sharing and sitting at the table to learning to connect with other adults and children.
“It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Carli said. “This place is amazing for kids.”
Johnson and Skirvin echoed their co-workers sentiments.
Johnson was just 18 years old when she took her job at Head Start. She completed her CDA in 2018 and then got pregnant shortly afterward.. She noted it was a “little hard” to continue college coursework, have a newborn and work, but because of the environment at Head Start she was able to do it all.
Skirvin is the only one of the four who attended Head Start as a little girl. She has come full circle as she now has her CDA and is a lead teacher in the 1- and 2-year-old room.
She did the typical school program - graduated from high school and got a college degree, but it wasn’t quite right for her. She came home and gave birth to her daughter in 2019. Since then, she’s had two more babies. It’s a full plate for sure, but Head Start’s flexibility has made it possible for her to continue working on her associate’s degree in early childhood education and work full-time.
“It’s definitely a learning experience being young and trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” Skirvin said. “Everyone here is willing to help. I would highly encourage any parents who are thinking about it to apply.”
All four teachers said they share the opportunities with people whenever they can, but they still wish more were aware of the offerings.
“No matter where you come from it’s always possible for you to do anything,” said Skirvin, who noted that drugs and alcohol consumed her parents. “You can get out of that loop. There are people here to help you.”
